Dylan was talking with Quinn, Sam and Mitchell when Mr. Schuester came in. Rachel stood up.
"Mr. Schuester? I have an announcement. I have selected the perfect moving ballad for Finn and I to sing to launch our performance at Sectionals." Rachel said but Mr. Schuester raised a hand.
"Me first." He said and Rachel sat down.
"Two things. First: our competition at Sectionals are your classic stool choirs. Great voices but they don't move. Now, if we're gonna beat them we have to what they can't: dance." the director then said before stepping forward.
"Which is why I've decided to feature Brittany and Mike Chang's sweet moves in our performance." Mr. Schuester finished and Dylan turned to Brittany with a bright smile on his face. Brittany was looking straight back at Dylan with a mirrored smile but then Rachel decided to butt in.
"Wait, they're going to dance in front of me while I sing my solo?" Rachel asked, confused.
"You're not getting a solo, Rachel." Mr. Schuester answered and Dylan had to try hard to keep the laughter in when he saw Rachel's expression. Mercedes then asked what song she was going to sing.
"I was thinking that the winners of our duets competition would take the lead." Mr. Schuester answered while pointing to Quinn and Sam and Dylan turned to Quinn, putting a hand on her shoulder.
"Ken and Barbie? A-a-are you trying to throw this?" Rachel asked, shocked.
"You used to be just sort of unlikeable, but now I feel like punching you every time you open your mouth." Quinn answered and Dylan smirked at Quinn who grinned back.
"Okay, I have talked the talk about everyone in here feeling special for over a year now. But I haven't walked the walk. We have a lot of talent here and I'm gonna highlight it." Mr. Schuester said and Dylan nodded.
"Yeah. I mean, I watched videos of you guys at Sectionals and Regionals last year and I noticed that the majority of the solos went to Rachel and Finn. A show choir is not just two people. And there is so much talent here that is underappreciated that we need to show it." Dylan said and most people agreed apart from Finn who was stone-faced and Rachel who looked horrified.
Rachel had then whispered something to Finn who said something about not taking the star quarterback out before the big game.
"Easy to say when you're the star quarterback." Tina said.
"Yeah, just because you're co-captain doesn't make you the best sing here." Dylan added on, starting to get annoyed.
"Look, this isn't just about me; it's about the team." Finn shot back. Dylan was about to bite back but Santana got there first.
"You are such a hypocrite!" she said, sounding extremely pissed and Dylan couldn't blame her. He was sure pretty much everyone in the choir room was sick of them stealing the limelight.
"Like you even know what that means." Rachel replied for her boyfriend.
"It means your boyfriend is full of crap, hobbit." Santana blasted back. Rachel sharply turned to face Santana and stood up and she said something about how Santana has been on Rachel's case ever since the wedding and Finn tried to calm Rachel down but then Santana dropped the bomb: "Oh really? 'Cause that's not what you thought last year in that motel room."
When Santana said this, Dylan's eyes widened and jaw dropped. 'This wasn't going to go down well' Dylan thought.
Rachel looked absolutely devastated as Santana explained that Finn had sex with Santana last year. Then Mr. Schuester abruptly ended the discussion before it got even more out of hand and rehearsal started.
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Dylan was retrieving his stuff from his locker and putting it into his bag. He shut the locker door and turned to see Quinn Fabray standing there with a smile on her face.
"Hello, Miss Sectionals Spotlight." Dylan said and Quinn's grin grew whilst smacking Dylan across the shoulder.
"Aren't you going to Sam's to practise?" Dylan then asked and Quinn nodded.
"We're going to do '(I've Had) The Time Of My Life'." The Cheerio then said and Dylan nodded.
"Ah, the Dirty Dancing classic. That's sure to get the crowd going." Dylan replied and Quinn laughed. They then started their journey towards the school doors.
"What about Brittany and Mike? I'm sure they're going to kill it." Quinn said and Dylan smiled but Quinn noticed it wasn't a usual bright Dylan smile. It was almost sort of broken.
"What's wrong?" Quinn asked. Dylan looked to Quinn.
"Nothing." Dylan answered and Quinn gave the boy a look before he sighed.
"I just…I would really like to perform at Sectionals, you know. Show off my dancing skills." Dylan said and Quinn started to giggle. Dylan just looked to Quinn in confusion.
"What?" he asked confused and the girl just continued to giggle.
"You're funny." Quinn then said before walking away. Dylan just sighed and raised his arms in confusion before walking towards the doors.
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Dylan was at the Johnny Donovan gym, wearing a pair of khaki cargo shorts and white sneakers. His boxing glove clad hands collided with the speed bag with velocity and precision and he went on for about 5 more seconds before giving it one final punch, so hard that it slammed into the ceiling above. Dylan then stopped and turned to retrieve his towel from the side of the boxing ring situated in the middle of the gym. The blonde boy dabbed his head and wiped his chest and stomach that glistened with sweat before retrieving his orange flavoured Powerade and taking a swig. He then checked his pulse before seeing a silhouette about 10 meters away from him. He smirked before taking another drink from his Powerade bottle.
"Spying?" he asked as the figure of Johnny Donovan came into view.
"Since I am your coach, I believe I have rights." The boxing coach said with a smile on his face. Dylan smirked before dabbing his forehead again with the towel.
"You seemed a little off today. Is everything alright?" Coach Donovan then asked. Dylan sighed.
"It's a glee club thing." Dylan asked and Johnny nodded.
"Still wanna talk about it? I know your parents aren't the easiest people to talk to. I should know: your dad's my best friend." Coach Donovan then said and Dylan sighed again before turning back to the older man.
"It's just…there's this competition coming up and there are these 2 people who get a dance solo and they are talented kids. It's just-" Dylan started before Johnny finished his sentence: "you want a chance to shine?"
Dylan nodded before feeling the 6'5" man pat him on the shoulder.
"What have your dad, your mom and I always told you? If you want something so bad, fight for it. We never taught you to give up easily and we don't want you to start now. I've seen you dance at competitions and you're a talented kid. We both know you have the talent. You just need the confidence." Coach Donovan said and Dylan smiled.
"Thanks, 'Uncle John'." Dylan said before hugging Coach Donovan.
"Come on then, you've got a match with Harry Gregory next week and he can throwdown some fast ones." Johnny then said and Dylan smiled before walking over to the speed bag.
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After glee club was dismissed, where Lauren Zizes joined to even out the numbers a little bit, Dylan was at his locker. He was going to ask Mr. Schuester about him possibly having a dancing spot for Regionals but then he realised he didn't really have a routine planned out so he planned on choreographing one after school and showing it the next day.
Dylan was retrieving his books when he heard Tina and Artie having a conversation.
"Mike Chang likes cheerleaders. You of all people should know: he's having an affair with Brittany."
Dylan really can't remember what happened to his locker as he stormed off to find Mike after that sentence came out of Tina's mouth but he was sure one of the hinges snapped when it collided with his shoulder.
He searched everywhere until he saw him hugging Brittany and she headed down the road. Dylan ran over and grabbed Mike's shoulder, forcing the Asian boy to turn and face him.
"Listen Chang and listen good. You're not the only dancer in the club who wants a chance to shine. And since I actually like to play fair, I'm gonna kick your ass in a dance-off. The winner dances with Brittany at Sectionals." Dylan said, with fire in his eyes and Mike looked a little taken aback at first before a similar fire burned in his brown eyes.
"Alright. But under one condition…I pick the song." Mike said and Dylan gave a brief nod.
"Wednesday. Glee." Mike said and the upper lip of Dylan's mouth rose vibrated in a snarl.
"Bring it on." He growled before both boys turned on their heels and stormed off.
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That Thursday in glee, everyone knew about the dance-off and people definitely had their sides. Santana, Finn, Puck and Sam were crowded around Mike while Quinn, Mitchell and Mercedes were with Dylan. Jack, Rachel, Brittany, Tina and Artie were just sat in the middle, watching the stare down the 2 boys were locked in. And Mr. Schuester decided to walk in just then.
"Alright, guys. It's time for our first ever dance-off. Remember, if you mess up you automatically forfeit." Mr. Schuester said before turning to Mike.
"Mike Chang. The floor is yours." Mr. Schuester said before sitting down and Mike took to the stage before dancing an eye popping routine to Mike Posner's 'Cooler Than Me'. Dylan watched as Mike danced, giving Dylan a few dirty looks along the way. He didn't mess up once and admittedly that frightened Dylan. But he kept it to the back of his mind as applause for Mike rose through the auditorium. He then sat down and Mr. Schuester called Dylan up. Stood in the centre of the stage, the music started and Dylan started contorting his body with the music in his contemporary style. He could hear clapping along as Dylan continued with his dance and it was going great.
Dylan was about to finish off with a frontflip over a chair and with his running start, he propelled himself over but his forehead collided with the seat and he went tumbling down. Quinn, Mercedes, Brittany and Mr. Schuester rushed beside him as the blonde boy lay there with a small river of blood flowing from the top of his head.
"Dylan? Dylan, can you hear me?" Mr. Schuester called as Quinn and Brittany crouched on either side of the boy, both of the girls looking worried. But then Dylan stirred and he slowly sat up. Mitchell then appeared with a damp cloth and Mr. Schuester took it off the boy before resting it against his forehead.
"We'd better get you to the nurse." Mr. Schuester then said before helping him up with Mitchell.
"Hey, Chang." Dylan whispered as they went past the rest of the club. Mike just looked to Dylan as the blonde smiled.
"Congratulations." He said and Mike just gave a nod in thanks before Dylan was taken to the nurse's office.
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Eric came and picked Dylan up from school and when they got home, Eric helped Dylan into the living room and onto the sofa. He was still a little dazed from what happened but he wasn't delusional or anything.
"There you go, Evel Knieval." Eric said after Dylan sat on the sofa. Dylan held the same cloth from before against his wound. Eric went out of the living room and came back about half a minute later with a new cloth and a glass of iced water. He then sat down next to his younger brother and handed him the cloth and water, Dylan sipping at the water and swapping the bloodstained cloth for a new one.
"Never try something like that again." Eric said, rubbing Dylan's back to which the blonde boy nodded.
"I guess I just wanted to dance with Brittany." Dylan said and Eric's mouth broke out into a grin.
"Looks like my little brother is in love. Is it that blonde cheerleader?" the older boy then asked. Dylan looked to Eric.
"Which one?" Dylan asked with a smile on his face.
"The one that hangs around with the Justin Bieber wannabe." Eric asked and Dylan shook his head.
"That's Quinn. I'm talking about the one that hangs around the one in the wheelchair." Dylan said and Eric nodded in realisation.
"And how much do you want to be with her?" Eric then asked. Dylan sighed before pinching the bridge of his nose.
"I feel like I revolve around her. When I see her, I feel like my whole life is complete. And whenever I see her with the kid in the wheelchair, I…I feel like my heart is glass and someone just through a brick through it." Dylan said and Eric smiled.
"You really like this girl, don't you?" the brunette boy asked and Dylan nodded.
"Well, if you want her so much then you have to fight for her." Eric said and Dylan laughed.
"That's what 'Uncle John' said." The blonde boy said and Eric smiled.
"Well, he's right. You have a lion's heart, Dyl. Let it roar." The older boy said and Dylan sighed.
"You are such a cheeseball." The dancer said and Eric laughed before they hugged.
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Quinn Fabray felt great. She was doing a duet with Sam for Sectionals; she knocked Rachel Berry off of the podium and everything was going her way. But one thing clouded her mind: she hadn't seen Dylan all day and she was worried about him. After what happened yesterday with the dance-off and Dylan's accident, she was worried he might not make it to Sectionals.
But her trail of thought was broken by hearing soft guitar strumming. It was familiar and as she walked on, she recognized it as 'Gravity' by Shawn McDonald, a favourite of hers. She kept on walking until she reached the main entrance to the auditorium. And at the top of the stairs, right in her line of sight was Dylan Armstrong. She watched with awe as the young man was dancing elegantly around the stage like a gazelle. And Quinn couldn't feel nerves radiating from him like she could with the freshmen whenever she walked past them in the hallway. And right then, she knew what she had to do. Turning abruptly on her heel, she started the journey towards her destination.
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Mr. Schuester was marking term papers in his office when he heard the door slam open and footsteps marching towards him.
"Mr. Schuester. We need to talk." The unmistakable voice of Quinn Fabray rang throughout the room. Will looked up and saw that Quinn had an almost deathly serious look on her face so he put his pen down.
"Yes, Quinn?" he asked.
"You need to give Dylan another chance in the dance-off." Quinn said and Will's eyes widened and he let out a nervous laugh.
"I'm sorry Quinn, I can't. Rules are rules. Dylan made a mistake and Mike won." Will said and Quinn rolled her eyes.
"But he had an unfair advantage. Mike chose the song and that made Dylan under pressure to beat him. He needs another chance." Quinn said and Will was about to reply when both he and Quinn felt more presences in the room. They turned to see Jack Harmon and Rachel stood at Will's door.
"What's going on?" Rachel asked.
"Mr. Schuester isn't giving Dylan another chance to show his dancing." Quinn said.
"Quinn. I'm sorry but my hands are tied. Mike was clearly the better dancer." Will said.
"Actually, Mr. Schuester…Quinn is right." Jack said and Rachel, Quinn and Will turned to Jack with wide eyes. Jack just shrugged before explaining.
"Happy Feet has some happy feet. Me and Rachel saw him dancing in the auditorium a few weeks ago. He is talented and he has to be talented for me to say that he's talented." Jack said and Rachel nodded.
"I agree. His dancing was incredible when we saw him. He just needs his own music." Rachel said and Will sighed. Having three of his best performers agreeing on one thing was one thing, but having Jack, Rachel and Quinn all agree on one subject is a different thing altogether. And it was definitely something worth considering.
"Alright. Alright. Tell Dylan to have something prepared for tomorrow." Will said to Quinn, who gave a satisfied smirk before walking out. Will then looked to Jack and Rachel.
"What are you two still doing here?" Will asked.
"I'm practicing my parts for the duet with Bambi. I'm the only one who gets to represent talent in this club at Sectionals so I'm going to highlight it against my better judgement." Jack replied and Will's eyes just widened before the egos walked away.
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Dylan wasn't sure who did it or how they did it but he got another chance at a dance-off. And he got to pick his own music. He decided on something quite popular but still something he was comfortable dancing with so he settled on 'Harder To Breathe' by Maroon 5. Once everyone was settled, Mr. Schuester came in and Mike went first, dancing to 'Rude Boy' by Rihanna. It was good but not as good as his first time. Then it was Dylan's turn and he got through the routine with no mistakes.
Once he was sat down, the rest of the club took their votes and Mr. Schuester counted while Dylan smiled at Quinn and Mercedes who were sat beside him. Mr. Schuester then turned to the group.
"Alright. The winner…by 5 votes…is…Dylan!" Mr. Schuester announced and Dylan's eyes widened and his jaw dropped. 'No freaking way!' his mind said as the club applauded him. He was then enveloped in a tight hug from Brittany to which Dylan could only laugh at before they both grinned at each other. 'This should be good' Dylan thought with a beaming smile on his face.
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Sectionals was here. It was now or never. After Brittany ran through the choreography with Dylan and he knew it frontwards and backwards, they ran through it with the full setlist and it looked incredible.
Dylan was sat at the mini bar, drinking a cup of iced water when a familiar voice broke him from his daydream.
"Well, well, well." It said and Dylan turned to see Kurt Hummel stood there with a smile on his face. Dylan grinned and pulled Kurt into a tight embrace.
"How are you?" Dylan asked and Kurt smiled.
"Fine. No matter how much Dalton protects me, I do miss you guys." Kurt said and Dylan's smile cemented into his face.
"Mercedes told me you have a dance solo." Kurt then said and Dylan's eyes brightened.
"Yeah. Oh my god, I'm so happy about that." The blonde said and Kurt let out a laugh.
"I'm gonna cheer you on." The fashionisto replied.
"You'd better." Dylan smirked and the boys both laughed before Dylan took another sip of his water.
A long comfortable silence filled the air between the two before Kurt spoke up again.
"There's one thing that's been bugging me." Kurt said and Dylan looked to him.
"You were the only one who protected me around Karofsky's homophobia. Why?" Kurt asked and Dylan sighed.
"There was this one guy I know very well. Someone very close to me and still is. He went through exactly the same thing you did…but I wasn't there for him. And I didn't want it happening to you after what happened to that person." Dylan said and Kurt nodded, smiling before hugging Dylan again. The blonde then felt a tap on his shoulder and he turned to see Eric with another man. He was the same height as Eric with gelled, spiky blonde hair and was wearing a white t-shirt with a khaki jacket, dark blue jeans and Converse. Dylan smiled at the men.
"Hey." Dylan said before hugging the blonde man and turning back to Kurt.
"Kurt, you already know Eric. And this is Andrew." Dylan said, motioning to the unidentified man who gave a small wave to Kurt who smiled back.
"Andrew is Eric's partner." Dylan then said and like the last piece of a puzzle was put in, it all came together for Kurt who just smiled and hugged him again.
"Thank you." The Warbler whispered in Dylan's ear and the dancer made the embrace tighter.
"Then go down to the 7-11 and get some. I need Raisinets!" Rachel called from behind the 2 boys and Dylan sighed before breaking the embrace and turning to Rachel.
"Zizes?" Dylan asked and Rachel nodded.
"I'm on it." He replied before running out of the building to the 7-11 next door.
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The Hipsters were actually good. Really good. And so were the Warblers with Dylan and the rest of the New Directions cheering them on. But then hell broke loose in the green room and apparently everyone knew about Finn and Santana's affair. Even Jack which surprised Dylan but the blonde raised his hand.
"Uhm, I didn't know." he said which was true. No one told him what had happened and he was quite glad no one did. But then everyone started refusing to go onstage and Mr. Schuester started yelling before giving an inspirational speech and now they were in the wings. Dylan saw Brittany looking nervous so Dylan smiled and headed over, putting a hand on the Cheerio's shoulder.
"You are going to be amazing. Just remember that." Dylan said before lightly pressing his lips to her cheek and smiling. Brittany smiled back before '(I've Had) The Time Of My Life' started and so did their chance to prove themselves they could win.
Quinn and Sam sounded awesome and the dancing was going good. The crowd definitely loved it. Then Santana went into Valerie. Dylan and Brittany stepped forward and did their choreography. It was filled with flips and tricks that certainly got the crowd ready for the last song.
Dylan ran to the wings to retrieve an acoustic guitar before standing in between Jack and Mitchell. The dancer counted the band in before playing his guitar line. Then Jack began to sing.
I'm really close tonight
And I feel like I'm moving inside her
Laying in the dark
And I think that I'm beginning to know her
Let it go
I'll be there when you call
Jack continued with Dylan adding higher harmonies.
And whenever I fall at your feet
You let your tears rain down on me
Whenever I touch your slow turning pain
The lead then switched to Mitchell, who took it with so much confidence it surprised Dylan. Dylan then began to think he's been spending too much time with Jack.
You're hiding from me now
There's something in the way that you're talking
The words don't sound right
But I hear them all moving inside you, go
I'll be waiting when you call
And whenever I fall at your feet
You let your tears rain down on me
Whenever I touch your slow turning pain
It was back to Jack with Mitchell adding higher harmonies.
The finger of blame has turned upon itself
And I'm more than willing to offer myself
Do you want my presence or need my help
Who knows where that might lead
I fall
And then it switched to Mitchell with Jack's higher harmonies.
Whenever I fall at your feet
You let your tears rain down on me
Whenever I fall
Whenever I fall
As the song ended, the crowd were on their feet and the three boys bowed before watching the 3 show choirs head onstage for the results. Dylan couldn't remember much apart from holding Quinn's and Brittany's hands and hugging both of them when they were announced that both New Directions and the Warblers were going to Regionals.
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Dylan was sat at the side of the stage, strumming his Mahalo U-320C Deluxe Concert Ukulele while the others performed Florence's 'Dog Days Are Over'. He was glad he was teaching himself how to play the ukulele. He loved the instrument and the sound it made. And he would've played more if Brittany and Rachel hadn't pulled him out of his seat to dance with them. Nevertheless he enjoyed it and he knew that he was going to enjoy his trip to Regionals.
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The song used is 'Fall At Your Feet' by Crowded House
Damn myself for not uploading this sooner! I feel bad :( Sooooo, I'm going to make it up to you by posting both the Ellen interview and the 'A Very Glee Christmas' chapter by Tuesday next week :) And with that episode being Brittany centric, Dylan shall be here, there and everywhere.
Reviews make my day so please make mine :D