"78 minutes into the second half of the National Soccer Finals, here in Sunrise, Florida. It's one goal a piece in this game with the McKinley Titans fighting against the current champions and hot favorites: the Brookview Panthers and it is McKinley's captain and center forward Dylan Armstrong on the offence with the ball." The tannoy announced as Dylan sped up the pitch with the ball. The blonde boy dribbled the ball skillfully between his feet and he passed it to midfielder Tom Harrison.
"It's Harrison with the ball. Getting to the outside of the penalty box but loses the ball to Brookview captain Greg Flint. And Flint tries to get it away but Harrison gets it back."
Tom flicked the ball into the box to meet with Dylan's forehead, the ball flying into the top corner of the net.
"And it's in! What a goal from Dylan Armstrong! 80 minutes into the game with 10 minutes to go. If McKinley keep their game up then they've won this for the first time since 1999. What a strike from the captain."
Dylan ran up the side of the pitch, fist in the air as he yelled in celebration. He then waved to two blonde girls stood at the front of the crowd and Brittany and Quinn waved back, screaming in celebration.
After the match kicked off again, and 3 minutes of added time went the referee's whistle blew.
"And there you have it. The McKinley Titans have won the American Junior National Soccer Championships. After coming back from a goal down, two great goals from captain Dylan Armstrong takes the victory for McKinley. What a match that was. And what a way it ended."
Dylan raised his arms in celebration and he took Brittany's and Quinn's hands, pulling them outside the crowd and onto the pitch, where they both hugged Dylan and they watched as Dylan collected his medal and lifted the championship trophy above his head. He then smiled to the girls and gave the trophy to Tom before hugging them both again.
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The Monday after, Dylan was sat in the choir room talking to Santana and Brittany about the match and Brittany was going on about Dylan's medal when Tina alerted everyone.
"Oh my god. Artie!" she said and everyone looked to see Artie wheel in, covered in orange slushie. Brittany ran over to her boyfriend.
"It was awful." He said, looking almost traumatized and definitely frightened. Brittany wheeled him over to the bottom row and sat with him.
"That's it. Screw rehearsal! This ends here and now!" Finn declared, standing up and storming over. Puck, Sam, Mitchell and Mike joined him, followed quickly by Dylan. He wasn't Artie's biggest fan but the team comes first and anyone who attacks his team pay the price.
"We're gonna go all Thunderdome on those guys!" Puck said.
"Count me in." Dylan said with a fire in his eyes as he caught up with the guys. But they didn't need to walk far as they all started strolling in.
"So this is what the ladies' lounge looks like on the inside." Marcus Strando said. Dylan had a bone to pick with that guy. He was close friends with Nicholas and knows they've been in contact ever since the incident with Quinn: Dylan has seen them talking round the side of the 7-11 and scowling at them whenever they walked past and he's known for making quite cruel gay jokes. Not as cruel as Nicholas but it still pissed Dylan off. And they have terrorized Eric on a number of occasions.
"This is the choir room. Now put up your fists because you and I are gonna do some dancing." Sam said.
"No, I got this Sam." Finn said, almost pushing Sam behind him and Dylan glared at Strando, who noticed the dancer and smirked.
"Hey there, Ladyboy? How's Eric? Still working at the fudge packing factory?" he asked and Dylan lunged for him put was held back by Puck and Mitchell.
"You're sick! I'll break you!" Dylan screamed and Strando did step back and his facial features changed to intimidated and almost scared but he stood his ground.
"Coach Beiste told us to come. Where is she?" Karofsky asked as Dylan was being restrained by Puck when he heard Coach Beiste tell the jocks to watch it as she moved her way past them with Mr. Schuester behind them.
"Everyone have a seat." Coach Beiste said to the football players.
"You too, guys." Mr. Schuester said to the glee guys and they all sat down.
"Alright, New Directions. Let's give a warm welcome to the newest members of glee club." Will said and a flash of red flew across Dylan's eyes.
"What the hell?" he yelled above everyone's protests before Jack spoke up.
"This is a bad idea, Mr. Schue. I deal with enough annoying people in this club, must I deal with more?" he asked.
"Mr. Schue, are you serious? These are the guys that made Kurt transfer!" Finn then said.
"And there is no way that I am sharing the choir room with a known homophobe!" Rachel said, pointing to Karofsky.
"Make that two." Dylan added on, scowling at Strando who stood up.
"You wanna go, Armstrong? Oh wait, I don't want to catch homo-it is that you might have caught from your faggot brother and Elton John who left here." The curly haired football player called out and Dylan leapt for him again but was held back by Mike and Sam. Then more uproar started before Coach Beiste yelled out for everyone to calm down. Then Mr. Schuester started to talk again.
"I don't disagree with you guys. But I talked to Coach Beiste about it and she and I both agreed that the kind of bullying David and Marcus do was born out of ignorance. Having him in here, as difficult as it maybe for us, is an opportunity to show them and the rest of the guys that being in glee club is kind of cool, and find some common ground." Mr. Schuester said before Coach Beiste started talking and Dylan let out a little snarl before feeling a hand gently squeeze his knee. He followed the hand that did this to see Brittany looking up at him with a worried look in her eyes. The anger inside Dylan left him immediately and he sighed before placing a hand on top of Brittany's, giving her a little smile in reassurance to which she returned. Then Azimio spoke up.
"If I'm staying, I ain't singing no show tunes. That is the music of my oppressors." He said.
"Do you even have any idea what we do in here?" Finn asked and Mr. Schuester replied: "No. None of them do. We have to show them." Before asking if Rachel and Puck could do a number they prepared. Dylan just looked to Mercedes who nodded. Dylan then turned back to the two coaches and raised his hand.
"Mr. Schue?" he asked and Will looked to Dylan.
"If it's alright, before they perform, me and Mercedes have a number prepared. It kinda suits what most of us are probably feeling right now." Dylan said and Will nodded. Dylan and Mercedes just smirked to each other before standing up and heading to the open space on the choir room floor. Mercedes then nodded to the band and to Brad who started off the song. Dylan then started off with a yell before the music started. After a small guitar intro, Dylan began to sing.
Tired of injustice
Tired of the schemes
The lies are disgusting
So what does it mean
Kicking me down
I got to get up
As jacked as it sounds
The whole system sucks
Dylan looked straight into Strando's eyes as he sang the last 2 lines before Mercedes took over.
Peek in the shadow
Come into the light
If you tell me I'm wrong
Then you better prove you're right
You're sellin' out souls but
I care about mine
I've got to get stronger
And I won't give up the fight
The glee club were clapping along as Dylan began the bridge with Mercedes singing Janet Jackson's parts before they both sang the chirus almost through gritted teeth.
With such confusions don't it make you wanna scream
Your bash abusin' victimize within the scheme
You try to cope with every lie they scrutinize
Somebody please have mercy 'cause I just can't take it
Stop pressurin' me
Just stop pressurin' me
Stop pressurin' me
Make me wanna scream
Stop pressurin' me
Just stop pressurin' me
Stop pressurin' me
Make you just wanna scream
Dylan then began to sing again.
Tired of you tellin'
The story your way
It's causin' confusion
You think it's okay
Mercedes then took the lead.
You keep changin' the rules
While I keep playin' the game
I can't take it much longer
I think I might go insane
With such confusion don't it make you wanna scream
Your bash abusin' victimize within the scheme
You find your pleasure scandalizin' every lie
Oh father, please have mercy 'cause I just can't take it
Stop pressurin' me
Just stop pressurin' me
Stop pressurin' me
Make me wanna scream
Stop pressurin' me
Just stop pressurin' me
Stop pressurin' with me
Make me wanna scream
The music almost stopped apart from Brad with the synthesizer in the background before the two singers joined back in.
"Oh my God, can't
believe what I saw
As I turned on the TV this evening
I was disgusted by
all the injustice
All the injustice"
"All the injustice"
Mercedes then stepped back and let Dylan slide forward on his knees to start his dance solo, which mirrors the choreography in the music video. After the dancer break, they joined back in.
With such collusions don't it make you wanna scream
Your bash abusin' victimize within the scheme
You try to cope with every lie they scrutinize
Oh brother please have mercy 'cause I just can't take it
Stop pressurin' me
Just stop pressurin' me
Stop pressurin' me
Make me wanna scream
Stop pressurin' me
Just stop pressurin' me
Stop pressurin' me
Make me wanna scream
Stop pressurin' me
Just stop pressurin' me
Stop pressurin' me
Make me wanna scream
Stop pressurin' me
Just stop pressurin' me
Stop pressurin' me
Make me wanna scream
The song ended on the last beat and the club applauded. Dylan just smiled to the club before turning to the jocks.
"And that is how a singing, dancing soccer player with his steaming mug of hot chocolate does it." Dylan said, smirking before high-fiving Mercedes and glaring at Strando. Then Puck and Rachel sang 'Need You Now' which was good. And then Azimio had to make a joke about Puck, who lashed out at Azimio, guitar in hand. And the session just went downhill from there.
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"We need to win this Championship and become legends. I mean, look at Armstrong over there." Puck said before pointing in front of him. Finn turned around 180 degrees and seeing Dylan high-fiving people in the corridors.
"He got two goals in the soccer National championship and now he's the Adonis at this school." Puck said before Finn turned back before raising his fist, which Puck bumped.
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"Dylan!" Quinn called out as Dylan walked down the hallway. Quinn had just got away from Cheerios practice.
"Hey, Quinn. What's up?" Dylan asked.
"I need you to get Mr. Schuester. Coach Sylvester is trying to fire Brittany out of a cannon and apparently there is a 70% chance she will die." Quinn said and Dylan nodded to find the Spanish teacher. He ran until hhe found the director in his office.
"Mr. Schue?" he asked and Will looked up.
"Something bad is gonna happen." He said and Mr. Schuester looked worried.
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After Sue Sylvester was told she couldn't use the cannon and went on a major freak out (Dylan knows about that: she tried to push him into the lockers but considering he's 163lbs of muscle, that wasn't going to happen so she just pushed another student into him), it was announced that she moved the cheerleading Regionals to the same night as the Championship game and that the football players had to do the half-time show. Despite their protests, Coach Beiste said something about the week bringing the team together and to bring the school together.
"Wait, you want us to play the first half, change into some sequin ball gowns and then go out and do the half-time show at our own Championship game?" Azimio asked, flabbergasted.
"Yes." Coach Beiste calmly replied.
"It's the Championship game! This is crazy town!" Azimio then proclaimed before Finn raised an issue.
"What about the Cheerios in glee club?" he asked.
"They have a choice: us or the Cheerios competition." Mr. Schuester said.
"Well, obviously Quinn is going to choose the Cheerios." Rachel said and Dylan looked to the head cheerleader. Finn then said something about Rachel not knowing what Quinn would do, to which Quinn looked at him in a weird way.
"I think the cheerleading competition is going to be a lot of fun, but if you go, you miss out on us doing the most iconic song of all time, the Super Bowl of pop anthem: Thriller." Will said and Dylan's eyes lit up and all of the glee club applauded.
"Dylan and Mercede's Jackson number yesterday inspired me." Will then said and Dylan high-fived Mercedes, both of them smiling at each other. Mr. Schuester then asked about the Philippines prison doing their performance of Thriller and putting it on YouTube, to which Dylan nodded and he swore he saw Karofsky nod too.
Mr. Schue the went on to say that when they rehearsed for that, prisoner-on-prisoner crime dropped 80% and that it created a unity, which is what they were planning to do.
"Don't get me wrong, I'm big on Michael and everything but isn't that kind of what they were expecting us to do?" Mercedes asked.
"Which is why we're going to mash it together with the Yeah Yeah Yeah's equally spooky single: 'Heads Will Roll'." Will replied and Dylan murmured in approval with the others before Coach Beiste declared that both New Directions and the Titans were going to zombie camp.
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Rehearsal was a little shaky to start off with but they got there in the end. And after they took a breather, it was time for make-up. Apparently Dylan needed a special mask because he was allergic to face paint but he ended up looking more scary than most of the other guys. But Artie's make-up actually creeped Dylan out a little bit. And Jack's just made Dylan want to vomit. But overall, everyone looked scary that it was cool. And then again, it went downhill.
Quinn, Brittany and Santana chose the Cheerios over glee club. And Finn got all pissed off at Quinn, and then Sam butted in just as Dylan rounded the corner. And when they started pushing each other, Dylan broke them up.
"Hey, hey, hey!" Dylan called out and they both stopped.
"This is really hot, actually." Quinn whispered.
"Would you guys stop?" he asked before turning Finn.
"You need to realise it's Quinn's decision not yours." The dancer said sternly before turning to Sam.
"And you need to stop trying to be alpha male. Finn is the leader. He has been since the start and we are finally getting the school together. No one is becoming a new leader." Dylan said and the two football players just stared at each other.
"Just get to glee club." He said, giving them a light push and they both just skulked away. Dylan then turned to Quinn and just gave her a little wave before heading back to glee.
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After the guys performed 'She's Not There', and performed it well, they were now patrolling the hallways. In fact, Dylan was sure a group of girls fainted after seeing Jack's makeup. But then the hockey players had to go and ruin it by throwing a slushie at everyone as they walked past. And then the football team quit. And no one signed up. But then Rachel told everyone remaining in glee club of an idea she had and Dylan could only join in. Now the remaining members of glee club were sat in the choir room after Coach Beiste broke the news that no one signed up.
"Why can't we just let them back on the team, just for this game?" Sam asked.
"No. We carry this thing through, even if it means we have to forfeit the game." Coach Beiste replied.
"I can't believe this is it." Finn said and then Rachel spoke up.
"Maybe it isn't." she said before standing up and facing the others.
"We wanna join the team." Rachel said, a smile on Dylan's face.
"We, who?" Artie asked.
"All of us glee girls, Jack and Dylan. We wanna join the football team and we wanna play in the Championship." Mercedes said, standing up with all mentioned and joining the line Rachel started.
"Come on guys. Stop screwing around. It's not cool." Mike said.
"What's not cool is you guys not respecting women enough to realise we're capable of playing football. And don't forget who the state champ in Greco-Roman wrestling is." Lauren bit back, joining the line.
"I've got offers from three different professional wrestling organizations after I graduate." She added on, high-fiving Rachel.
"Rachel, have you seen a tackle football game? When they tackle you, it hurts." Will said.
"Yeah, and not in the good Mellencamp way." Puck then said.
"We thought about that. But the truth is, is that you guys don't really need us girls to play. You just need enough players to field a regulation team. So when they snap the ball, we're just gonna lie down on the ground." Rachel said.
"Well, I'm not. I'm gonna bring the pain." Lauren said.
"And Jack and Dylan plan on that too. Especially the former, who's fight club was shut down and needs his anger venting method." Rachel said. Coach Beiste then stood up.
"I guess, they won't get hurt if you stay down." She said.
"Okay, what do your parents have to say about this?" Will asked.
"We all have signed permission slips from them. It took some convincing but they understood what it means to all of us." Tina said as everyone handed their slips to Mr. Schuester.
"What do you think, Coach?" he then asked, passing the slips to Coach Beiste, who looked at them before looking to the volunteers.
"I think…welcome to the football team." She said and everyone celebrated.
"Football team, football team." Rachel said as Dylan high-fived Puck.
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As Dylan, Jack, Rachel, Mercedes, Tina and Lauren walked towards the guys, they saw the rest of the team that quit.
"What the hell are they doing?" Dylan heard Azimio ask.
"What you don't have the balls to do." Finn replied before running over to them.
"Are you ready for this?" Puck asked Rachel and Dylan, who removed their mouthguards.
"Let's kick some ass!" they both proclaimed and they all cheered before the game started.
The Titans weren't doing too well apart from Finn managing to catch a snap and with Dylan's speed, he was already halfway up the field and Finn threw the ball. Dylan managed to catch it and with no one guarding him, he got a touchdown. He couldn't help but celebrate as he received a hug from Rachel.
And Tina made a great run until she was tackled. And then when the player got up, Tina didn't. In fact she wasn't moving. And there was First Aiders and everything. The whole stadium was silent as about 6 people hovered over her.
"Did we win?" Dylan heard and he sighed with relief before they helped her up. Finn then told Sam to play quarterback for the rest of the half and told Puck to convince Karofsky and the others to play. He then turned to Dylan.
"You're coming with me." He said and Dylan nodded.
"Where are you going?" Rachel asked.
"We can't have a half-time show without cheerleaders." Finn replied before starting to run off before Dylan noticed something.
"Wait." He said and everyone stopped and turned to him.
"Where the hell is Jack?" Dylan asked just as he heard a crash behind him. He looked to see one of the opposing players on the floor and Jack standing up. Dylan could only sigh before running off with Finn.
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Dylan and Finn ran to the buses to see Quinn and Santana getting on the bus. They both ran towards them.
"Hey!" Dylan called out and the two girls turned around, their eyes widening at the sight of the boys.
"What the hell are you doing here?" Santana asked. Dylan noticed something.
"Where's Brittany?" he asked and Quinn pointed to the cannon where a figure was stood, staring at it. Dylan ran over to the figure and stopped about half a meter behind it.
"Hey." Dylan said, softly and the figure turned. Brittany looked confused as to Dylan's presence there.
"What are you doing here?" she asked.
"I'm stopping you from going to the competition." Dylan answered.
"I can't, I signed a contract." The girl replied.
"Since when did a stupid piece of paper tell Brittany S. Pierce what to do?" the boy then asked softly and Brittany looked down.
"Listen. I know you. And I know you are one of the most talented people in this school. Hell, probably in this town. And I know that you're happier in glee club. Tell me, if you had to choose one right now which would it be?" Dylan then asked and Brittany smiled a little.
"Glee club." She answered and Dylan smiled.
"So, what's stopping you? And besides, I missed my dance buddy." he then said and Brittany's smile grew before she hugged Dylan who could only hug back.
"I was going to come back anyway so I could see you look hot in your zombie make-up and football uniform." She said and Dylan laughed before breaking the embrace and they both ran towards Quinn and Santana who were already walking away from the bus. Sue tried to convince them to stay but it didn't work, with Brittany saying "sucks for you", making Dylan put an arm around her shoulder.
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The halftime show went so well, it was insane. And Dylan went to change into his normal clothes when he felt two hands press on his shoulder and he saw Puck and Finn on each side of him.
"Play the second half. You're a good player and Jack's playing too. We could use his anger to our advantage." Finn said and Dylan smiled, nodding. Then Coach Beiste came in and told them to leave the zombie make-up on. Dylan could only laugh.
"Hopefully, when they see Jack's they'll faint just like everyone in the hallway." Dylan called out and everyone laughed.
"That's the whole point, Happy Feet." Jack replied before the team headed out.
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Finn called a time out with 10 seconds to go. The score was 21-24 when Jack came up with an idea on how to freak the other team out. The huddle broke with Jack and Dylan mumbling "brains". Then the whole team joined in and soon enough, every single member of the audience joined in and they ended up being so freaked out that when the ball snapped, they didn't even notice. But there was this one guy who was hot on Finn's tail. Luckily, with Dylan's speed, he managed to tackle him and Finn got the touchdown. And they won the game.
And when Dylan turned around, he saw Jack standing over a cowering football player. Dylan laughed.
"I wonder how you got that make-up done sometimes, Harmon." He said before heading off to celebrate.
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Dylan was walking along the hallway. He had received many congratulations on the game and the touchdown in the first half. He was sure that his life couldn't get better. And then he turned the corner and his law dropped to the floor.
Finn and Quinn were kissing. Finn and Quinn, who was dating Sam. Dylan could only list few emotions as he saw the scene unfold: shock and disappointment. He thought Quinn was better than that. Although one thing's for sure: things are definitely going to change.
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Song used is 'Scream' by Michael & Janet Jackson.
Dylan's zombie makeup (remove the spaces): www . majorspoilers . com / become-a-zombie-at-sdcc (it's the first picture on the page)
Oh wow, a chapter so soon? I know, I'm surprised myself. And my muse is currently running on dangerously high levels so Silly Love Songs should definitely be up within the next week. That should be an interesting chapter and quite long too :) This chapter is a lot longer than I expected as well…
Reviews are like sunshine on a rainy day :)