DESTINATION
They were supposed to wake up at six. (Of course they were also supposed to be in bed by ten, but that didn't necessarily happen either.) Jesse wanted them all up and to be showered and dressed so they could get a quick breakfast before getting ready for the first day of Nationals which was set to begin at noon. As far as the girls went, Tina was the first to follow orders, but it was only so she could spend a private morning with Mike. Rachel went next. (She was the only one who saw Jesse's point.) Brittany was currently in the shower, but it was nowhere near as fun of a shower as she wanted it to be. She was very upset over the fact that Santana didn't want to conserve water and shower with her. Santana, meanwhile, was still in one of the beds, shutting the world out from underneath a pillow. Mercedes was still asleep on the other one, and Lauren was still passed out on her cot. Which left Quinn. And where was Quinn?
Rachel scanned the girls' room after reentering. It took her a moment before she spotted the top of a blonde head resting on a pillow behind the room's set of chairs. When she had left a little while ago, Quinn had been resting in the aforementioned chairs.
It hadn't been a peaceful night for any of them. (Aside from Lauren). Last year, it was sleep where you dropped. This year, under Jesse's orders, everyone had to be in a bed as it would damage their bodies in dance if they weren't. This meant three to a bed, and when they were going to sleep, the set up was fine until they all agreed that it'd be safer for Santana and Brittany to sleep in separate beds just in case they had problems keeping their hands to themselves. Neither was fine with this as Brittany just wanted to snuggle, and Santana simply never liked being told what to do. She then went on to make some very unsubtle protests about Rachel and Quinn also not being allowed to sleep in the same bed which came off as making no sense given that both girls already declined sleeping in the same spot during the original set up anyway.
Once the new sleeping arrangements were in order, absolutely nothing got easier. In bed number two, Santana and Mercedes kept fighting with each other for space until Quinn had enough and grabbed a pillow and a throw blanket in order to move over to the chairs. Unlike Jesse's paranoia tried to predict, Quinn was in good enough shape where she could sleep anywhere and not wake up with her back as stiff as a board. Still, this didn't cause Mercedes or Santana to act maturely, and eventually, Mercedes was traded for Tina since Santana Lopez was never going to share a bed with Rachel Berry unless she was beyond drunk and desperate. And as far as Rachel could tell this morning, the boys didn't have it any easier. (She did, however, enjoy the fact that Jesse slept in a sleeping bag.)
Rachel walked across the room as silently as she could, set on waking Quinn up first (because they did all need to get up) but stopped when it was clear that the girl was already awake.
"Why are you laying on the floor?"
"I got tired of the chair." Quinn explained before she sat up sluggishly and leaned against the back of said chair behind her.
Rachel sat down next to her, speaking quietly. "We have two beds available."
"More like occupied." Quinn smiled lazily. "Where'd you go?"
"Jesse was very displeased that Tina and I are the only ones ready. Particularly since the boys didn't seem to be fairing much better. They're currently beating us three to two." She explained.
"Well Brittany's still in the shower. So I think we're tied." Quinn sent the girl another smile before sitting up straighter.
They hadn't had an actual conversation since they went out last night simply because the rest of the glee club was busy existing. Privacy had ceased to remain, and two people in a bathroom made for one was just plain obvious. She had still wanted to talk, though, maybe amongst other things. And, well, they were basically alone now.
Rachel halted Quinn's forward progress with a hand to the girl's shoulder. "Have you washed up yet?"
She frowned. "No."
"Then I'm sorry, Quinn," Rachel dropped her hand, "but you have morning-breath."
"And this is off-putting to you?" She returned slowly.
"It's very important to me that the person I'm kissing has a clean mouth. I enjoy practicing good hygiene and all-around cleanliness. It's better this way. Both parties garner more pleasure."
"Oh," was all Quinn responded with. She briefly wondered if Rachel made the person she was with carry around mouthwash or something because she really doesn't remember Finn ever being minty fresh.
"And you're okay with this?" Rachel checked with a smile. Finn had been very disappointed when she introduced this rule.
"No, not at all." Quinn answered plainly. Rachel lost her smile at this. "But I'm fully confident that you'll be changing your mind about this eventually."
"You do?" She challenged Quinn jokingly.
Quinn nodded skillfully before dropping her voice, inching in in spite of Rachel. "I'm very hard to resist."
Rachel just suppressed a whimper because that was so very and unfairly true. And worse, Quinn clearly knew this about herself. Terrible disadvantage.
"Yes, well your breath isn't." Rachel said at last, though it wasn't even true. Of course Quinn Fabray's breath wouldn't smell. The world was just unfair about these sorts of things as well.
"Your loss. I guess you'll just have to be okay with that fact that soon everyone will be up, and we probably won't be alone again until we get home." She drawled with a faux frown as she tilted her head.
Rachel inhaled deeply but made sure to keep up her apparent apathy. "I guess I will."
Quinn smirked in return until shuffling interrupted them. They both lost their smiles.
"Please stop." Lauren grunted from the corner just ahead of them. "I can't listen to that this early. It's like watching the news instead of cartoons over breakfast." She chided. "You're both terrible at flirting. How you got each other to switch teams will forever be the most boring McKinley mystery. Although, as people, I find you much more interesting now than you were last week."
"Well thank you, Lauren, but there's nothing going on between Quinn and I. A-and we weren't flirting." Rachel added on for good measure.
Lauren reached over the side of her cot and pulled out her glasses before putting them on. She sat back up to continue speaking. "As a club, no one in glee can pull off being subtle other than yours truly. And as for secrets, I don't think one's ever been kept. You can relax, though. We're also collectively stupid, and I don't think anyone other than Hummel knows. And Puckerman of course. I enjoy keeping my man happy, and he was very receptive to this news last night."
Quinn cringed in repulsion. While she wasn't exactly happy that someone else apparently knew about her and Rachel and didn't exactly want to confirm anything, she really couldn't overlook what Lauren just said. "That is not something I needed to know."
"And I didn't need to wake up to your sad attempt at flirting."
"We were not flirting." Rachel once again corrected before their attention was all pulled elsewhere.
"Fuck." Santana grumbled loudly from beneath her pillow before roughly tossing it aside and sitting up. "Do you all not see that it's morning?"
"Yes, a morning in which we're all supposed to be up and ready to go to breakfast." Rachel returned.
"Stop talking." Santana quickly directed. "First of all, not that I ever want to agree with Zizesized, but that gross, little thing you've got going? Yeah, more people know about it than people who don't." She stopped and took the time to roll her eyes. "Second, it's morning. We should be sleeping. I say we skip breakfast and just wake up later to get ready."
"Santana," Rachel began tentatively, "I know that you and food don't necessarily have a good relationship-"
"Okay, I'm going to choke you."
Apparently Santana wasn't joking because she was out of bed as quickly as Rachel and Quinn where on their feet, using the chairs as a barrier. Lauren seemed to thoroughly enjoy all of this.
"This is Nationals." Rachel huffed, hands on her hips. "I understand that you had a terrible night sleeping wise, but we should respectively be ready for the day."
"Fine." Santana scoffed. She hated when life forced her into agreeing with Rachel. "You're right. We should all be awake." She shrugged and just to make herself feel better, walked over to where Mercedes still laid sleeping and leaned over the girl's ear. "UP!"
"Oh hell no!" Mercedes shouted, prompting Rachel to sigh, Lauren to look on in entertainment, and Quinn to simply ignore everything.
Once all the members of New Directions were finally dressed for the day, breakfast became brunch given the time. Some of them were happy about this because then they wouldn't be hungry again by the time they eventually had to go on stage later in the day. Or at least they were happy before Jesse laid down some restrictions on what they could and could not ingest. Eggs were out along with anything else that could cause people to throw up or plump up by the time of competition. Also, everything that was okayed was to be eaten in small portions. For every member that had at one time been a cheerio, it had been an annoyingly familiar morning.
When brunch was over with, they once again all had to change. This time into one of their competition outfits of the weekend. (They weren't allowed to wear them before eating due to the fact that Jesse was afraid one of them would spill.) The second changing period took a considerable less amount of time since they were all wide awake now. This all led to nothing but waiting around in one of the hotel rooms. They had about thirty minutes to kill before they had to leave for the auditorium where Nationals was being hosted. Since they were all too anxious to make small talk and had no original songs to write, they decided on playing hangman. First up were song titles, but then they had to quit once everyone began pointing out how much better a certain song would have been for Nationals. The second round was movies, but that only led to arguments on what were deemed watchable or not. Their final round was Phrases Lord Tubbington Said Last Friday. Suffice to say, they were all hanged.
When it came time to finally (and thankfully) leave, it was just a short walk two blocks away. Like always, nothing seemed to be all that different from the competition that took place the year before this one. The first day was obviously the longest which is why it started so early in the day. No one actually took stage until 12:30, but everyone needed to check in and learn when they would be going on. New Directions fell somewhere to the middle of the pack which was unfortunate. Jesse hoped that they would go on early so the lesser half of the club wouldn't succumb to nerves. Instead, they had to wait for about twenty choirs to finish before them. He had a plan to rectify this, however. He planned on finding use for Schuester and would ask the man as soon as he got there to take small groups of New Directions out to the building's lobby every couple of sets. Jesse, of course, had to stay inside to eye the competition, but at least this way, they'd have something to distract them from their own upcoming performance.
Rachel walked through the building's lobby and stopped next to her friend who seemed to be keen on taking in the event. "Everything you expected it to be?"
Blaine laughed lightly. "Yeah, actually. I've waited a really long time for this, you know?" He paused, looking back at the scene in front of them. He'd definitely have to take photos tomorrow for his old Warbler pals. "This is the goal."
"I think we all have." She agreed and surveyed the area herself. She stopped on Finn and Kurt in a conversation not too far away. "He's not really mad at you." Blaine looked back over at her. "Kurt. He knows that you have a once in a lifetime opportunity. He's just upset right now."
"I know, but I think he feels that I'm taking him for granted." Rachel gave him a questing glance so he explained further. "He didn't make me choose between himself and the job so I think he feels that it was an easy decision because regardless, I wasn't losing my boyfriend."
"Well if he had given you an ultimatum, what would you have done?"
"That's not even a question, Rachel. I'd be coming here with you guys."
"Then tell him this."
"I have, but like you said, he's upset right now."
"Well no one ever said relationships were easy, Blaine." She joked.
"Speaking from past experience?" Blaine returned the humor. "Or maybe current events." He hinted before smiling as she looked away. "You're blushing." He laughed teasingly.
"I am not." She snapped her attention back over to him. "As a future actress, I have full control over the flush tones of my face."
"So then what are you guys?" He asked, still chuckling some. "You know, officially. Are you dating or are you still in that in between phase or are-"
"I get it." She quickly stopped him. She really didn't need those thoughts right now.
"My offer to talk always stands."
"I know." She sent him a grateful smile. She really would miss Blaine next year. Kurt should have done his job as a romantic lead and given Blaine the ultimatum.
Rachel's melancholic thoughts were interrupted by the announcement that the first round was due to start.
Blaine took a deep breath. "Well this is it."
She nodded, and he reached his arm over to lead her into the auditorium with the rest of the people in this building. They got about ten feet before someone was stopping them.
Jesse looked to Blaine first. "Scram." Blaine shrugged before leaving Rachel there apologetically. He didn't like the idea of leaving anyone with Jesse. It was a considerably rude thing to do.
Once Blaine departed, Jesse just took over the duties of leading Rachel himself. "Can you feel it? That outstanding little tingle that you get before going on stage, knowing you're going to win?" He sighed. "I miss it."
"Yes, well, I suppose you'll have to live vicariously through your team."
"How about just you? I can guarantee everyone else is immune to those emotions. Only those with everlasting talent are subject. Unlike ours, their talent will fade."
"Okay." Rachel chirped, not caring about Jesse's stage nostalgia at the moment. "Guess what?"
"Have you discovered a switch that turns New Directions into obedient and respectable soldiers that actually listen and don't talk back? Just imagine the possibilities."
"No. I got Quinn to open up to me."
"Do you want medal?" He chuckled lightly, legitimately amused by her apparent excitement.
She frowned. "I thought you'd be happy about this."
"Rachel, look around us. We're at Nationals. I barely care about your relationship with Quinn when I have nothing to do in my life. Why would you think today of all days would be the exception?"
She refrained from getting in an argument over the fact that up until now he had been too invested in her and Quinn and instead went on to tease him a bit. "I apologize. You should know you're missing out on several enticing facts but fine. Let's just focus on Nationals."
"I wasn't kidding. I don't want to hear about you and Quinn until your ultimate and untimely breakup." Jesse ignored the look Rachel sent him. "It's only a matter of time. I actually feel the need to bet on a date with someone. Perhaps Kurt will join me seeing as he'll be around when it finally happens."
Rachel tuned him out after this. If Jesse claimed not wanting to know about her and Quinn, then she certainly did not need to listen to his opinions on the matter. Instead, she just walked with him in silence (on her side) to their seats. Jesse quickly ducked in front of her to take a seat next to Quinn with a wink. Rachel returned it with a glare before sitting on Quinn's other side; Sam on her left. Jesse just leaned back in his seat with a small laugh. He wanted to get comfortable. This was going to be an excruciatingly long afternoon. What New Directions competed with last year was quite poor and 38 teams, most of which had returned, finished worse than they did. Yes, this was going to be long.
Annnnd of course it was. Will, thankfully, kept taking groups of five or six out to stretch their legs which kept everyone off the edge of their seats. But Jesse still had to sit through Every. Single. One. Most of it was just sad. Less than half were respectable. Really, they should think about how many states they actually wanted to count as states. For instance, there was no excuse for Wyoming. He suspected that their choir consisted of the entire state's population. Still, some of them weren't something to just turn a blind eye to. There was more talent here this year than last, and unfortunately for whoever it turned out to be, someone was going to be on the outside looking in despite not being anywhere near as despicable as the Wyomings out there.
After what seemed like forever, New Directions were finally up. Intermissions didn't exactly exist on the first day at length, but they did have about a minute for small stage changes to be made or setup. It was the perfect amount of time for a show circle. Though Jesse usually prided himself in these small moments, he didn't enjoy it this time. He really had no idea what the hell Schuester was doing backstage with them.
Jesse looked over his club. "As you're all aware, you finished twelfth last year. You probably would have cracked into the top ten had someone been able to keep their dopey face off of Rachel's." There were some glares sent Finn's way from certain members (Santana). "Nevertheless, it means last year there were only eleven teams ahead of you and one of them didn't even make it back. Objectively speaking, as someone who genuinely only likes a few of you, you're much improved. Even you can't fail to beat those odds." Jesse grinned. "Have fun." He broke the circle.
Kurt sighed, annoyed. "Why do we even let him speak?"
Mercedes chuckled dryly. "Right?
Jesse ignored all of this as they continued getting ready to go on. He ruffled Quinn's hair quickly as he passed by her. She was not pleased.
"Smiling helps." He advised, receiving a small glare in return.
"Go away."
Jesse shook his head with a laugh as he and Schuester headed back out to retake their seats in the audience.
"Weren't you a little hard on them?" Will asked once they were out of earshot.
"Didn't you come here to see us win?" Jesse returned simply without room for argument.
The pair returned to their seats just as the curtain opened for Kurt, Mike, and Brittany's opening number. Soon Kurt was singing the opening lines of "I Can Do That" from A Chorus Line. As the song continued, Mike and Brittany executed their dance, and Kurt followed their steps as the lyrics dictated. Eventually the three were dancing in sync. They had worked harder on this number over the course of the last few weeks than anyone in New Directions had worked on anything else. Kurt had left the attitude behind and finally earned some of Jesse's coveted respect. Jesse had been pleasantly surprised by how dedicated the three were; working on it outside of mandatory rehearsals. Especially considering it was New Direction's shortest competition number. Still, it paid off because the trio actually looked like performers up there, and if they were going to win based on their arrangements, New Directions was going to need more than Rachel's stage presence.
When the song came to its close, they were given an impressive applause and visibly caught their breath from their dance as the second song started up. The rest of New Directions skipped out onto the stage to the opening sounds of "Mr. Blue Sky." It was to be a fun number with nice harmonies led by Puck and Rachel. (In other news, never had Jesse loathed New Directions more than when the pair briefly tried to refer to it as the "Puckleberry" number. It probably didn't help that this led to a discussion on the portmanteaus throughout the group like they were all celebrity couples or something. Worse, as the amateurs they were, they couldn't even come up with the proper ones.)
"The sun is shinin' in the sky." Puck sang the opening lines. "There ain't a cloud in sight."
Blaine glided over on the stage to sing the next part with him. "It's stopped rainin'. Everybody's in a play, and don't you know, it's a beautiful new day. Hey, hey."
Rachel traded spots with Blaine, sending him back into the rest of the group. "Runnin' down the avenue." The boys panted in the background. "See how the sun shines brightly," Puck joined her, "In the city on the streets where once was pity. Mr. Blue Sky is living here today. Hey, hey."
"Mr. Blue Sky." The guys opened the chorus.
"Please tell us why." The rest of the club joined in. "You had to hide away for so long."
"So long." Mercedes and Santana repeated.
"Where did we go wrong?" They finished the chorus and went into the next section of Jesse's choreography.
"They're better." Will leaned over in his seat to tell Jesse.
Jesse took a moment to respond, mainly because he was having a hard time not laughing. He honestly thought Will was trying to give him a compliment. It was all so hilarious. "Yes. They are." He agreed shortly before they turned back to finish watching the rest of the number.
When New Directions had finished their set, Jesse stayed in the auditorium with Will and a couple members who wanted to watch the rest of the clubs perform. The majority of the gleeks headed out to the lobby for refreshments and relaxation like several choirs had been doing throughout the day. That was over an hour ago now. Currently, all teams were finished competing and were waiting for the results on who was lucky enough to be placed into the top ten.
Karofsky crossed the spacious room over to where Santana stood and handed over the bottle of water she requested. "How long does this usually take?" He asked as he opened up his own water.
"I don't remember." She shrugged. "Last year the results led to a rage blackout."
Dave took a couple sips before trying to continue with some type of conversation. "So New York's pretty cool."
"We really don't need to do the small talk thing."
Karofsky nodded since he didn't really feel like talking either. So far, rejoining glee had gone differently than he originally anticipated. He still wasn't exactly sure why he rejoined. He just figured after his latest prom disaster, rejoining glee wouldn't even be a dot on anyone's radar. Since he was an idiot, no one was really going to focus on the glee aspect. Instead, he'll just be remembered as the guy who danced with the gay guy at prom. Being in glee for the final two weeks of school really wasn't going to screw him over, and he did want to be a part of New Directions. Even if most of the glee kids were sort of weird, they were alright. Unlike the rest of the school, they didn't make any deal out of what happened at prom. Finn just told him it was cool of him to help Kurt, and they all (aside from Jesse) welcomed him back like he didn't leave. Besides, he wanted to at least accomplish something this year and winning the glee championship thing would do that.
The only problem with rejoining was that they got to go to New York. The farthest he had ever been from Lima was Cleveland, but whether it was because it lacked the reputation or appeal, the two cities did not compare. Cleveland was nice and everything because next to Lima it was huge, but New York was just different. Everything felt endless unlike the confinement that was home. And for the first time, he was actually pissed that he let his grades do nothing but slip over the last three years of high school. Because now he was stuck going to OSU at Lima next year when he could have gone somewhere that wasn't necessarily New York, but at least somewhere outside of Ohio.
"We should just stay here." Santana interrupted his quiet thoughts. "Start that colony."
"What?"
"Nothing." She shook her head, returning to her own quiet thoughts.
Karofsky couldn't join her lesbian colony anyway. Maybe she should invite Quinn and Berry. Except then they'd be there so yeah, no. They were out. Brittany could join despite still having some type of affinity for male genitalia. But Brittany would probably turn that idea down. Well, right now anyway seeing as B would be stuck in Lima for a while. Selfishly –at the moment– Santana didn't want to get stuck with her. Going to places like New York and seeing the world outside of Lima all while knowing you had to go back there was basically torturous. Or at least it was for people unlike her girlfriend who didn't wear shirts with Ohio sketched out on them. It was turning into a terrible weekend.
While Santana's internal complaints continued on in one part of the lobby, Rachel was on a mission as she walked through another part. Though her performing adrenaline had long died down, she was still on some sort of edge over everything she had witnessed in the first round. Quinn was simply wrong earlier. They would definitely be alone again before they got home. Rachel was orchestrating it at this very moment as she pulled the blonde away from Sam and Kurt. Confused, Quinn still allowed herself to be dragged through a doorway into another section of the building. Granted, they weren't exactly alone in the new room as members from opposing show choirs and bystanders alike were hanging around, but no one from New Directions was to be seen.
"How was the rest of the competition?" Quinn asked her only after Rachel brought them to a stop.
"You could have stayed and watched, you know."
"Yes, or you could have come out here."
"It's important to watch the competition, Quinn. I expected you to know this. Didn't the Cheerios ever study their opponents? I know Coach Beiste regularly collects game film. It's why McKinley's athletics have approved since her arrival."
"We only sought out other squads when they actually provided a challenge which was rare. In Sylvesterland, no one else was deemed worthy of our time. And honestly, Rachel, we were better than everyone else in there today."
"Yes, from what you took the time to watch. But there were a few teams that were really good. Two in particular. If I had to guess, I'd say they were the ones to triumph over Vocal Adrenaline last year. They have the ability and talent to beat us."
"So what? We're better. I don't need to see them to know that we're better."
Rachel smiled lightly. "That statement makes no sense."
"Why? We have you and Jesse and they don't." Quinn confidently returned the smile.
"You don't think that might be a bias of yours peeking through?"
"In keeping with your weird Cheerios comparison, when Coach wasn't completely losing track of her insanity levels and trying to shoot girls out of cannons, she was actually good at her job. She was ruthless and demanding, but that's why her squads always won." Quinn shrugged. "Jesse's like that. It's annoying, but it usually guarantees victory."
"And just out of general curiosity, what about me?"
Quinn laughed at Rachel's attempt at indifference. "That may be a bias."
Rachel gave a slight shake of the head because now Quinn was clearly just messing with her for sport. She was New Directions' only-time MVP for a reason. Still, she was hardly going to hold it against the girl. Instead, she gave Quinn's arm a small tug in order to pull her forward and continue the get-Quinn-alone plot. Frustratingly for her, Quinn jerked away.
"I would but it's very important to me that the person I'm kissing isn't distracted by glee club competition."
Rachel narrowed her eyes in response. "This is payback for this morning, isn't it? At least I had a legitimate reason. Have you ever read about what a human mouth houses?"
No. Oddly, Quinn had never read about the human mouth, and truthfully, she had no intention of hearing about what Rachel was undoubtedly about to tell her. That would ruin several things for her. Not wanting this to happen, she leaned down and connected her lips to Rachel's for only the second time. Stupid glee club. This could've at least been like the sixth time.
Quinn pulled back somewhat because really, even if New Directions was absent, she still wasn't sure how comfortable she was kissing Rachel with an audience yet. "I'm going to like doing that."
"What are we now?" Rachel suddenly blurted causing Quinn to reopen her eyes along with some separation. She blamed Blaine for this. During the performances that didn't actually require her attention given how poor they were, Blaine's earlier inquiry had been the main topic on her mind.
"What do you mean?"
"I mean after yesterday and today, have we moved forward or is this supposed to start casual…" She trailed off upon the look on Quinn's face. "You don't want to talk about this." She questioned, disappointed.
Quinn hesitated in responding because no, she didn't really want to talk about this. Not right now at least. "I just…Isn't it a little soon? And-and Nationals."
"I don't necessarily think it's too soon. Though, I apologize if I'm demanding too much of you at the moment. I'm admittedly high-maintenance in a relationship." Rachel paused on the last word, hoping she didn't overstep her bounds. "Can we at least say we have a relationship regardless of how weighted you want that to mean at the moment?"
"Yeah." She answered slowly. "And so am I by the way. High-maintenance I mean."
Rachel just grinned. "Then maybe we'll cancel each other out."
"Or drive each other nuts." They laughed for a moment until Quinn continued on seriously. "We'll talk when we get home. I just don't want to think about anything right now. Thinking and panicking can be saved for when our mini vacation is over with."
"Okay." She agreed softly, but the moment was interrupted by the disturbance of members of the competing teams speed-walking past them.
Rachel turned back around to Quinn with a beam. "Do you think they posted the top ten?"
"Hopefully." Quinn didn't want to think about what else would cause a stampede of teenagers.
The pair weaved their way through said stampede and found the rest of New Directions maneuvering over to the sign. Though it was hard to hear over the amount of voices, Rachel was still clearly able to make out Tina's words.
"We're seventh?" Tina spoke. "That's outside the top five."
"Seventh?" Rachel blanched. "What do you mean we're seventh?" She looked to Jesse. "How did this happen?"
Quinn frowned. "Where does it say we're seventh?" Nowhere did it say this.
"Well we're the seventh one listed." Mike explained.
"And that means what?" She returned as the team moved away from the posting to avoid being trampled.
"Yes, if they were trying to place everyone, I'm sure there'd be numbers involved." Jesse assured them.
Will just smiled next to him. "You guys were great. You're in the top ten. We should be celebrating."
Jesse did not return the smile. He saw no purpose in Schuester's presence at this time either.
"No offense, Mr. Schue, but we came here to win." Artie told his former teacher, prompting one of those befuddled frowns Jesse always thought looked to be at home on the man's face.
"We have a planned celebration for tomorrow night." Lauren continued.
"Do we really?" Puck asked her quietly.
"Shush."
"Whatever." Jesse interrupted. "That's tomorrow. Tonight we relax. And curfews. I mean it." He warned because that always works.
None of them got to sleep by their curfew that night either, but it was easier than the night before. Everyone knew where they were sleeping, and there weren't many mishaps, but not everyone was accustomed to falling asleep at that time. It probably didn't help that several members had mini adventures during the early evening. The ones who didn't stay in the rooms, went out within a two block radius (under Jesse's orders) looking for something to do. Sam, Puck, Brittany, and Mike spent their time exploring the hotel; sneaking into rooms that were open and being cleaned. They were playing some type of covert ops game that no one actually wanted to ask about. Oddly, it was the curfew that destroyed the effortless flow of the night. The second everyone returned to their rooms was when everything went on a nice decline.
Despite being prepared that they would definitely be going all the way to the top five, everyone was on edge all night anyway. Once they were all tucked safely in their rooms, they didn't have much else to think about. In a few hours from now, they'd be one step away from their ultimate goal. This led to an assortment of restless sleeps, and honestly, the next day didn't get much better. They repeated their morning routine and ate a small brunch. They were also afforded a lunch today as the day was shorter and organized a little differently. The top ten was the matinée show so to speak, and then there was an hour break before the final round began which would be considered an evening show.
Currently, Jesse was busy filling in some of New Directions on his past experiences on exactly how this works so they'd have a better understanding. Slowly and surely, everyone who wasn't interested was heading to their seats in the auditorium.
"Get under the troll's shirt yet?"
Some were having easier jobs at this than others.
Quinn stopped walking with an aggravated sigh. She shouldn't. She should keep walking like she didn't hear anything. "Is this mood of yours a New York thing or will it be following us back?" She turned around to address Santana. Santana was busy practicing nonchalance as she leaned calmly against a wall while competitors and teammates filed past them. At this rate they were going to be late and out here alone.
"I have no idea what you're talking about." Santana went through the process of buffing her nails against her dress.
"Right. Just leave me and Rachel out of it. Whatever it is." She told her before continuing on her previous path.
"Wow. Whipped already. I would've at least thought you'd hold out until graduation."
Quinn turned back around. "I'm serious."
"And I'm trembling."
Quinn opened her mouth to toss something back at the girl but quickly shut it. Santana only really enjoyed being a constant nuisance when her own life sucked which was the real problem. And since they had been sorta-real friends lately, she took a shot at what it could possibly be. "Is Brittany still set on staying in Lima?"
Santana stared at her with hard, narrowed eyes, and for a moment, Quinn thought that she had dug herself a nice, deep hole to climb out of. However, instead of cutting into her with random insults, Santana softened some; mainly because she had already talked to Quinn once about this and she really didn't want to go out and find a brand new person.
"I just don't understand why she doesn't want to come with me. I sang to her in front of people, and I mean, you're following Rachel, and you guys haven't even had sex. I'm amazing in bed." Santana whined, gradually moving into that weepy place she has a tendency to go to; usually for no reason at all. Lovely.
Quinn really didn't want to deal with an overemotional Santana. "I thought you weren't going to freak out about this until you had to. Brittany's still got summer school. You can't drag her away. She won't graduate."
"But I want to leave now." It was suffocating being at home.
"Then make the sacrifice or don't, but stop taking it out on everyone else."
"Yeah, because it's that's simple."
Quinn rolled her eyes at the attitude. "Do you even know what you're doing next year?" She wasn't sure why she asked. It wasn't actually a concern of hers.
Santana, for her part, at least faltered at the question before responding. "Look. I applied and whatever, and I got some letters back, but I really didn't know what I wanted to do. So I guess I'm taking a semester off which may actually be a good thing. If we have to, me and B could apply somewhere together."
Quinn kept her opinions to herself and refrained from telling Santana that it probably wasn't the smartest idea to plan her future entirely around Brittany's. It would only cause an argument, and Santana would probably view her as being hypocritical.
"You really have no idea what you want to do?" She safely asked instead.
"The plan since kindergarten has been to graduate from McKinley and get in the car and just drive." The only time this wasn't true was when she was on the Cheerios and had scholarships waiting. And Jesus, were the three of them fucking dumb. Santana was quick to shake those thoughts away. "That sounds like one of those stupid, unrealistic dreams now."
"I'm going to be here with my own apartment. I don't think it's that unrealistic."
Santana observed her co-bitch for a moment. "Oh God, you're like happy now." She grimaced. "Q, if we're gonna be lesbifriends, then you need to know that this whole thing doesn't work that way. You have to maintain some type of resentment. Trust me. I've been self-discovered longer than you have." Santana bounced off the wall, walking passed her.
Quinn sighed at Santana's second, random shift in mood and followed after the girl. One day she would have a friendship that caused absolutely no headaches.
When everyone finally got to the auditorium for the second round, there were some notable differences from the first one. The main one was that the audience seemed to be filled with more spectators today since that yesterday mostly consisted of all fifty competing choirs. This was a real audience. However, the majority of everything else had stayed the same. They were set to go fourth, and this time with an actual intermission, Jesse led the team (and Will) in another show circle. From there, Mike pulled Tina aside and gave her words of encouragement in private while Will and Jesse once again returned to the audience.
Will wasn't exactly sure what to make of the show circles. He thought they were good for unity and motivation. Or they would have been had Jesse not kept using them to speak about New Directions' faults. How Jesse St. James decided to lead New Directions had been a question of Will's ever since Emma informed him of these changes months ago. Her news on glee throughout the year had usually rotated between being surprising or confusing. It was clear seeing it all in person that Will had missed a lot. Dave Karofsky's willing presence as well as getting along with the rest of the team was still a sight to behold. There also didn't really seem to be any drama. Rachel and Finn weren't chasing after each other. Certain rivalries seemed to have been put to rest. There was some type of relationship between Quinn and Jesse that he didn't know what to make of. He hoped they weren't dating given Jesse's position at the school. That was a completely inappropriate student-teacher relation. Maybe he should have a discussion on this with Jesse before the weekend was over with.
Honestly, Will had also been worried last year when he left New Directions behind for April's show. He had felt guilty over the slight possibility that they might crumble under the weight of not having a partial, mature adult to lead them. Or ever worse, how were they going to face off against Sue? But seeing them all in action again has removed that guilt from his conscience. He didn't desert them, and they weren't lost. Life in Lima went on without him. New Directions knew what they were doing. Even the underused members were getting the chance to shine on the biggest stage. The opening number to their second round began with New Directions in a tight group, separating at the sound of a piano with only Tina coming forward.
"Was a long and dark December." She sang and apparently Mike Chang knew how to instill confidence. "From the rooftops I remember. There was snow, white snow."
Tina walked backwards back into the rest of the team as they all came together again. They moved in synchronized choreography as one giant, unit rather than small pairs like they usually did.
"Clearly I remember. From the windows they were watching while we froze, down below." Tina led everyone, though she blended right in with the rest of them. It was odd seeing New Directions resemble an actual show choir. Color Jesse surprised. "When the future's architectured. By a carnival of idiots on show. You'd better lie low."
The voices of New Directions entered into the song along with Tina's for the next line. "If you love me, won't you let me know?"
Back when they were still sorting through possible songs, Jesse had forced Tina's hand with "Violet Hill" because it was one of the few songs in their "modern" pile that didn't make him cringe. (The rest simply didn't work musically.) He had wanted their second round to be of the last decade to showcase their musical diversity. Coldplay was one of those annoying bands that were overplayed and given too much praise. It was perfect in representing current music, and so far, Tina was working it. She got through the succeeding verses as easily as she got through the first. It was official. Jesse was always going to trust those of Asian descent. Well, except maybe the North Koreans.
Toward the end, the song's momentum slowed as the piano filtered through, and Tina began to sing the closing lines. "I took my love down to Violet Hill. There we sat in snow." The club filed away onto the stage's risers. "All that time she was silent still. Said if you love me, won't you let me know? If you love me, won't you let me know?"
Tina went to take her own place on the middle riser during the applause break. When the applause finally ended, a different string of notes came from the piano. "Happy Ending" began, and Kurt and Rachel took their leads, almost effortlessly leading New Directions through the song. It was historical really. For an entire song, New Directions performed exactly how a winning show choir should. Though, to be fair, those obnoxious city street drummers who used buckets as instruments could perform this song and sound like a choir. Jesse just hoped they didn't jump the gun. This whole set is actually the best they've ever been as a group. It begged the question of if they should have saved their second set for the final round. The judges just better take all three rounds into consideration when ultimately picking a winner.
After New Directions, the remaining six choirs put on their own sets, and from there, everyone was playing the waiting game. The judges' choices for the top five were posted a lot quicker than the top ten, but they still garnered the same results. New Directions was ecstatic to see their club's name printed on the sign, and this time they actually did celebrate. Now they just had about a forty five minute break before they had to do it all over again.
Rachel rapidly paced around backstage. It was their final intermission before they had to go on or, more specifically, she had to go on. Along with the collective nerves amongst the group seeing as this is the farthest they've ever gotten, there was also an underlying significance about it all. This would be the last time this ever happened. And Rachel had to open for that performance. At the moment, it wasn't great being Rachel Berry. As Blaine had once explained to her, in baseball, when a pitcher is throwing a "perfect" game (She's reluctant to call it perfect because true perfection would only be throwing 27 pitches for the 27 outs.), the rest of the team does not talk to him out of some manly superstition. New Directions seemed to be taking this stance to heart with her right now.
Kurt and Blaine were talking quietly with Sam and Mercedes. Santana and Brittany were sitting close together in silence. Mike, Puck, and Artie were at least laughing while Tina and Lauren both watched whatever it was they were doing with Artie's chair (and they better not be causing a future technical difficulty). Dave seemed to be brooding, and Rachel really hoped he was prepared seeing how this was the first round he really had anything to do. And Quinn, unfortunately, was off somewhere with Jesse trying to calm him down. She didn't like that Quinn got stuck with that duty because Rachel would bet good money that Quinn didn't celebrate in baseball lore and would be talking to her. Then again, Jesse had seemed to be panicking more than anyone else in New Directions, so perhaps this was the best thing for Quinn to be doing.
"Aren't you worried you might put a hole in their stage?" Finn's joking voice startled her into turning around. "Why are you so nervous? Haven't you been waiting for this forever?" He leaned against the wall on her left.
"I'm not nervous." Rachel told him, and Finn sent her a look. One that most likely was a questioning one. She wasn't sure. Finn's face had never been very good at differentiating between expressions. "Not out of fear anyway."
"Oh. Then are you thinking about how weird it is that last year at Nationals we were all thinking about something different?"
Rachel frowned at his words. She hoped he wasn't trying to refer to their relationship in some way. "No." She shook her head before explaining. "It's just this will be the last time New Directions will ever perform together. It feels like this should be the best performance we ever put on."
"Then it will be." He smiled. "We'll be great, Rach." He gave her a shoulder-squeeze of encouragement, and she sent him a small smile in return. Though, she couldn't help but note that those words coming from Finn would have meant much more at a different time. At the moment, they didn't seem like much of anything, but Rachel didn't need to dwell on any of this as Quinn and Jesse were returning from wherever it was they had been.
Jesse gathered all of them around for their final show circle, and they joined hands. "I say this with absolutely no sarcasm." He began. "Congratulations. Being here whether we planned on it or not is actually an achievement. You're one of the top five show choirs in the country, and even if we don't place first, no one can take that away from you. Honestly, having gotten to know each of you over the course of this year, you really should be proud of being here. You are without a doubt the most difficult and stupid group of individuals I have ever been around. How any harmonization is ever achieved is beyond my comprehension."
"Well, no one ever said he wasn't good at giving backhanded compliments." Kurt joked, breaking the circle.
"Super good at getting rid of nerves, man." Sam sent Jesse a sarcastic thumbs-up.
Jesse huffed in response while Quinn rubbed his shoulder in support. He really hadn't listened to anything she had said to him in the last five minutes.
"Then look at it this way," he began, "you're more than prepared to go out there and take this competition from the rest of them. And if on the off chance we don't actually win, as of Friday night, we established acceptable scapegoats. So if we lose, it's clearly Quinn and Rachel's fault. I hope this works for everyone." Quinn dropped her hand with a glare.
"Fine with me." Puck shrugged.
Lauren nodded along, observing the girls. "I think it's earned."
"Besides, every problem we've ever had at a competition has been their fault anyway. Why should this time be any different?" Santana pointed out, and everyone thought over this theory.
"Wow. That's actually true." Mercedes concluded.
Rachel and Quinn were happy with none of this.
"Splendid." Jesse grinned then turned to Rachel. "Ready?"
"Rachel's always ready for a solo." Kurt noted.
Finn smiled. "She'll be great."
"Of course I will." Rachel spoke confidently earning a couple of eye-rolls, but she also got a soft smile from Quinn so really, she wasn't bothered.
New Directions spilt in half in preparation for their second number as they would be using both stage entrances. When they were set and ready, the curtain was okayed to be opened, and Rachel took the stage in front of a stationary microphone. It didn't actually matter what side of the stage New Directions were on, she had their attention from the small gaps between the curtains. Jesse lingered a few feet behind them, and Rachel didn't even need to get through one line before she wiped away his nerves. Apparently, New Directions aiming for a Nationals win had the ability to legitimately make him nervous. He had thought he lost those emotions years ago. It was almost nice having them back.
"Shouldn't you be in the audience?" Quinn walked over to him.
"I will be before the rest of you take the stage. Here provides a more unique view." Jesse informed. "I enjoy the fact that I'll be able to say I saw Rachel Berry perform from backstage before anyone else in the world was afforded the opportunity." Quinn shook her head slightly with a small smile.
He looked back to the stage against Quinn's levity. Frankly, he'd rather just take in Rachel's unrivaled talent and commanding of the stage. It was almost cheating having her belt out the Judy Garland classic. Whether those in the audience knew her personally or not, no one with working eyes or ears could deny that Rachel Berry belonged on stage more so than anyone else in this building. And as his dramatic mind allowed him to concoct, he was choosing to mark this moment as the beginning of her career reminiscent of classic actresses that instilled awe and broke hearts. Truly, a star is born. He loved his cleverness. He should really think about writing a book of idioms.
Jesse leaned over to place a kiss atop Quinn's head, earning himself a frown before walking away. "Remember." He turned back around. "Smile." She rolled her eyes leisurely in response before looking back to what everyone was focused on.
He left for the audience and got back to his seat with enough time to see Rachel sing the final verses. This view was also spectacular. Jesse wasn't even going to allow Schuester's embarrassing and maudlin face to ruin this for him. When it was over, a stagehand cleared away the microphone, and Rachel was given a standing ovation which didn't always happen between songs at Nationals as it was the prestigious competition. He gave himself a nice pat on the back for his ingenious idea of winning it all with a Rachel solo and then waited in dreaded anticipation for "Under Pressure" to start.
Jesse didn't actually trust this number at all. He had been against making it their closing one as he thought it would leave a poor impact on the judges. It's why he most definitely paired it with Rachel's solo. At least then he was confident that it would be overshadowed. It wasn't bad per se (New Directions had done much worse), it's just Jesse had no control over it. Finn picked out the song, and Rachel helped him arrange the vocals, and they pitched it to the club with hardly any protests which only happened because they intended having everyone be given a small moment to shine. (This was blatantly dumb.) New Directions even designed most of the choreography themselves. It was truly their number. Jesse just made adjustments when needed. It was the fact it was their number that made him nervous. Based on years past, they clearly weren't knowledgeable on what won championships. But they were adamant about it, and he simply didn't have the time to waste arguing with them so here they were.
The well-known bass line echoed out, and Rachel crossed the stage to take her new place. As the rest of began coming out from both sides of the stage to also take their places, Jesse decided he hated it already. Toward the middle of their little coming out parade, Mercedes entered opposite Mike followed by Puck who snatched the feathered fedora off of Mike's head. Jesse had been against all of this since props were unnecessary distractions, but since Puck had taken on the responsibility of the song's scat singing, he had felt a hat was a nice touch or something just as idiotic. As Puck began fulfilling his responsibility, he crossed the stage to take a laid-back seat on top of the stage's piano. Lauren unfortunately got it into his head that fedora-wearing-scat-singers all required having a bit of "swagger" to them. Sometimes Jesse really did worry about these people.
"Pressure," Blaine opened the song, and the choreography finally started up behind him—one down. "Pushing down on me. Pressing down on you. No man ask for."
Karofsky came up to join him. "Under pressure."
"That burns a building down." Karofsky continued on alone as Blaine disappeared back into the rest of the choreography. "Splits a family in two. Puts people on streets."
"Um ba ba be." Puck joined in again, still from atop the piano. "Um ba ba be. De day da. Ee day da. That's okay!"
Third down was Santana as she strode forward to take the spotlight with Sam. "It's the terror of knowing what this world is about." She sang. "Watching some good friends screaming,"
"Let me out!" The girls sang behind her.
Sam smiled at the girl he once kinda, sorta dated. "Pray tomorrow, takes me higher."
"Pressure on people." It was the boys' turn. "People on streets."
"Chipping around," Kurt took the fifth spot after some more Puckerman-scats, walking across the stage, "kick my brains round the floor. These are the days it never rains but it pours."
It was back to Puck as Lauren and Mike partnered up to dance until they were in front of his piano.
"People on streets." Lauren and Mike sang together despite not really being able to sing. Of course.
"Ee da de da de." Puck followed them.
Jesse had been against this little segment much more so than he was with anything else. He actually did spend time he couldn't afford to waste arguing against using Mike and Lauren outside of his dance skills and her…whatever it was she did, but alas, no. They all enjoyed dooming themselves.
"People on streets."
"Ee da de da de da de da."
"It's the terror of knowing what this world is about." Tina crossed the opposite side of the stage with Artie. "Watching some good friends screaming,"
"Let me out!"
"Pray tomorrow, takes me higher higher higher." Artie hit his note.
"Pressure on people. People on streets."
Everyone came together, snapping their fingers as the music shifted. Members eight, nine, and four (repeated) where left to stand, huddled in front of the group of snappers. Jesse still suspected that the only reason Sam was given a second part was because he was also blonde.
"Turned away from it all like a blind man." Quinn sang first, and despite his best efforts, Jesse smirked at this. But it was only because it was Quinn. He was sure to go stoic again once Brittany sang the next line.
"Sat on a fence but it don't work."
"Keep coming up with love, but it's so slashed and torn." Sam sang between them and held his hand out to direct the audience's attention all the way over to where Mercedes had moved to stand.
As Mercedes wailed out some "whys" the choreography sped back up behind her while the boys echoed out some "loves."
Eleventh man, Puckerman hopped off the piano and ran over to grab Rachel's hand in order to pull her to the very front of the stage with him as he sang his part. "Insanity laughs under pressure we're cracking." Puck –ugh– tossed his prop-hat into the audience and allowed Rachel to take over as he moved away from being front and center.
"Can't we give ourselves one more chance? Why can't we give love that one more chance? Why can't we give love give love give love give love give love give love give love give love?"
Finn took the final part available and began singing from a few feet behind Rachel. "Because love's such an old fashioned word." He circled around her as the choreography changed into a straight line along the edge of the stage. They all linked hands starting down on one end (Artie) and ending at the other (Mike). "And love dares you to care for the people on the edge of the night, and loves dares you to change our way of,"
"Caring about ourselves." New Directions sang out together, and some of them bounced with energy in the line. Jesse thought the untamed excitement threw everything off. "This is our last dance. This is our last dance. This is ourselves." They let go of each other's hands and retreated back toward the center of the stage.
"Under pressure." Blaine was the last to stay in front of everyone as he sang the closing lines, and they all officially made it back to their starting points.
As always, the applause rang out when the audience was sure the song was over. The crowd seemed much more receptive to it than Jesse was. Schuester was even officially crying, losing whatever shred of Jesse's coveted respect the man had obtained over the years. (Not that much was there to begin with.) Either way, none of their opinions actually mattered. He just hoped the judges were foolish enough to have enjoyed it as, technically, they were the only ones who mattered. (He was sure some little league coach out there thought the performers' self-pride was also important.) So help his sanity, but even with the last number, he actually felt as if New Directions had earned the right to place first. Jesse St. James had no idea how he had gotten to this, arguably low, point in his life. (He blamed it all on a blonde.)