Disclaimer: I don't own anything except the plot and any OCs you see.
Rachel leaned against her locker with a sigh. Yet another day gone by and the auditions signup sheet on the Notice Board was still left blank. Not even Jacob-Ben Israel was ready to join Glee once he learned that they were to replace her since the only reason he would join Glee was to 'get in her pants'. At this rate she'd never manage to be rid herself of Glee. She knew that Glee was on the bottom of the social ladder and the Auditions at the beginning of the year had all but proved that but she still harboured the tiniest of hopes.
"Why so serious? Let's put a smile on that face!" Seth, the guy with the locker next to her said jokingly while taking his books out of the locker. Having transferred at the beginning of the year he seemed to be unaware that associating with Rachel Berry was social suicide. It had resulted in what was the closest thing Rachel had come to a friend that wasn't in fact associated with Glee. Not that Glee had given her many friends to begin with. Still it was nice having small conversations about nothing important in the morning.
"Hello Seth."She said giving him a tired smile. Only to get an intrigued look from him in return.
"What's got you all out of sorts, milady?"She smiled a bit wider at his old world expression.
"Oh nothing, just wish someone would audition that's all."
"Audition?"
"For the Glee club. I sort of promised not to leave New Directions until they find a replacement."
"What's Glee club? What's New Directions?" He looked genuinely confused while she continued to look at him with an incredulous expression. Because Glee might be hated, but it was definitely not invisible.
"It's the school's show choir. Didn't you catch our Toxic performance at the beginning of the year? It was in front of the whole school for an assembly."
"Yeah after that first assembly with the sex education film I have not attended a single one of those." Both shuddered at the memory before walking towards the doors together. "So they sing right? In this Glee club?"
"Pretty much."
"But you like singing right? You're always going on about Streisand and all that, so why do you want to quit?"
"Long story short everyone there hates me and I got sick of putting up with it. But I don't want them to guilt me into joining the club again so I won't be quitting until someone else joins Glee which seems like it will never happen so..."
"I could audition." He said with a shrug.
She stopped in her tracks. "Seriously?"
"Yeah sure. I've always wanted to rescue a damsel in distress." A little dimple peeked out at the edge of his smile.
"You should know that if you're in Glee you're almost certified to be bullied."
He snorted and smirked. "Seriously? Those jocks were beat by Arlington last week and Arlington didn't even have a football team until two weeks ago. Those morons couldn't touch me with a fifty foot pole."
"I could kiss you right now." Rachel said point blank. Because this might have been the nicest thing anyone had ever done for her.
"Well I'm not stopping you! Go on plant one on me. In fact," He leaned in closer with a smirk on his face," I dare you to!" He said, smiling even further as she laughed .It wasn't until she did laugh that she realised it had been a really long time since she had. "So I just go to the auditorium right? And sing something?"
"Yes. Oh I know I could help you with your song selection! I know just the song –"
"Please don't make me sing something from that Happy Girl movie that you talk about all the time."
"It's Funny Girl!"
.
.
.
"Someone's actually auditioning?" Mr Schue couldn't hide his shock. Neither could any of the other Glee members.
"Who is this Seth guy anyway? Never heard of him." Santana said from where she was perched on the arm of a chair in Finn's general vicinity.
"He's in my AP Biology class actually. Just transferred this year."Artie said.
"Oh is he the guy with the professor parents? I think he lives on my block." Tina chimed in. The two were slowly getting back to a state of friendship after bonding over dating one of the 'Populars'. "Williams right?"
"Yep." Mr Schue said going over the one name on the otherwise blank sheet over and over again as if it was that hard to believe.
"Shouldn't he like, be here by now?" Santana said, filing her nails. Rachel was beginning to wonder how she had any left considering that she was always filing them.
"He said he had to meet one of his teachers concerning some assignment but that he should be here in some time." A silence descended upon them as they turned to the resident Diva who hadn't really spoken a word to them in weeks. Not since the run-in at the mall.
"You know him?" Finn said with a jealous edge to his voice. She rolled her eyes because Finn had no right to be jealous. Then again he had no right to still be talking to her either but there he was.
"Yes." That said she went back to the book she was reading.
"Sorry I'm late." Even though he'd assured Rachel a million times that he'd show up she was still surprised to see him there. He slung his bag off onto one of the empty seats and went onto the stage, grabbing a guitar from the ones on the rack near the curtains.
He had stage presence she had to give him that. He stood all alone on that stage and it didn't seem unnatural to him at all.
He walked to the centre of the stage and adjusted the microphone to his height .The ease with which he conducted himself seemed to garner the interests of all the Glee members who hadn't really expected someone who could actually perform, just someone to fill in the twelve members quota.
"This is Pardon me by Incubus." He announced and went straight to the song, strumming the guitar with expertise.
"Pardon me while I burst
Pardon me while I burst
A decade ago, I never thought I would be.
At twenty three on the verge of spontaneous combustion. Woe-is-me
But I guess that it comes with the territory.
Anonymous landscape of never-ending calamity.
I need you to hear. I need you to see.
That I have had all I can take
And exploding seems like a definite possibility
To me
So Pardon me while I burst into flames.
I've had enough of the world, and its people's mindless games
So Pardon me while I burn, and rise above the flame
Pardon me, pardon me. Don't never be the same.
Not two days ago I was having a look in a book
And I saw a picture of a guy fried up above his knees
I said I can relate
Cause lately I've been thinking of combustication as a welcomed vacation from.
The burdens of the planet earth, like gravity, hypocrisy, and the perils of being in 3-D
And thinking so much differently.
So Pardon me while I burst into flames.
I've had enough of the world, and it's people's mindless games
Pardon me while I burn, and rise above the flame
Pardon me, pardon me. Don't never be the same.
Never be the same...yeah.
Pardon me while I burst into flames.
Pardon me, pardon me, pardon me.
So pardon me while I burst into flames.
I've had enough of the world, and it's people's mindless games
So pardon me while I burn, and rise above the flame
Pardon me, pardon me. I'll never be the same.
Pardon me, never be the same. Yeah"
"Whoa." The word escaped Artie's mouth but was on everyone's mind. Even Rachel was surprised because she hadn't ever heard him sing. She didn't expect him to be good! Passable maybe, but not actually good!
"Well." Mr Schue said once he collected his jaw from where it scraped the floor. "Welcome to Glee Club."
Inside her mind Rachel went wild. She felt like she could finally breathe.
She was free.