There's Always Tomorrow
By: Meredith Richardson
Disclaimer: I do not own Glee or any of the characters that Ryan Murphy came up with. I also do not own the song performed by Mercedes, Tina, and Rachel in this chapter, 'We Are' is the property of Ana Johnsson.
Summary: Rachel thought her life was over the day Finn broke up with her in the school hallway… she was wrong. This is the story of a girl that learns there's more to life than boys and singing on Broadway.
Time Line: Takes place right after Glee S2E9 (Special Education) things will go a little AU from there J
AN: Happy Fourth of July to everyone who lives in the USA like me! I hope everyone's having a great day… ooo and happy Canada Day though I know that was a few days ago lol!
Chapter 7: Choir Room Showdown
She stood outside the choir room door trying to convince herself to go inside. This was it. She could no longer avoid Finn Hudson and the end of their relationship. Rachel was kicking herself inside for dating a boy in glee and mentally swore to never do it again. It made things way too complicated. She loved glee club, usually she was the first one there. Now she was about to be late because of a boy. What had her world come to?
The sound of someone rushing down the hall towards her startled her out of her internal debate.
"Come on Rachel, we're gonna be late for glee," Sam's beaming face looked down at her before dragging her through the open doorway. She barely had a chance to look around before he was once again dragging her foreword. Sam gently nudged her into an empty seat beside Mercedes before taking the open seat between her and Quinn.
"Hey Rachel," Tina greeted from the seat behind her, Mike once again in his customary seat beside his girlfriend.
"Glad you could join us," Mercedes teased from her place on the other side of Rachel.
"Hello Tina, Mike, Mercedes," Rachel said politely, "how was your afternoon?"
Mike gave her a small nod, "Had a pop quiz in pre-calc today that killed me."
"I'm sure you did excellent," Tina assured her boyfriend, "You're great at math."
"I agree, they wouldn't have placed you in an advanced math course if you didn't excel in the subject," Rachel stated reasonably.
Mike grinned down at Rachel, "Thanks Rachel. You're probably right."
Before anyone could say anything further Mr. Schuester came striding into the classroom. "Hey guys, I hope you enjoyed your weekend because now it's time to get focused. You were phenomenal at Sectionals. I think we've got a real shot at Regionals this year. So we need to get serious and focus on putting together a set list that will win us Regionals. Has anyone prepared a song they'd like to perform for us?"
Everyone was silent at first, though a few were unabashed and glanced at Rachel to see if she would volunteer. Some assumed she'd rattle on a speech about why she needed to perform a solo at their next competition while others were looking forward to her belting out a song begging Finn to take her back. But Rachel remained in her seat facing Mr. Schuester utterly silent, for once not jumping at the chance to perform a solo.
Santana unhooked her pinky from Brittany's and leaned forward, "I'm sure the midget is dying to perform a heartbreaking melody for Finnocence, or is the song dedicated to… oh I don't know Puck!"
Rachel clenched her hands together in her lap, snatching a quick glance in Finn's direction who also remained completely silent, staring at his feet.
"I wouldn't be surprised if she got down on her knees and begged him to take her cheating dwarf ass back," Santana stated, smirking at the clearly upset young woman.
"Shut it Satan," Sam demanded from his seat between Quinn and Rachel.
Santana turned to look at Sam, "Of course you'd defend her trouty mouth! The midget has a habit of trying to steal Quinn's boyfriends. First Finn and now you. And they say I'm easy!"
"Shut the hell up Santana, we all know you're easy. It was no surprise to learn you spread your legs for Finn too," Puck snarled in Rachel's defense. Rachel flinched at Puck's statement but remained silent.
Santana stood to face Puck, getting right in front of him as everyone watched in anticipation waiting for someone to throw the first punch, "I bet you jumped at the chance to get between Berry's thighs!"
Finn flinched and his jaw tightened.
Mr. Schuester was livid and had clearly had enough, "Sit down, both of you," Mr. Schuester bellowed. "What has gotten into you guys? I thought we decided to cut the drama after everything we've been through last year."
"It's not my fault the Rachel's on a mission to kiss every guy in glee," Santana stated before flouncing back to her seat.
"Santana," Mr. Schuester warned, before waiting until Santana and Puck had both returned to their seats then said, "I'm really disappointed in both of you."
Rachel quietly raised her hand.
"Yes Rachel," Will sighed.
Rachel quickly rose from her seat, walking toward the center of the choir room, and turning to face her fellow classmates, "I apologize Mr. Schue, I'm afraid that the dramatic end of my relationship with Finn has caused quite a stir," she glanced over to look at Finn who wouldn't look her in the eye. "As a fellow member of glee I'm requesting that you honor our privacy and refrain from discussing our relationship."
"She means its none of your damn business," Noah said pointedly to Santana.
"Noah," Rachel chastised and once again addressed the group, "Anyway it's a private matter and none of your business. Mr. Schue is right, we need to be focusing on dominating Regionals," Rachel demanded. A bright smile flashed across her face, "On that note I have prepared a song…"
There was a chorus of groans from several people, but Rachel was not easily deterred, "Mercedes, Tina, and I put together a number that we'd like to share with you that will showcase multiple voices. If that's alright with you Mr. Schue?"
Mr. Schuester grinned, relived that the fighting was over. He would have hated to discipline his kids, it just gave Sue more ammunition, "Go ahead."
Mercedes and Tina moved to the choir room floor while Rachel nodded to the band and announced, "We shall be performing 'We Are' by Ana Johnsson."
As the music began Rachel stood forward in the center of the two girls and began the song while Tina and Mercedes harmonized in the background. Quinn rolled her eyes and thought great another Rachel Berry solo.
See the devil on the doorstep now
My oh my
Telling everybody, oh just how to live
their lives
Sliding own the information highway
Buying in just like a bunch of fools
Time is ticking and we can't go back
My oh my
Mercedes' and Tina's voices became more predominant as they rose to join Rachel for the chorus.
What about the world today
What about the place that we call home
We've never been so many
And we've never been…
So Alone
Keep watching from your picket fence
You keep talking but it makes no sense
You say we're not responsible
But we are, we are
You wash your hands
You come out clean
But fail to recognize the enemy's within
You say we're not responsible
But we are, we are
We are
Mercedes and Rachel both moved back while Tina moved forward to sing her solo, to the surprise of nearly everyone in glee. Mike sat up straight in his seat and grinned at Tina in awe. He'd never seen Tina so confident and sound more beautiful.
One step forward, making two steps
back
My, oh my
Riding piggy on the bad boys back
For life
Lining up for the grand illusion
No answers for no questions asked
Lining up for the execution
Without knowing why
Rachel and Mercedes moved to join Tina as the chorus began again.
Keep watching from your picket fence
You keep talking but it makes no sense
You say we're not responsible
But we are, we are
You wash your hands
You come out clean
But fail to recognize the enemy's within
You say we're not responsible
But we are, we are
We are
It's all about power, bout taking control
Breaking the will, and raping the soul
They suck us dry 'til there's nothing left
My oh my My oh my
What about the world today
What about the place that we call home
We've never been so many
And we've never been…
So Alone
Mercedes moved forward to sing the chorus alone, belting out the notes perfectly to everyone's delight. Despite Santana's previous annoyance she along with Brittany and Quinn began singing along.
Keep watching from your picket fence
You keep talking but it makes no sense
You say we're not responsible
But we are, we are
You wash your hands
You come out clean
But fail to recognize the enemy's within
You say we're not responsible
But we are, we are
We are
It's all about power, bout taking control
Breaking the will, and raping the soul
They suck us dry 'til there's nothing left
My oh my
Rachel stood forward with a look of strength and confidence.
It's all about power, bout taking control
Tina joined her for the second repetition.
It's all about power, bout taking control
Mercedes moved forward to join the girls and hung onto the last note.
It's all about power, bout taking control
The girls were met with a standing ovation when they finished. The blending of their voices had been hauntingly beautiful, and Tina had surprised everyone with her solo. Tina rarely did solos and she'd blown everyone away with her voice. Everyone was also surprised to see that Rachel had willingly shared a song that she could have easily sung alone, even Finn was pleasantly surprised when he finally glanced over to look at Rachel for the first time since watching her walk into the choir room with Sam.
They spent the rest of the practice brain storming ideas on what they should do for sectionals. Mr. Schue was so impressed by the girls performance that he announced a new assignment for the week. Everyone was to get into groups of three or four with people they usually didn't sing with and perform for the group at the end of the week.
"We used a lot of different combinations at Sectionals and it was great. Let's see what else we can come up with," Mr. Schue announced before sending everyone off to pick their partners.
Mercedes, Tina, and Rachel had already performed for the week so they sat huddled together for the rest of the period making plans to spend time together over the weekend. Rachel was shocked to hear the bell, announcing the end of the school day. She had dreaded coming to glee today, but it hadn't turned out too bad. She was still upset that Finn hadn't said a word to her or even looked in her direction. Their relationship was over but she still wanted to be friends and be able to discuss glee. They had to be able to communicate, they were the glee co-captains after all.
Rachel offered Tina and Mercedes a quick farewell before moving towards the doors to wait for Sam who was in a serious conversation with Quinn on the other side of the room.
"That song was hot Berry! I kept imagining you in a tight leather outfit," Puck said striding toward her.
Rachel blushed, "Thank you Noah. I thought it was a great song to showcase Tina's talent. It's a shame she doesn't sing solos more often. Her voice is quite lovely."
Puck shrugged, not really interested in the conversation, "Are you waiting for Evans?"
"Yes, I noticed he was discussing something with Quinn and I didn't want to interrupt…" Rachel started but was interrupted by Finn rushing past them and out the door without a word to either of them. Rachel sighed, "Great, now he probably thinks we're dating."
"Does it matter? You said it was over," Puck asked.
"Our relationship is over yes, but I don't want to hurt him anymore than I already have. We're co-captains and we have to be able to converse," Rachel responded.
Puck nodded, "Sorry princess, but I think it'll be a while before he's gonna be willing to talk to you."
"I know," Rachel said quietly, and watched as Sam walked over, "I'll talk to you later Noah. Sam and I don't want to be late picking up Stacey and Stevie."
"No prob, I'll see you tomorrow morning at your house," Puck nodded to Sam and strolled out the door, ignoring Rachel's calls.
"Tomorrow? Noah, you are not driving me to school again! Noah," Rachel sighed, giving up on Puck responding to her calls. "I'm ready whenever you are Sam," she said turning to him and smiling brightly even though she was nervous. She had made significant progress with Tina and Mercedes but they were a lot easier to talk to than two children.
AN: If you haven't heard 'We Are' by Ana Johnsson you've got to listen to it. It's an amazing song I can just imagine the ladies of Glee blowing it out of the water :)
PS: Thank you for the story alerts you guys are amazing. Please review and let me know what you think of the newest chapters I've added and what you think of the direction I've taken it. I'm also sorry if the performance is terrible I wasn't sure of the best way to write it… it's all so natural on the show. Ryan Murphy is amazing!