A/N: Update time! How are you, readers?
I've got a quick announcement before you all start reading the chapter:
In the past I've forgotten to make the following suggestion, but it applies for all my Glee stories because...well it's Glee :) For this chapter, several songs are included. If you aren't familiar with the music, scroll down to the bottom of the page and read my ending 'Author's Note' where the songs will be listed, then open another browser tab and search for that song so you can listen to it while reading (the songs are listed in the same order in which they appear in the chapter).
As I've mentioned to a few of you awesome readers, (realism in general) visuals are important for me when it comes to writing, and in case any of you are the same way, listening to the music while reading is great.
This is a long chapter (the longest I've ever written).
Hope you enjoy!
After several long days, Friday arrives.
Mercedes spent the week recovering, practically on bed-rest. Of course between her injuries and grieving over the losses of several loved ones, Principal Figgins was very understanding and allowed her to take as much time as she needed to heal.
Though Mercedes appreciated his kindness, she insisted on receiving her assignments so that she'd at least know what was being covered in class and therefore she'd know what to read on her own. What she didn't mention was the fact that doing her school assignments was so important to her because she used it as a distraction from all that she had to deal with any other time. Her teachers prepared weekly lessons for her, which will be done until she returns to school.
After having spent the entire week at home, Mercedes was beginning to get a little bored. As she slipped on her green flip-flops, she looked at her digital clock on the bedside table to check the time. It was nearly 3 pm.
She knew that classes would be dismissed soon, so she stood up and went over to her mirror to check out her appearance. She was pleased that her face looked better. The cuts, scrapes and bruises were gone having only left a few small scars and slight swelling.
She picked up her hairbrush as she looked at her reflection once more. She was wearing a gray short-sleeved shirt and Dark Skinny Jeans. She grabbed her gray Hoodie before opening her bedroom door and walking downstairs to the living room.
She saw Roberta putting on her jacket. "Aunt Robbie, when you get a chance, can you help me with my hair?"
Roberta nodded. "Sure sweetie. Come sit down on the couch."
Mercedes did just that as she gave Roberta her hairbrush.
Robbie slowly brushed out Mercedes' hair before asking her a question. "Do you want a ponytail, Mercy?"
"Yeah, thanks." Mercedes said as her Grandmother entered the living room.
Edna-Ruth smiled at her granddaughter. "I'm glad that you decided to start focusing on your schoolwork, Honey. You know how important it is not to fall behind. I'm proud of you."
Mercedes smiled too. "Thanks, gran. I just figured there was no harm in at least doing as much as I can before I go back to school. Most of my classes don't seem too difficult anyway." She said as Roberta finished her hair.
After making the ponytail, Robbie stood in front of Mercedes and brushed out her bangs. "All done," she said with a smile.
Mercedes stood up. "Thanks, Auntie."
"You're welcome, Sweetie." Roberta helped Mercedes put on her Hoodie. "Are you sure you're up for this today, Mercy? I could always go get your assignments by myself."
Mercedes used her good arm to zip up the hoodie. "Yeah, I'm okay. Besides I could use the fresh air. I'm starting to forget what the outside of this house looks like." She said jokingly.
Robbie smiled. "Okay." She put her cell phone in her pants' pocket then grabbed her purse and keys. "Let's roll."
Mercedes kissed her grandmother goodbye before she and Robbie left the house.
After a short drive, Roberta pulled into the school's parking lot. She drove up to the curb to let Mercedes out closer to the school entrance. Ordinarily, Mercedes would insist that they stay together so Roberta wouldn't risk getting lost while trying to find the school's office, but she knew that wouldn't be a problem.
Mercedes slowly exited the car and walked into the building while Roberta went to park the car.
After entering the school, Mercedes was greeted by the tons of students staring at her, clearly at a loss for words and shocked by her appearance. She'd expected this though, so she was able to prevent herself from freezing up under the intense gazes and instead she continued walking.
After passing through the halls, she finally reached the office. The faculty and staff smiled and waved as she entered the room. Mercedes did the same in return. She approached the front desk and spoke to the secretary, but only briefly since the woman seemed to already know why she was there and she immediately went to retrieve the materials that Mercedes needed.
Soon after, Roberta entered the office as well. She stood next to Mercedes. "Did you speak to the secretary?"
Mercedes nodded. "Yeah, she went to the back to go get everything. I think she knew we were coming." When Roberta didn't say anything else, Mercedes looked at her, immediately knowing what the tight-lipped expression on Robbie's face meant. "Auntie…You called, didn't you?" She asked.
Roberta smiled. "Well, I didn't want us to have to wait around in case they didn't have everything together. And you know it would've been a long wait. It's been a while since I was a student here, but I doubt this school has changed that much." She said with a laugh.
Mercedes smiled and playfully rolled her eyes. "Fine, I understand."
The secretary returned with a custodial staff member carrying several textbooks and some papers.
Roberta saw the items. "Are you sure you don't want take it easy for at least a little while longer?" She asked Mercedes.
Mercedes laughed and shook her head. "No, Auntie. I've been taking it TOO easy long enough. I'm ready for things to just get back to normal."
Roberta nodded with a smile. "Okay." She opened the door for Mercedes and the custodial worker. Roberta offered to carry a few of the books, but the man wouldn't have it and insisted on carrying everything himself.
They walked down the main hallway and passed the auditorium. A large sign was posted on one of the open double doors which read: Glee Club auditions, Friday at 3:30. Come and join the NEW DIRECTIONS!
Kurt and Tina were standing near the doorway, talking to Blaine and Artie. They saw Mercedes and immediately ran over to her.
"Mercy!" Artie yelled with excitement. He rolled over to her and Mercedes bent down to give him a hug.
Blaine was next, giving Mercedes a hug and kiss on the cheek. "Hey there, Gorgeous."
Tina and Kurt stood at both Mercedes' sides. "When did you get here?" Tina asked while holding Mercedes' hand.
"Yeah and why didn't you tell any of us that you were coming? I thought you were staying home for a while?" Kurt said as he playfully scolded Mercedes.
"I came to get some stuff for my classes. I needed my textbooks if I'm going to start working on a few assignments." Mercedes said while pointing to the items being held by the male staff worker.
"Great! Now that you're here, can you stay to watch the try-outs?" Tina asked.
Mercedes shook her head. "I don't think so. We really didn't plan on being here for very long. Aunt Robbie and I were actually on our way out right now."
"'Aunt Robbie?'" Artie asked while admiring Roberta. He stared deeply into her eyes with a goofy grin on his face.
Mercedes smiled. "Yeah, this is my Godmother Roberta Ryan. Auntie Robbie, this is Arthur Abrams, we call him 'Artie,' Blaine Anderson, and you remember Kurt and Tina."
Roberta shook Artie's hand as well as Blaine's and smiled at the group. "It's nice to see you all." Roberta noticed the four teenagers' eager attempts to get Mercedes to stay, and decided to help them out. "You know what, Sweetie? I've got a few errands to run. I planned on dropping you off back at the house, but if you want to stay for a while I could always come back and get you in about an hour or two?" She offered.
Mercedes turned her attention to Roberta. "Are you sure?"
Robbie nodded. "Yeah of course, I've got to go to the supermarket to pick up some stuff for dinner then I'm making a few other stops, so if you want to stay it's totally fine." She said.
Mercedes looked at her friends, all of whom were pouting out their lower lips. "Okay, okay, okay, I'll stick around." She was barely able to finish her sentence before being lead into the auditorium by the enthusiastic bunch. She waved goodbye and shouted a "thank you" to Roberta, and the others did the same.
Robbie laughed and shook her head before she continued heading for her car with the custodial worker.
Mercedes and the others walked down the center aisle until they reached the first few rows of seats.
Rachel was trailing behind Mr. Schuester, nagging about the audition list. "Mr. Schue, as Glee Club Captain I demand that we call off today's auditions."
Mr. Schue rolled his eyes. "Alright Rachel, and today's reason is…?"
"I want to win this year! None of the people on this list have what it takes to join a show choir of our caliber. I bet most of them have never even taken a voice lesson once in all their lives." Rachel protested.
"Well if that's how you feel Rachel, you'd be asking me to get rid of about half of our remaining club members. The same could be said for most of them prior to joining the club, right guys?" Mr. Schue addressed the other students as they approached him and Rachel. Mr. Schue immediately noticed Mercedes amongst the group, though he was surprised to see her. "Mercedes..." He said with a smile.
Rachel turned around and saw Mercedes standing a few feet behind her with everyone else. She too was surprised to see her injured friend. "Oh Mercedes…" She ran, more like energetically skipped over to Mercedes and gave her a huge hug.
Rachel's grip was so tight that at one point during the hug Mercedes had a slight struggle for air. Eventually she was able to use her good arm to pat Rachel's back, mainly in hopes that she'd get the message and get off of her. "…Hi Rachel."
The petite Jewish girl released Mercedes before speaking. "I didn't expect to see you today."
"Neither did I," Mr. Schue said. Rachel stepped aside and Mr. Schue stood in front of Mercedes, placing his hand on her shoulder. "It's great to see you."
Mercedes smiled. "It's great to see you too, Mr. Schue. I'm happy to be here with all of you guys. I've been stuck in the house all week. With the funerals tomorrow, I just wanted to do something to get things back to normal."
Mr. Schue nodded. "That's completely understandable, Mercedes. It's important to focus on happy thoughts and looking towards the future when moving past unfortunate situations like this. I'm sure it's what your family would want for you. And you know we're always happy to have you here." He said.
Mercedes nodded. "Thanks Mr. Schue."
The teacher smiled. "No problem." Mr. Schuester said.
The bell rang which signaled that it was 3:30, time to start with the auditions.
Mr. Schue walked down the center aisle, up the steps and onto the stage. He approached the microphone stand and looked around at the many faces scattered throughout the entire auditorium before speaking. "Okay everyone, a few quick announcements before we begin try-outs. First of all, I want to thank you all for showing your interest and support in this club. Allow me to introduce myself. For those of you that don't know, I'm Mr. Schuester, and I'm the coach for the Glee club choir. Boy, this is quite a turn-out! I'm looking forward to seeing each and every one of your performances today. Remember to make sure not to focus on being the 'best,' just have fun and do YOUR best."
"Easy for you to say…" Rachel mumbled as she and the rest of the show choir members took their seats in the center of ninth row.
Tina rolled her eyes. "Give it a rest, Rachel. Besides, you never know. With this huge amount of people trying out, we're bound to find at least a few good singers."
"'A few good singers' does not a winning show choir team make, my dear. 'Good' might have won us Regionals, but we need more than that if we're going to win at Nationals. We have to be the best." Rachel said.
"Girl bye," Artie said, rejecting Rachel's previous statement. "T's right, until we see everyone, sit back, relax and for God's sake close that mouth." He raised his hand high and shook it like he was in church.
Rachel's mouth flew open as she prepared to protest.
"I said 'close!'" Artie reprimanded the opinionated girl.
Rachel was quiet as she tightly gripped the armrests on the sides of her seat and glared at Artie before sitting back.
Mr. Schuester finished speaking briefly with the band and the stage crew before he continued addressing everyone else. "Now one more thing, don't forget to be prepared with your music selections so you don't hold up the audition process. We want to be available to finish by 5 o'clock, okay? Well, let's get started. Here we go everyone!"
At 4:15, Sam, Mike, Puck and Finn entered the locker room after leaving Football practice a bit early.
"Is anybody else ready to back out of this whole thing?" Finn asked as he abruptly stopped before reaching his locker.
The other three boys turned to look at him.
Sam rolled his eyes. "Finn, what's your problem? You signed up for it just like the rest of us. Besides that was like three days ago. Why are you just now considering skipping it?"
Finn spoke hesitantly. "…I'm sort of…I guess…nervous about, you know…singing…in front of all those people. Why couldn't we pick some other club to join or something?"
Now they all rolled their eyes as they went to their own lockers.
A few days ago, the school Guidance Counselor Ms. Pillsbury told them as well as a few of the other players that they should get involved in another extra-curricular activity so it'd look good on their school transcripts when they begin applying for colleges. Especially since most of them don't have the grades to be accepted on the basis of academics, and football scholarships will be scarce unless they have something to make them stand out as a student.
Puck took off his jersey and began removing his padding. "Jesus Finn, could you sound like a bigger punk right now? It's fucking Glee club. What'll they do, laugh at you? You've never even spoken to most of them before. So why do you care?"
Finn sighed before going to his locker. "I don't know. I just really don't want to do this." He said as he slammed his locker open and began undressing.
Mike was untying his cleats. "We don't have a choice since everything else is filled up." When he was finished, he put the shoes in his bag. "Dude, if anybody should be nervous, it's me. I hate my singing voice. At least you sound okay." He took his clothing out of his locker. "It's no big deal. The whole thing won't last any longer than five minutes. Besides, Puck and I are singing with you, so you won't be alone up on stage." He looked in Sam's direction. "Of course, if a certain asshole in here didn't have to be so 'edgy,' it could've been all four of us singing together."
Sam smirked as he wrapped a towel around his waist. "Don't be mad, Mikey. I just don't think you losers could handle my musical brilliance. I've got to fly solo on this one." He said before walking over to the shower area, the smirk slowly falling away from his face.
He thought about his main reason for joining the Glee club. He remembered everything about the day he met Mercedes. Therefore, he knew about her being in the club. So on the first day of school, when the other members of the show choir were trying to recruit new members, they mentioned how it was their hope to at least find enough people to fill the required spots that were now left empty by last year's seniors, not to mention the fact that Mercedes would be returning this year. Sam felt that being a part of the Glee club would work out in more ways than one. Not only did his popularity help encourage more people to tryout, but by joining himself he'd be able to get closer to Mercedes, and with good reason in case he remained too shy to speak with her on his own terms, like he'd been in the past.
She made him nervous. But Sam was ready to look past that now.
Since news on the accident broke, Mercedes has been the talk of the town, naturally the school as well. Although details of the accident were still a bit unclear, News reports were making it out to have been a horrific hit-and-run.
Sam couldn't imagine what type of person would do something like that, nor could he imagine what Mercedes must be going through.
"Ugh," he sighed with a slight groan. Just thinking about it made his head hurt. He gently touched the now almost nonexistent bump on his forehead.
Mike entered the shower area and noticed Sam's demeanor. He lightly grabbed his shoulder. "Sam, you alright, dude?"
Sam nodded slowly. "Yeah," He said before he turned on the shower.
After showering and changing, the guys exited the locker room and began heading to the auditorium for their auditions.
Mike, Puck and Finn discussed the details of their routine before the subject was changed to Sam's routine. He remained silent about what he planned on doing, which only made them more curious.
As they turned the corner, the guys saw Santana and Brittany standing in the hallway outside of the auditorium. They seemed to be practicing their own routine.
Sam was surprised to see them. "What are you two doing here?"
Santana stopped in the middle of harmonizing the song with Brittany. She rolled her eyes and sighed before turning to face Sam, clearly annoyed by the interruption. "I must be confused Trouty, because as far as I know, Hell hasn't frozen over. So why the fuck would you expect me to explain myself to you? You know the drill, unless I feel like joking about your bee sting lips or your village-idiot brain capacity, I don't have anything to say to you. Now be gone, 'I Am Sam'." She said with a dismissive hand wave.
Sam glared at the fiery girl, but chose not to respond to the insults.
"Yeah, and even though I for one have no problem with Sam's enormous mouth, over the summer I came to the realization that from this point on, I, Brittany S. Pierce will no longer associate with people that aren't as smart as me. So yeah, I'm sorry Sam, but I think this'll probably be the last conversation you and I will have…like ever in life," said Brittany.
Sam squinted his eyes in confusion.
Mike laughed at Brittany's bazaar rant before addressing both of the girls. "I didn't know you guys were auditioning too."
"Yeah well, Coach has been a lot less harsh lately. We thought we could get her to talk Schuester or anybody else into giving us credit for participating without us actually showing up. But she wasn't having it." Santana said.
"Well, it was worth a try." Mike said.
Suddenly, the sound of footsteps could be heard coming from a few feet away. When everyone turned their attention towards the direction of the sound, they were shocked by what they saw.
Quinn Fabray, more like the girl formally known as Quinn Fabray was wearing black combat boots, faded black, bleach-stained skinny jeans with a chain attached to her belt loops, a White and Black striped, off-the-shoulder top and a black headband. Her bracelets and fingernail polish were black. She even had a nose ring. And if that wasn't enough, her hair was PINK! Her long blond locks were gone, now replaced with a short, dyed hairdo.
Although she didn't make eye contact, Quinn was aware of the on-lookers. Her facial expression remained 'unaffected' as she headed for the auditorium.
The guys had their mouths hung open, while a scared Brittany pinched her arms, neck and face clearly convinced that she was dreaming.
Santana gasped and brought her hand up to cover her mouth. As she saw Quinn begin to go inside of the auditorium, she quickly walked over to her. "Q, wait!" She raised her voice a bit. When she reached the double doors were Quinn stood, they faced each other. Santana looked into Quinn's eyes which lacked any emotion whatsoever. She took in Quinn's heavy mascara and eyeliner before speaking. "What are you doing?"
The look on Quinn's face remained the same. "What are you talking about?"
Santana looked at her as though the answer should be obvious. "Helllooo, the fact that you look like Avril Lavigne and Courtney Love's long lost crack-baby! Why'd you do all this?"
Quinn stared at Santana in silence before answering the question. "I happen to like it. I was tired of the way I looked before. I wanted a change."
Santana wasn't buying it. "Why? Out of every possible thing you could've done to change your look, why'd you choose this?"
Quinn narrowed her eyes a bit. "I've got a question for you instead. Why do you care?"
Santana sighed and rolled her eyes. "Because I'm your best friend," she said.
Quinn scoffed. "No offense Santana, but if I wanted or even cared about your option, I would've called and asked what you thought about my outfit before school like we used. Or better yet, you could've seen it yourself on our drive to school this morning. Oh but wait, we haven't done that in months either now have we?" She crossed her arms. "Now tell me, how exactly are you my 'best friend'?"
Santana was quiet. She didn't know where Quinn was getting any of this. "What's your problem, Quinn?"
Quinn looked directly into Santana's eyes. "My problem is that -"
"Nope, say no more! I can fix this." Brittany said as she stood in between the two previously bickering girls. She turned to face Quinn, put her hands on her shoulders and stared intensely into her eyes. "Q, I understand."
Quinn had no idea what Brittany was talking about. "You understand what, Brittany?"
Brittany pouted, displaying sympathy towards Quinn. "I know why you're acting the way you've been acting lately. I know why you're so sad and angry. And I know why you don't think Santana or even I am your friend."
Quinn shook her head. "I seriously doubt that you know any of that, Brittany." She said. "And as for you two being my friends, it's simple. I'm hanging out with new people now. That's all. The Skanks have been -"
"The 'Skanks'? You're hanging out with those bitches now? So that's why we haven't seen you at cheer practice or around school this week? OR even over the summer?" Santana asked angrily.
Brittany put her index finger over Santana's lips. "Shhhh, don't get upset. We can't help her by being judgmental." She whispered before turning her attention back to Quinn. "Quinny, you don't have to be a skank anymore. And you don't have to feel left out anymore. We can all be friends again and you can be our third lady friend."
Everyone turned to look at Brittany. The guys were still processing Quinn's makeover, but hearing the news of Brittany and Santana's 'lady friendship' quickly got their attention.
Quinn sighed. "Brittany that is NOT what this is about. I'm not feeling left out."
"Then what's wrong?" Santana asked.
Quinn momentarily thought about telling them what she was going to say before, but now that she's had time to think a bit more clearly, she no longer wanted to do that. "…Nothing's wrong."
Santana didn't believe her. "So what, just because you've got new 'friends' you're going to forget about the squad?"
"I quit the Cheerios!" Quinn said loudly.
Santana looked surprised. "…What? ...When?"
Quinn noticed Santana's reaction. "…The first day of school," she said before storming off, passing by everyone.
Sam watched as Quinn began to walk away. He didn't feel right about letting her leave when she was clearly upset. He quickly followed after her. "Quinn!"
She continued walking towards the backstage entrance of the auditorium as Sam called after her.
"Quinn, would you wait a second?" Sam picked up his pace and finally caught up to her. He grabbed her by her arm to keep her still. "Quinn, stop."
She turned to face him. "What Sam?"
He looked into her eyes. Though he couldn't quite tell what she was thinking, she looked sad. "…What's going on with you?"
Quinn looked around before answering him. "Like I said…nothing's going on."
Sam shook his head. "None of this is you."
Quinn responded. "I've changed now. I'm a different person. It's not a big deal." She tried to avoid Sam's gaze.
Sam knew that she was trying to hide her emotions, which in a way told him everything else that he needed to know. "Look…I know that you and I haven't really…you know talked in a while. That's my fault. When we were together, I didn't treat you the way you deserve to be treated. And after we broke up, I couldn't even make things right…"
Quinn tilted her head down before glancing up at Sam.
"…But I still consider you a friend." He grabbed her shoulder. "I want you to know that you can talk to me about anything." He gave her a small smile.
Quinn stared into Sam's green eyes and knew that he meant what he said. Although a part of her felt the need to keep him at arm's length because of how things ended between them, she also remembered the guy she had a huge crush on for years, the guy he was when they first started dating, the guy she hoped he'd be. She saw that guy standing in front of her right now. Hesitantly, Quinn nodded her head. "…I know. Thanks Sam." She slowly turned and walked into the auditorium.
Everybody else came from around the corner and spotted Sam. They walked towards him.
"Dude come on, we're up soon." Mike said motioning to Puck, Finn and himself.
Sam turned towards the group and nodded before they all entered through the backstage entrance as well.
The show choir members and their coach groaned as yet another audition went horribly wrong. After having already seen about 30 auditions, they were beginning to lose hope that they'd find anyone good enough to join the club.
Mr. Schue leaned forward to speak into the small microphone stand on his table. "Okay, thank you, Avis. That certainly was…uh…something." He crossed off the boy's name on his audition list.
The boy smiled before walking backstage, where Santana and Brittany stood in the wing. Brittany was doing some last-minute stretching while Santana was humming bits and pieces of the song and going over choreography in her head, when Quinn enters the area.
Santana was still a little upset about her argument with Quinn. Slowly, she walks over to her. "…Hey," Santana says, hoping to break the ice.
Quinn looks at her. "…Hi," she said.
"Listen, Quinn…I'm sorry about earlier." Santana softly stated. "I'm just worried about you. Even though lately we haven't been the friends we used to be, all I want is for you to be happy. I'd be willing to except your new…everything, if I knew it's what made you happy. But I know it's not. The clothes, make-up, the hair, the new clique, the attitude…it all just screams 'Miserable,' and that's not what I want for you."
Quinn stood in silence as she listened to Santana. She noticed the sincerity in her voice.
"I want us to get back to the way things were, okay?" Santana asked before giving Quinn a hug.
Mr. Schue called for the next audition. "Next up is Santana Lopez and Brittany Pierce."
Brittany stood up and poked her head out and around the curtain. "That's Brittany S. Pierce!"
Mr. Schue rolled his eyes. "My mistake. 'Brittany S. Pierce'."
She smiled and turned towards the other two girls. "San come on, it's time." She said before reaching her hand out to Santana.
Santana pulled out of the hug and smiled at Quinn before grabbing Brittany's hand.
Quinn thought about Santana's words, mainly her request for them to re-establish their friendship. 'I hope so 'Tana, but it's not that simple. You have no idea how screwed up things have been for me lately.' She thought as the duo walked away.
Santana and Brittany made their way onto the stage and stood directly in the center. They took their positions before Santana looked ahead to the Audio Engineer in charge of handling the recorded music. He nodded, signaling that he was ready.
"Alright girls, whenever you're ready." Mr. Schue said.
Santana smirked. "I hope you guys are ready for us." She said before the music began.
Santana looked at Brittany as she recited the intro with the soft music playing in the background.
Santana:
"See, baby
I know you done had your share of girls.
I am more than confident you won't ever have to search any streets for affection.
I got you
1, 2, 3, 4!"
She and Brittany ripped open their cotton shirts, showing off the red bikini tops previously hidden underneath the now ruined clothing.
The audience gasped, collectively.
Santana:
"What kind of girl you like?
I know my looks can be deceiving.
Tell me, am I your type?
My main goal is to please you."
The girls turn away from the audience, allowing them to see the 'Cheerios' written across the back of their shorts.
Brittany:
"What's on the schedule tonight?
Am I the reason you'll be treating?
I hope you have an appetite.
So tell me, will you come and spend the night?"
They bent down sexily before swinging their hair and slowly coming back up.
Santana & Brittany:
"My love is like, whoa!
My kiss is like, whoa!
My touch is like, whoa!
My sex is like, whoa!
My ass is like, whoa!
My body's like, whoa!
Ain't you kissing it?
So what you think of it? Whoa!"
They begin touching themselves as they go down to the floor and onto their backs.
"My love is like, whoa!
My kiss is like, whoa!
My touch is like, whoa!
My sex is like, whoa!
My ass is like, whoa!
My body's like, whoa!
Ain't you kissing it?
So what you think of it?"
Now on their knees, they face each other and begin rubbing their hands up and down each other's bodies, Brittany wraps her arms around Santana's neck, while Santana grabbed Brittany's butt. They were about an inch away from kissing when suddenly they were interrupted.
"Okay ladies, that's enough!" Mr. Schue said quickly before he stood up and turned to signal for the Audio Engineer to turn off the music. He then faced the girls once again and addressed them. "I insist that you two go change into something more appropriate."
Santana rolled her eyes. "I knew this would happen. Well I'll tell you right now Schue, I don't do that corny shit. You told us we could sing whatever we wanted, something that would allow us to express our feelings in the best way. So sue me because lately all I've been thinking about is loving my girl." She said while wrapping her arm around Brittany's shoulders, the blonde smiled in return before kissing Santana's cheek.
Mr. Schuester nodded. "I understand that, Santana. And overall, I was…surprised by that performance, both pleasantly and unpleasantly. Your voices are good, and you guys showed obvious confidence on stage. However, the performance was very…uh…different, especially the outfits and the dance moves. And the lyrics were way too explicit. We try to avoid songs that feature foul language. My only critique is that you tone it down a bit. Okay?"
Santana and Brittany looked at one another before looking at Mr. Schue and nodding. "Okay." They said before picking up their ripped clothing and heading off stage.
Mr. Schue chuckled and shook his head before sitting back down.
Like most of the other members of the audience, Artie was still in shock about what he'd just witnessed. "That was…" He trailed off as he spoke to Mercedes.
"…Whoa," Mercedes finished for Artie with a giggle. "Speaking of whoa, what's with the huge crowd? Since when do all these people care about Glee club?"
Tina tried to gather the right words before speaking. "Well…most of that probably has to do with you, Mercy."
Mercedes looked confused. "What are you talking about?"
Kurt spoke. "Cedes, people have been asking about you. I know you don't like being fussed over, but they care. I think people are a lot more willing to give us a chance now than they were before."
"…Because of what happened?" Mercedes asked. "Why would you guys think that?"
Kurt grabbed her hand. "Because you're the first topic people bring up when they want to talk to us about joining. All week long, about half the time I hear people mention your name, the phrase 'Glee Club' isn't that far behind. Maybe this is their way of showing that they care." He smiled.
Mercedes was shocked. "I…don't really know what to say." Mercedes was quiet as she thought about what she'd just been told. A part of her was touched knowing that people she didn't even know thought about her enough to support an activity that she enjoyed. But another part of her couldn't help but view the whole thing as one big act of pity, which was the last thing she wanted. She didn't like feeling that way, and she didn't want it to ruin the rest of the day, so she put her thoughts aside for now.
Mr. Schuester calls out for the next audition. "Okay next up, Mike Chang, Finn Hudson and Noah Puckerman."
Backstage, Mike, Puck, and Finn hear their names being called.
"This ought to be good," Santana says sarcastically. "Come on, Brit. Let's go get a front row seat for the train-wreck."
Puck laughed. "Yeah, that's what you think. Prepare to be amazed, ladies. We'll show you what a real performance looks like." He said.
The three boys make their way out on stage. Mike stands in the center, while Puck and Finn head towards the back. After briefly speaking with the band, they graciously step aside allowing Finn to sit behind the drum set and Puck grabs an electric guitar.
"Alright McKinley, let's rock!" Finn shouted into his microphone.
The crowd cheered as Puck played the opening chord to the song. Eventually Finn joins in.
Puck:
"Say, hey!"
He and Finn continue playing before he starts singing.
Puck:
"Hear the sound of the falling rain
coming down like an Armageddon flame.
The shame, the ones who died without a name."
"Hear the dogs howling out of key
to a hymn called 'Faith and Misery.'
And bleed, the company lost the war today."
Mike did 'the worm' before standing back up and standing behind his microphone.
Puck, Finn & Mike:
"I beg to dream and differ from the hollow lies.
This is the dawning of the rest of our lives…"
Puck:
"On Holiday!"
The crowd was going crazy as the boys continued.
Finn:
"Hear the drum pounding out of time.
Another protester has crossed the line
to find the money's on the other side."
"Can I get another Amen?"
The crowd responded with a loud "Amen!"
Finn:
"There's a flag wrapped around a score of men.
A gag, a plastic bag on a monument."
Finn, Puck & Mike:
"I beg to dream and differ from the hollow lies.
This is the dawning of the rest of our lives…"
Finn:
"On holiday!"
Mike did a half-split before getting up and re-attaching his microphone to the stand.
Mike:
"Hey!"
He began dancing around the stage. He did some 'popping and locking' moves, then he spun around before doing a running round-off, back hand-spring, back tuck. He landed on his feet as the crowd went wild and he ran back over to the microphone.
Mike:
"The representative from California has the floor!"
"'Zieg Heil' to the president gasman.
Bombs away is your-"
Mike, Puck & Finn:
"-Punishment!"
Mike:
"Pulverize the Eiffel towers.
Who criticize your-"
Mike, Puck & Finn:
"-Government!"
Puck:
"Bang, bang goes the broken glass that
Kills all the fags that-"
Puck, Mike & Finn:
"-don't agree!"
Puck:
"Trials by fire, setting fire
Is not a way that's-"
Puck, Finn & Mike:
"-meant for me!"
Puck:
"Just cause,
just cause, because we're outlaws, yeah!"
Puck, Finn & Mike:
"I beg to dream and differ from the hollow lies.
This is the dawning of the rest of our lives.
I beg to dream and differ from the hollow lies.
This is the dawning of the rest of our lives."
Puck:
"This is our lives on holiday!"
They finished the song. When the song ended, they were rewarded with loud cheering from the entire audience, including a beaming Mr. Schue.
"Guys, that was incredible!" The teacher praised.
The trio smiled.
"Thanks. I'll admit, we were a little nervous about taking such a huge risk with the instruments and in my case dancing, but we figured it'd be easier than just standing up here and singing, since we've never done it before." Mike said honestly.
"Yeah, and besides, who doesn't love that song? It's awesome, even though have no idea what the hell it's about." Puck said.
"Well it was a great idea. The routine was spectacular. Just try to avoid the use of offensive language. Other than that, good job 'fellas." Mr. Schue said.
The boys nodded before thanking Mr. Schue and exiting the stage.
Rachel beamed as she watched Finn walk down the steps on the side of the stage. "He's even more perfect than I thought." She said dreamingly.
Everyone looked at her.
Blaine chuckled. "Rachel, you're drooling." He handed her a tissue.
She gasped and grabbed the tissue before wiping her mouth and chin.
Artie laughed. "I definitely didn't expect that from them."
Tina nodded. "I don't think THEY expected that from them." She said before they all laughed.
Mr. Schue finished writing his notes for Mike, Puck and Finn's audition. He then called for the next audition. "Next up, Miss Quinn Fabray."
Quinn took a deep breath before she made her way out on stage. There was complete silence as the crowd noticed her new look. She grabbed a stool from the upper-right corner of the stage and placed it in the center. She sat down before turning to look at the band. She nodded, signaling for the guitarist to begin playing.
Quinn:
"You come out at night,
that's when the energy comes,
and the dark side's light
and the vampires roam."
"You strut your Rasta wear and your suicide poem
and a cross from a faith that died before Jesus came."
"You're building a mystery."
The rest of the band began playing as well. The audience was hypnotized by the performance already.
Quinn:
"You live in a church
where you sleep with voodoo dolls,
and you won't give up the search for the ghosts in the halls."
"You wear sandals in the snow and a smile that won't wash away.
Can you look at the window without your shadow getting in the way?"
"(Ooh) You're so beautiful,
with an edge and a charm.
You're so careful when I'm in your arms."
"'Cause you're working,
Building a mystery.
Holding on and holding it in
yeah, you're working,
Building a mystery,
and choosing so carefully."
"You woke up screaming aloud,
a prayer from your secret God to feed off our fears
and hold back your tears. Oh,
you give us a tantrum
and a know-it-all grin
just when we need one, when the evening's thin."
"Oh you're beautiful,
a beautiful fucked up man.
You're setting up your razor wire shrine."
"'Cause you're working,
Building a mystery.
Holding on and holding it in
yeah you're working,
Building a mystery,
and choosing so carefully."
The band played on their own for a little while before Quinn joined back in.
Quinn:
"Ooh you're working,
building a mystery.
Holding on and holding it in
yeah you're working,
Building a mystery,
and choosing so carefully."
"Yeah you're working,
Building a mystery.
Holding on and holding it in
oh yeah you're working,
Building a mystery,
and choosing so carefully."
"You're building a mystery."
The music stopped and everyone applauded. As the crowd cheered, Quinn gave a small smile.
Mr. Schue was speechless as he clapped as well.
Quinn noticed that the man hadn't given her any feedback. "Was it that good?"
He nodded. "It was outstanding."
Quinn was a bit surprised. "Really? What about the slight use of profanity?" She asked, expecting him to tell her what he'd said to the others.
"As of now, I don't think there's really any reason to mention it. Hey, if that's what you guys want, do it. I suppose it's no big deal. That was great." Mr. Schue said with a wink.
Quinn was happy to hear it. She nodded before exiting the stage.
Kurt turned to Mercedes. "What…the hell…is going on with everyone?"
Mercedes laughed.
Blaine patted Kurt's shoulder. "It's okay, Kurt. I've seen this before with some friends of mine at Dalton. Senior year sometimes has a way of changing people."
Kurt nodded. "…Clearly."
Mr. Schue looked at the audition list and saw that there was only one person left. "And last but not least, Sam Evans."
Sam walked out on stage and smiled out at the audience. Some of the girls whistled while his friends and teammates cheered for him.
He went up to the microphone. "Hey everyone," he said before going over to borrow the extra guitar on a stand in the back. As he made his way back to the center of the stage, he saw Mercedes. He hadn't even considered the chance that she'd be here. His heart began to race.
Mercedes smiled at Sam, eager to see his performance.
He smiled back and had a seat on the stool. Then he tuned the guitar for a moment before he began playing.
Sam:
"I'm just a dreamer but I'm hanging on,
though I am nothing big to offer.
I watch the birds, how they dive in then gone.
It's like nothing in this world's ever still."
Sam looked at Mercedes as he continued.
Sam:
"And I'm just a shadow of your thoughts in me,
but sun is setting, shadows growing.
A long cast figure will turn into night,
it's like nothing in this world ever sleeps."
"Oh sometimes the blues is just a passing bird,
and why can't that always be?
Tossing aside from your birches crown,
just enough dark to see
how you're the light over me."
Mercedes was in a trance. She and Sam stared intensely at each other as he began the next part of the song. She couldn't help but notice that he barely even looked at the guitar as he played. She smiled and continued listening.
"And by your side, girl, where the acres grow
into the strong and stunning meadow,
a cowboy stumbling in the finest field
and nothing good out there won't be old."
The crowd began clapping along, in time with the beat.
"Oh sometimes the blues is just a passing bird,
and why can't that always be?
Tossing aside from your birches crown,
just enough dark to see
how you're the light over me."
"Sometimes the blues is just a passing bird,
and why can't that always be?
Tossing aside from your birches crown,
just enough dark to see
how you're the light over me."
Sam finished the song, and the crowd gave him a standing ovation.
Feeling 'in the moment,' he smiled and gave a quick bow before going to put the guitar back.
Mr. Schuester shook his head in disbelief. "Man, did this turn out to be a Fantastic round of auditions or what?" He smiled. "Excellent job, Sam."
Sam nodded and smiled. "Thanks," he said before walking backstage to get his backpack.
Mr. Schue made his way down the center aisle of the auditorium and walked onto the stage. He spoke into the microphone. "Well, well, well. Where do I begin? I think it goes without saying that the students of McKinley are very talented. I'll make my selections over the weekend and post the decision on the bulletin board outside of the Choir room on Monday. Thanks again, everyone. Have a great weekend. That's a wrap!"
After Mr. Schue finished his announcement, everyone began gathering their belongings and exiting the auditorium.
Mr. Schue hopped off the stage and approached his choir kids as they stood up from their seats. "Hey, so what did you all think about the try-outs?" He asked enthusiastically.
"I can't believe we might actually have enough people to compete with us again this year." Tina said excitedly.
Artie agreed. "I know right? And who would've ever thought that some of them would be able to sing the way they did? I'm still really surprised by that."
"Yeah, those last few auditions were almost too good to be true." Mercedes said as she and the others began walking towards the exit. When they reached the door, her cell phone began to vibrate, indicating that she had a text message. Mercedes checked the message and saw that it was from Robbie, telling her that she was outside. She put her phone back in her pocket before speaking to everyone. "Hey guys, I've got to get going. My God-mom's outside."
Kurt kissed her cheek. "Get some rest, sweetie. See you tomorrow."
"I will. Oh, did everyone get the email with the address to the Church?" She asked.
They all nodded or said "yes."
"Yeah, we're all carpooling anyway." Kurt said.
"I'll be taking a few of you and Ms. Pillsbury has informed me that she'll be able to drive those of you that I don't take." Mr. Schuester said.
Mercedes nodded. "That sounds good. My grandmother was worried about people getting lost, so now that won't be a problem." She said.
"Thank you so much for including all of us, Mercedes. It'll be nice to get a chance to meet your grandmother. I've heard such great things about her." Mr. Schue said.
Mercedes smiled. "I've told her a lot about you. And really Mr. Schue, it's no problem. We knew that a lot of people would want to pay their respects in person. That's why we decided to make it into sort of a Memorial. I think they would've wanted it that way." She said.
Everyone gathered in a big, group hug before walking out of the auditorium.
A few minutes later, Sam finished gathering his belongings from backstage and walked out from behind the curtain, only to find the entire auditorium now empty. He mentally kicked himself. 'Damn cell phone.' He thought, referring to the fact that he'd misplaced his phone. He didn't realize that it'd taken him so long to find it, now he missed his chance to talk to Mercedes. However, the gazes they exchanged during his performance told him that he'd have a second chance. He just needed to make sure he didn't miss it. With that thought in mind, he smiled and headed for the parking lot.
A/N: Songs used in this chapter:
"My love is like…Wo" by Mya
"Holiday" by Green Day
"Building a Mystery" by Sarah McLachlan
"The Dreamer" by The Tallest Man on Earth
Let me know what you guys thought about this chapter with a review. I'm going to update my story "Love Always, Mercedes" before I post another chapter for this story, but that won't be too long from now. Until then, thanks so much for the support and encouragement! :)