"New Directions. I would like to introduce you to our new show choir consultant: Jesse St James." Mr. Schuester said. Only Rachel applauded.
"I don't trust this guy." Mitchell was the first to say, surprisingly.
"How do we know he's not gonna trick us into doing something stupid so his alma mater win?" Finn added on.
"I don't think I need to do much tricking to get you to do something stupid, Finn." Jesse bit back and Jenn kept back a smirk. She didn't like Jesse very much but he knew how to insult people.
"Guys, Jesse is just a consultant. I still make all the calls. Now I have all the confidence in the world in you guys, I just think we could use all the help we can get. Because…" he said before turning to the board and pointing at the word 'Nationals' written on it.
"This is is it." He finished before turning back.
"We've been working so hard for 2 years for this moment and that moment is finally here. I was talking with Jesse and he agreed that we should continue with our successful trend of doing original songs for the competition and I was thinking of doing one group number, a duet and a solo." He said before Finn interrupted.
"Rachel and I should sing a duet. We killed it last year at Regionals with 'Faithfully'." He said.
"Yeah, killed us. We lost." Quinn said. Jesse then asked if she should speak and Mr. Schuester agreed.
"I agree that Rachel should sing leader." Jesse started.
"Bias." Jack, Mitchell and Jenn said between 'coughs' but the consultant carried on anyway.
"But Finn I think it's best if you sit this one out. The fact is that most of the guys in here are better singers and Mike Chang who can't even sing can at least dance…you kind of sing and dance like a zombie who has to poop." Jesse said and Jenn couldn't hold her laugh in. Finn voiced his protests and how Jesse was a jerk before Mr. Schuester told him to be more gentle.
"Gentle?" he asked before saying that he thought they were in it to win the "whole damn thing" and then he said that there was only one way they could do that.
"Poison darts?" Brittany asked.
"The Vocal Adrenaline Strategy is simple: identify your best performer and build the entire performance around them." Jesse then said.
"So what does everyone else do?" Mercedes asked.
"And who's our star performer?" Puck added on.
"We're gonna have auditions to find out. I'm gonna post a sign up sheet later this afternoon." Mr. Schuester replied before Finn pointed out it wasn't their style.
"Normally I'd agree with you Finn but this is the big time, I think we should listen to Jesse." Sam then said to the quarterback.
"Well, I'm not listening to either of them I'm too busy picking songs for my clearly winning audition." Jack then said. Jenn just smiled at herself, going into voiceover.
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"I zoned out quite a while ago after Curly over there said the words 'The Vocal Adrenaline Method'. I know about that. Dylan has been telling me about how he had to go through 6 stages of auditioning to identify their best performers. And it was down to him, Sunshine Corazon and some dude named Alex whose house Dylan is living at after he transferred.
Anyway, I may have only been here a few weeks but I already feel like part of this family. Sure I may not be the favourite child, not yet anyway, but I'm gonna work hard to get up the rankings of this club." Her voiceover said before looking around the club, eyes focusing on Rachel, Santana, Kurt Mercedes and Jack.
"They're the so called 'balladeers' and 'powerhouses' of this club. Well they're about to be knocked down. Get ready divas, you're in for the fright of your lives." She finished before smiling to herself.
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"We need to help her. She's overwhelmed and she needs us to help her." Finn said with Kurt beside him on his right side and Jack stood on his left side.
"Seriously? I'd like to put the 'fun' back in 'funeral' just as much as the next girl but why would the glee club help Coach Sylvester plan a service?" Santana asked.
"We're not doing it for Sue," Kurt said.
"We're doing it for her sister." Jack finished and everyone looked to him, their eyes asking "why the hell is he of all people up there?" before Finn carried on.
"Jean is just like us, guys. I mean, she's been an outside and an underdog all of her life. We of all people should celebrate that." Finn said.
"Can I say something? When someone dies, yes it's a tragedy but it's also a part of life. And you can't let death put your life on hold. Now I don't mean to be blunt but I don't think you should be planning a funeral the same week you should be focusing on a setlist for Nationals." Jesse said. "Seriously? You're…you're serious?" Finn asked dumbstruck.
"Actually yes I am." Jesse replied, nodding as if it was no big deal.
"Now listen here, you ignorant little-" she snarled, about to storm over to Jesse before feeling the broad hand of Noah Puckerman tug at her arm to keep her in place before he sat her down as Jesse carried on.
"Do you know what Vocal Adrenaline is doing right now? They're in their-" Jesse started before the redhead finished him off.
"Their third week of 24 hour a day rehearsals and they're on an IV drip? I should know, my boyfriend almost collapsed a few nights ago because of dehydration when I went to see him and I was told the only way to see him was to watch him in the Carmel High auditorium. He nearly vomited onstage." Jenn said, her eyes narrowed and her upper lip was wobbling in a snarl when she finished. Jesse raised an eyebrow before carrying on.
"Do you know what happens with Vocal Adrenaline when someone dies during a number? They use them as a prop. Like 'Weekend At Bernie's'." Jesse finished and Jenn's snarl intensified while Puck still held her back but Finn spoke up.
"No. Thanks for your input Jesse but we're helping Sue with the service for her sister." He said before looking to Rachel.
"Rachel, you said I needed to be more of a leader of this club well here goes: I'm making the call. We're doing this." Finn said and Jenn nodded, smiling.
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Jenn watched as the Vocal Adrenaline boys, including Dylan, finished off a number. Dustin just kept a monotone face as it finished.
"Alright. We need more energy. Oliver, you need to hit the Low Cs because right now you sound like a cat choir being strangled and Everett, try harder. Watch Alex and Dylan next time." He said before looking at his watch.
"5 minutes!" he then called and Dylan smiled to Alex, patting him on the back as the Chinese-American went over choreography with Everett and Oliver while Dylan wiped his forehead before looking to Jenn and smiling. He ran down the stage steps before sitting next to his girlfriend.
"Hey." He said.
"I thought it was 24 hour a day rehearsals?" Jenn asked.
"For some reason, Goolsby seems to treat me like royalty compared to the others." Dylan said before unscrewing his water bottle.
"How's it over at McKinley?" Dylan asks, swigging at the ice cold water.
"Busy. We're planning a service for Sue's sister as well as preparing for Nationals." Jenn said.
"What kind of service?" Dylan asked.
"A funeral." Jenn replied and Dylan just turned pale but Jenn didn't notice as she was looking ahead.
"And we're planning it with Sue. Do you want to-?"
"No." came Dylan's response. Jenn looked to the blonde and saw that his face was ghostly white.
"Dyl, you're as white as a sheet. What's going on? It's just a funeral. It won't be as bad as your parents' funerals." She said and Dylan let out an incoherent noise before it all came together. Her mouth dropped and she had to process it for a second before she turned back to her dancer boyfriend.
"You have had your parents' funerals? Haven't you?" Jenn asked and Dylan looked down, wiping his eyes. Jenn sat back, looking absolutely shell shocked.
"Oh my god, Dylan." She just said
"I just don't want to say goodbye." He said before Dylan stood up and went back to Goolsby without warning. Jenn just watched him massage the sides of his head and pinch the bridge of his nose before Jenn took a deep breath, standing up and walking away.
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Quinn was sat in her room, listening to Dolly Parton when her phone rang. She picked it up and saw 'Jenn' on the caller ID. The blonde raised her eyebrows before answering.
"Hey, Jenn." She asked.
"Hey." Quinn heard the redhead reply shakily.
"What's wrong?" the former Cheerio asked.
"You're not gonna believe this. I went to Carmel and spoke to Dylan. I mentioned Jean's funeral and I found out…his parents never had their funerals." Jenn replied and Quinn almost dropped her phone. She couldn't believe it. She had to sit down and control her breathing before speaking again.
"Oh my god." She whispered.
"We need to help plan them. Otherwise he's not gonna do it and his parents bodies will end up being frozen in a warehouse god knows where forever." Jenn replied and that sent a horrible shiver down Quinn's spine. The mere thought of that terrified her.
"What do you want me to do?" Quinn asked.
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The next day, Jenn told Dylan to meet up with her and Quinn outside the front of the school for her solo audition. Minutes later, the girls saw Dylan walking towards them.
"What about Vocal Adrenaline?" Quinn asked.
"He's got Goolsby in his back pocket." Jenn said to which Dylan smiled out.
"Zip it." He said, smiling before looking to the girls.
"So, what are we waiting for? Let's go see some singing." Dylan said, about to walk in but Jenn grabbed his hand.
"Before that, we want to tell you something." She said, surprisingly softly and Dylan looked to Jenn. If Jenn ever talked that softly, she was being serious about something.
"After what you said when I went to see you rehearse…about your parents, I talked to Quinn and we both agreed that since you wouldn't we…" Jenn started and Dylan's facial expression morphed from worry into confusion and then into anger.
"You…you've planned my parents' funerals? What the hell?" Dylan said, putting his hands to his head.
"Dylan. They have to happen. Do you want your parents' bodies to rot?" Jenn asked.
"Well they're gonna rot in the ground if they happen! I'd rather have them frozen than have them slowly eaten by maggots!" Dylan yelled before his eyes widened and his mouth dropped, his hands covering it. He then dropped to his knees and hunched over, openly sobbing. Both of the girls then looked to each other before kneeling beside the boy.
"You don't mean that. And you can't have this plaguing you for the rest of your life. You have to do it, Dylan." Quinn said. Dylan's head raised to reveal tear tracks and Quinn reached inside her cardigan pocket and pulled out a packet of Kleenex, handing them to Dylan.
"I want them to see me sing. To see me graduate. To see me move to New York and do my Broadway debut." Dylan said, a small smile creeping as he thought about his dreams.
"They will. You know they will. Even after what happened, they still will. But you have to let them go if you want all of that to happen. Because with this on your mind, you won't be able to concentrate on anything but them. And they want you to do well." Quinn then said and Dylan let out a shaky breath before nodding.
"Okay." He whispered and the girls smiled, helping the boy up.
"The service is Thursday night. Everyone in the glee club is going to be there and Blaine and we've talked to Eric about this and he's going to be there too with Andrew." Jenn said and Dylan nodded before wiping away the rest of his tears.
"Come on then. I'm not having you miss out the chance on a solo for Nationals." He said and the girls giggled before heading inside.
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Jenn and Dylan heard every performance. Santana's 'Back To Black' which was awesome. Kurt's 'Some People' which was humbling. Jack's 'Out There' which was astounding. Mercede's 'Try A Little Tenderness' which was outstanding. But Jesse had to shoot them down. And then Rachel sang 'My Man' which was just breathtaking. And Jesse complimented her. Jenn wanted to yell "bias!" but that would ruin her chances. She headed onstage and to the microphone.
"I'm Jennifer McGraw and I'll be singing 'All I Want Is You' by U2." Jenn said and Mr. Schuester raised his eyebrows.
"Wow. I'm surprised. I wasn't expecting that to be in your wheelhouse." He said and Jenn smiled.
"That's the idea." She replied before Jesse spoke up.
"I've heard you're the newest member of the group and you've never sang solo in front of an audience. I'm not sure you're ready, especially with the audience watching the National show choir championship." Jesse said and Jenn's eyes narrowed.
"You haven't even heard me sing yet. Watch and learn, St James." She said and Jesse shrugged before Jenn nodded to the acoustic guitarist who started and Jenn began to sing in her lower register.
You say you want
Diamonds on a ring of gold
You say you want
Your story to remain untold
But all the promises we make
From the cradle to the grave
When all I want is you
Jenn took the microphone from the stand and stepped forward, more guitarists coming in as she began the next verse.
You say you'll give me
A highway with no one on it
Treasure just to look upon it
All the riches in the night
Dylan watched his girlfriend, almost captivated by her voice. This was completely different to her audition but Dylan didn't care. She sounded amazing. He then remembered his other job and he got his phone out, secretly writing a text.
'Brand new
Broadway
Boyband'
He then sent it and saw the recipient reach into his pocket, pull his phone out and look to Dylan who nodded. The recipient nodded back before looking back to Jenn.
You say you'll give me
Eyes in a moon of blindness
A river in a time of dryness
A harbour in the tempest
But all the promises we make
From the cradle to the grave
When all I want is you
Cue the electric guitar and drums as Jenn began to sing, not her highest but putting every ounce of power into it.
All I want is you
All I want is you
When all I want is you
All I want is you
All I want is you
Jenn took a deep breath and belted out the last note.
You!
She heard the applause just as she finished the note and she opened her eyes to see Mr. Schuester on his feet and Jesse actually clapping.
"Wow, Jenn. Wow." Mr. Schuester said.
"I have to say, you surprised me. You're a dark horse. Well done." Jesse said and Jenn smirked before Mr. Schuester said he would take a couple of days to decide who got the solo and that he would let them know by Friday.
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Jean's funeral went well, funeral wise, with the club singing 'Pure Imagination' which was Jean's favorite song and Sue said thank you. But Jenn was worried. Dylan was supposed to be there and he didn't show up. And after the service, she got a text from him saying 'I can't'.
His parents service was a couple of hours after Jean's and Jenn spent tose hours trying to find him. She eventually found him on a bench that was opposite the church the service was going to be. She walked over and sat next to the black suit wearing Dylan as he just stared at the church.
"Ever since the whole thing happened, my life has gone downhill. My anger issues have gotten worse, I swear I would never touch alcohol and I end up having 7 screwdrivers and a Stella Artois when I see you again for the first time in 2 years. I cheat on you with Brittany and…I just feel like my heart is being slowly dissected everytime I walk past my old house and how the need, the urge to go inside, sit on the couch, and wait for my mom and dad to get back from work when I realise that…it won't happen again." Dylan said, his voice beginning to crack and Jenn stood up, placed a kiss on his forehead and hugged him.
"You can't live like this, Dyl. In trauma. In fear. In distress. They would hate it if you just lived your life like this. They want you to be yourself. To follow your dreams. To be happy." Jenn said and Dylan nodded.
"Are you sure you're ready for this?" she asked and Dylan took Jenn's hand.
"It's what they want." He said and Jenn smiled, kissing her boyfriend reassuringly before they headed into the church.
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"Their son, Dylan Micah, would like to say a few words." The priest said and Dylan headed up to the stand with his paper and cleared his throat before beginning to speak.
"My mom and dad were born within 3 days of each other. They lived on the same street, their parents were best friends. It's weird how they didn't properly meet each other until they went to college.
They were the most giving people ever. I mean, they gave 4 kids to this world. 3 sons: myself, Eric Benjamin and Nicholas Kyle. And a beautiful little girl called Sophia Faith who shall be waiting for them in heaven with open arms.
I remember when I was little and me and my mom would watch Footloose, Flashdance, Fame, any classic musical movie. And there was me dancing around the living room with dad saying to get out of the way and my mom telling me I could be the next Gene Kelly or Fred Astaire. And they told me that they'd be the first people to buy tickets to my first Broadway show, even if I was in the chorus line. They would be so supportive of what I wanted to be even though I kept changing it every 2 days before deciding on being on Broadway. And I would see the Tony award highlights on YouTube and go 'I'm gonna be there Mom, Dad. Just wait'. I'm going to do it for them.
They loved to hear me sing so I'm going to sing a song for them to show that I'll be singing on." Dylan said, his voice once again cracking before he nodded to the piano player, who began to play. Dylan let the music run through him before singing every word for his parents.
Seems like it was yesterday when I saw your face
You told me how proud you were but I walked away
If only I knew what I know today
I would hold you in my arms
I would take the pain away
Thank you for all you've done
Forgive all your mistakes
There's nothing I wouldn't do
To hear your voice again
Sometimes I want to call you but I know you won't be there
I'm sorry for blaming you for everything I just couldn't do
And I've hurt myself by hurting you
Some days I feel broke inside but I won't admit
Sometimes I just want to hide 'cause it's you I miss
You know it's so hard to say goodbye when it comes to this
Would you tell me I was wrong?
Would you help me understand?
Are you looking down upon me?
Are you proud of who I am?
There's nothing I wouldn't do
To have just one more chance
To look into your eyes and see you looking back
I'm sorry for blaming you for everything I just couldn't do
And I've hurt myself
If I had just one more day, I would tell you how much that
I've missed you since you've been away
Oh, it's dangerous
It's so out of line to try to turn back time
I'm sorry for blaming you for everything I just couldn't do
And I've hurt myself
By hurting you
Dylan then finished, tears running down his face, his eyes bloodshot red and his body shaking. Pretty much like almost everyone in the church. He just mouthed 'thank you' before reciving a hug from his girlfriend.
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The few guests were now stood outside, watching as the coffins were being lowered. Dylan had his hands tightly clasped with Jenn's and Quinn's. He shared sorrowful looks with Eric before spotting something behind him. He kept looking until everyone turned around and saw it too. It was 3 figures, dressed in faded jeans and t-shirts. They all looked too familiar to Dylan: Azimio Adams, Marcus Strando and the rival that ha to be related to him: Nicholas Armstrong.
"What do you want, Nicholas? You're not invited." Eric asked.
"Shut up, faggot." Nicholas snarled back and Dylan wanted to run over and rip his head off but Jenn's surprisingly strong grip kept him in place.
"I'm here because it's my parents funeral." Nicholas replied.
"Then why did you bring your lackies?" Kurt then asked.
"To beat the living hell out of the people that killed my parents. And you can shut up too, Carson Kressley." Nicholas repled. Kurt's eyes narrowed along with Blaine's and Jack's too, probably because of Nicholas stealing his insult.
"You shut up now. And the person that killed mom and dad is dead, Nicholas." Dylan said coldly.
"No, they're not. They're standing right there." Nicholas said, pointing to Eric and Andrew. Dylan's eyes roared into towering infernos as he broke out of Jenn's grasp.
"What did you just say?" he asked.
"God knows what they were doing in the backseat of that car. Hell, they probably killed mom and dad because they looked-" he started before Dylan reached his older brother and cracked him hard on the left side of his jaw. Nicholas fell to the floor while Azimio and Strando leapt for Dylan.
"Don't!" Nicholas yelled before they, or anyone else, could get involved. Nicholas stood up and wiped the blood from his chin before looking past Dylan to lock eyes with Quinn, who looked absolutely petrified of the Armstrong sibling.
"Ah, I remember that pretty face anywhere. Still looking for a release baby?" He asked, beginning to walk over. Quinn hid behind Finn and Puck but before Nicholas could reach her, Dylan grabbed him by the back of his shoulder and pulled him to the floor, punching him. Azimio and Strando tried to attack Dylan but the glee boys and Blaine got stuck in to them, prepared to fight for Dylan. The girls and Mr. Schuester eventually managed to break up that fight but no one could pry Dylan and Nicholas away from each other with a crowbar. That was until a voice filled the air.
"Stop!" it yelled and Dylan stopped, a raised fist in the air about to strike but he looked over his shoulder to find out whoever said that because it worked. He looked to see everyone looking to Brittany who was breathing heavily and had tears running down her face. Dylan looked to Brittany before looking back to Nicholas who pushed Dylan off of him and stepped back, Azimio and Strando running to his side.
"This isn't over." He snarled, pointing to the youngest Armstrong before turning and walking away. Dylan breathed deeply before turning and seeing Brittany walk up to him and hugging him. Dylan alarmingly looked to Jenn but she just nodded. Dylan returned the hug.
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The next day, the announcement sheet was posted but it didn't say a winner, it said that there was an emergency glee meeting at 3:30. The atmosphere was tense and awkward before Mr. Schuester walked in.
"Oh, Mr. Schue. Thank God you're here to put these trolls out of their misery. Can you just announce my win so I can get on with teasing the losers?" Santana asked.
"I heard your performance, Santana. This is mine and you know it." Kurt replied.
"Don't count on it." Jenn then said before Mr. Schuester turned to Jesse and said that was the type of fighting he wanted to avoid. Jesse said that when they get to Nationals, he was prepared to have them kill each other over the solo.
"Well, that makes me the winner then." Jack put in.
"No. Changed my mind." Mr. Schuester then said before announcing that they were doing original songs as a group.
"We're a team and we're best when we work as one." He then said.
"Your'e gonna lose." Jesse said before Mr. Schuester said that whatever we do, thet would do it together. Jesse sat down as Kurt spoke up again.
"Actually, Santana you sounded pretty good." Kurt said.
"Thanks. You guys were all pretty dope too. Even Rachel." Santana answered.
"I wish I could sound like you do, Santana. How do you get that raspyness?" Rachel asked.
"So nice. I smoke cigars." Santana answered.
"Really? Damn, I gotta try that because I would die for your voice." Jenn said.
"Are you kidding? You were amazing." Santana said to Jenn.
"Yeah, you were pretty good Stoplight." Jack said before Mr. Schuester said that they should get to work but were stopped when everyone in the club's cellphone went off. Tina was the first to get hers out.
"Mine's from Dylan." She said.
"So's mine." Brittany said.
"Mine too." Mitchell added on. Jenn looked at her phone and hers was from the blonde Carmel student. She opened it.
C u at Nationals :)
They then heard a tapping on the door and they looked to see a bruised Dylan with an IV drip by the side of him. But the only thing they saw was the smile on his face. He then walked away and everyone smiled before beginning to work.
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Songs used are 'All I Want Is You' by U2 (the Mary Byrne version) and 'Hurt' by Christina Aguilera (the Omar Afuni version)
This was probably the hardest chapter I've had to write. Especially the funeral scene. And I was planning on Nicholas returning so I thought that this would be best.
And we have 'New York' coming up. That shall be a guaranteed showstopper :) So watch this space to see whether Dylan is with New Directions or Vocal Adrenaline for Nationals.