Disclaimer: Wanna know what sucks? I don't own even a little tiny bit of the songs that are sung in this story. Boo. Just thought I'd make that clear.
glee
New Directions ran through the two numbers they would be performing the following day during the first round until the wee hours of the morning, along with the last song Mr. Schuester was positive would bring home the win during the finals, until each and every step was burned into every person's brain. The kids finally went to sleep that night both exhausted and full of adrenaline for what was to come. They had prepared and done everything to the best of their ability and, win or lose, they were ready to do this.
That morning, after a very tense breakfast, the kids met once again in the conference room. This time, they only went through the numbers twice, and then headed back upstairs to begin getting ready. While the guys played video games and took naps, the girls made themselves comfy in Mercedes and Kurt's room. Each in a plush Disney bathrobe from the hotel, their hair was wrapped up on top of their heads in towels while Tina set to work on make-up, Brittany and Santana did nails, and Kurt and Mercedes tended to hair. Rachel went over each of their outfits with a lint roller and ironed a few pieces that wrinkled over the plane ride and Quinn tended to baby Maddi while trying to avoid getting any of her appearance messed up. Surprisingly, the normal tiffs and petty fights had yet to make an appearance; instead the group ran like a well oiled machine. Apparently, the stress from the competition and lack of sleep didn't have completely negative effects.
"How are we doing ladies?" Emma entered the room a few hours later to find most of the girls in the base of their outfit, each of them still needing to be worked on just a bit more before completion.
"Ms. P, what's the situation time-wise?" Mercedes asked.
"You girls have about thirty minutes before we need to leave." Emma replied.
"Perfect, that's just enough time."
The guidance counselor nodded. "Also, Will just finished talking to your parents. They all arrived to their hotel safe and sound and they're excited to see you perform."
"Excellent." Rachel smiled. "This is going to be amazing. I can just feel it! We're going to win."
"Hell yes." Santana agreed. "Watch out Nationals, McKinley is here to stay!"
True to their word, the girls and Kurt arrived in the lobby exactly thirty minutes later where Will, Emma, and the rest of the guys were waiting to leave. Upon their exit from the elevator, seven gasps were heard.
"You guys look fantastic!"
The girls grinned proudly. The outfits had been, surprisingly, Brittany's idea. Each girl was dressed in a bright red, puffy sleeved dress with black heels. The dresses were covered in white polka-dots and black headbands adorned with bright red bows were situated in their hair, along with white gloves on their hands. They looked like modern day versions of Minnie Mouse and matched perfectly with the guys red ties also with white dots and all black dress clothes.
"Wait, wait! You haven't seen the best part." Santana and Brittany stepped apart to reveal Quinn holding baby Maddi, who was dressed in an official Minnie Mouse costume found in the gift shop.
"Ta-da!" Quinn laughed and held up the child proudly, passing her into the awaiting arms of her father.
"I don't think there's a better looking group in this whole competition!" Emma said happily.
Will nodded. "I couldn't agree more. Now who's ready to go show them what we've got?"
Met with a cry of joy- even Emma was joining in- Will nodded. "Let's go do it New Directions style!"
glee
"I really hope they can pull this off." Will whispered an hour and a half later as he sat in the audience. "They stayed up really late last night and it has to catch up to them sometime."
Emma shook her head and bounced the baby sitting in her lap. "They'll be fine Will."
"Yeah…"
"You just have to relax. Hey," Grabbing his hand she looked him in the eye. "You've done everything you can. They're ready. And so are you."
Squeezing her hand, Will smiled. "Thanks Emma."
It seemed like only seconds had passed when the audience fell silent and the lights went down.
"And now, from Lima, Ohio," came the voice over the speakers, "William McKinley High School's New Directions."
Will let out a nervous breath, muttering quietly to himself. "This is it."
Emma nodded. "Here we go."
"Get a load of me
Get a load of you,
Walking down the street
And I hardly know you
It's just like we were meant to be…" Finn's voice came out of the silence as a single spotlight shined down to where he stood on the right edge of the stage. A second spotlight appeared only seconds later on the opposite end as Rachel began to sing.
"Holding hands with you
When we're out at night,
Got a girlfriend
You say it isn't right,
And I've got someone waiting too."
Meeting at the center, the two teenagers joined hands and turned to face their partner, as if singing directly to each other instead of the audience.
"What if this is just the beginning?
We're already wet and we're gonna go swimming.
Why can't I breathe whenever I think about you?
Why can't I speak whenever I talk about you?
Its inevitable... it's a fact that we're gonna get down to it
So tell me...
Why can't I breathe whenever I think about you?"
Finn grinned as he sang the next part.
"Isn't this the best part of breaking up?
Finding someone else you can't get enough of.
Someone who wants to be with you too,"
Rachel's grin matched as she joined in.
"It's an itch we know we are gonna scratch
Gonna take a while for this egg to hatch
But wouldn't it be beautiful?
Here we go we're at the beginning
We haven't sung yet, but my head's spinning.
Why can't I breathe whenever I think about you?
Why can't I speak whenever I talk about you?
It's inevitable, it's a fact that we're gonna get down to it
So tell me
Why can't I breathe whenever I think about you?"
It was true that a female had originally sung this song solo, the entire club knew that. But with the magic of Finn and Rachel's voices combined they had managed to turn the number into an amazing re-vamped duet that Liz Phair would surely be proud of if she had been able to hear it. For the last verse Rachel sang the first bits in high key, while Finn followed with the undertones as they faced the audience.
"High enough for you to make me wonder
Where it's goin'
High enough for you to pull me under
Somethin's growin'
Out of this that we can't control
Baby I am dyin,
Why can't I breathe whenever I think about you?
Why can't I speak whenever talk about you?
Why can't I breathe whenever I think about you?
Why can't I speak whenever talk about you?
Why can't I breathe whenever I think about you?
Whenever I think about you…"
Holding the last note, Finn and Rachel grinned at the audience before glancing at each other and nodding once. Then, they let out a loud scream from the top of their lungs as familiar chords began to play loudly from the band much faster than normal while the rest of the team ran out onto the stage. For their second number they had decided to go with a classic, but much faster and almost hip-hop sounding to show their creativity.
"From the day we arrive on the planet," Mercedes sang.
"And blinking, step into the sun," Kurt added.
"There's more to see than can ever be seen-" Artie began only to be finished by Tina.
"More to do than can ever be done!"
Brittany went next, then Mike.
"There's far too much to take in here,
More to find than can ever be found."
"But the sun rolling high
Through the sapphire sky," Matt sang.
"Keeps great and small on the endless round!" Santana grinned as they all came together and sang the chorus.
"It's the Circle of Life!
And it moves us all!
Through despair and hope!
Through faith and love!
Till we find our place,
On the path unwinding!
In the Circle,
The Circle of Life!"
"It's the Circle of Life,"
"Oh it's the circle!" Rachel sang.
"And it moves us all!"
"Yeah it moves us!" Finn continued.
"Through despair and hope
Through faith and love!"
This time the pair sang together.
"It can take us there!"
"Till we find our place
On the path unwinding!"
"Yeeeeeaaaah!" Mercedes grinned as she sang the remaining undertones of the song.
"In the Circle,"
"The Circle, ya'll!"
"The Circle of Life!"
"One more time!"
"In the Circle,"
"Ohhhh,"
"The Circle of Life!"
The lights went down again, fading the room once again to darkness. As the kids ran off the stage the audience erupted in loud cheers and tumultuous applause.
"That was AWESOME!" Artie roared.
"Screw awesome, we kicked ASS!" Puck shouted. "We got this shit in the bag!"
Mercedes grinned. "Hell yes!"
Will and Emma arrived backstage not long after, the baby in Emma's arms being passed to her mother before the two teachers were surrounded by excited teenagers.
"Hey! You guys were amazing out there!" Will said happily, patting the arms and backs of whoever he could reach in congratulations. "I couldn't be prouder than I am right now."
"Even Maddi was dancing along!" Emma piped up, directing her words to Puck and Quinn. "She kept pointing to the two of you and laughing."
"That's because she's smart!" Puck gloated as he tickled his baby girl. "She knows when her mommy and daddy kick butt, don't you little girl? Huh? Don't you?"
Quinn laughed. "We've taught her well."
"Ladies and gentlemen, right now we will be taking a twenty minute intermission while the judges tally the results." A voice said coming over the loudspeaker.
"Your parents are outside waiting to see you." Will announced leading the group out into the lobby. The kids were met with a large group filled with family members cheering and talking loudly while several cameras went off.
There was Finn's mother, Rachel's two fathers, Mercedes mom and dad, Kurt's father, Both of Artie's parents along with his younger sister, Tina's father, Puck's mother and little sister, Matt's mother, father, and older sister, Mike's parents and younger brother, and Brittany's mom and little sister.
After a quick evaluation Emma counted a total of twenty extra people, and that was only because Tina's parents were divorced and her mother had been forced to stay at home to look after her two younger siblings. Quinn's parents still had yet to speak to her since she had gotten pregnant and Santana had made it clear that she and her parents were not on good terms either. So instead, the two girls had taken to the families of their friends and boyfriends, long past the desires of their own genetics.
"I need a picture of the team!" Mrs. Jones called as the group got into a cluster and smiled at the camera. This, of course, sparked the beginning of a photo session and soon every parent had their own camera out and was demanding different shots from the kids.
"Okay, now everyone make funny faces!"
"That's cute! Now another serious one!"
"Oh, we need all the couples together!"
"For goodness sake! Relax a little, you all look so stiff! Put your arms around each other and pretend to actually like your friends!"
"Mr. Schuester, we need you and Ms. Pillsbury in here too! You're both just as much a part of the team!"
This continued until the lights began to flicker and another announcement was heard over the speakers for the audience to return to their seats and the schools to return to their designated places backstage.
"You guys go get that spot in the finals!" Mrs. Rutherford said kissing her son's cheek for luck and then moving to peck Santana as well.
Mr. Abrams nodded in agreement. "We'll see you after!"
Will grinned as he herded the kids backstage again. "Okay guys, here we go!"
"Does anyone else feel like they're going to be sick?" Tina asked, getting a response of multiple nods and calls of affirmation along with two or three raised hands. "Okay, good. I was just making sure it wasn't just me. It's all good."
Before the results were announced, it was revealed that the judges had selected seven teams to move forward and compete. New Directions held their breath. Seven teams out of over thirty. The odds were slim. If their name wasn't called their chance at holding the National title was gone and they were going home.
"In no specific order, the first team that will be moving on to the finals is… Allendale High School's Sound Revolution!" Loud screams of joy were heard and New Directions confidence fell more and more as each team was announced. Riverside High's Lyrical Vehemence, Fairdale Academy's Central Attraction, Grant High School's Velocity, Cherrywood Academy's Sonant Severity…. And then, just as they were about to lose all hope-
"McKinley High School's New Directions!" Cheers, cries, and shouts of relief were released. The teams had been announced at random order, so maybe they did have a chance after all. The ceremony ended after Andover Prep's Choral Coalition was given the remaining spot in the finals and the room was dismissed after the judges wished all of the teams good luck and a job well done, whether they had made it past this round or not. The fact that they had made it this far, the judges said, was a major accomplishment in itself.
"Screw that crap, we're going to the finals!" Puck shouted as they exited.
The group nodded happily in agreement. The lengthiest part of the competition was over, now all they had to do was sing their final song against six other teams that were the best in the nation and take home the National title.
…This was going to be a lot harder than it sounded.
glee
A/N: So they made it to the finals! Yay! I want your predictions now: What do you think they'll sing in the finals? More importantly, do you think they'll win? I want to know what you guys think!
Also, the names for the other choirs are both real and made-up. Some of them are actual show choir names I found online, others I came up with myself. It was a pretty simple process actually. I just used the online thesaurus for the words "vocal" and "adrenaline" and paired words together. Ta-da! Glee club names! And I don't own the Lion King, but it was my favorite movie growing up. I've only seen it like two hundred times, so no biggie.
In my head I like to think of New Directions' version of the song as a faster version of the cover by the Disney Channel Circle of Stars. Remember that? With Raven and Ren Stevens and Lizzie McGuire? Good times! Anyway, I'll stop blabbering now and just ask that you review. It's almost over people, send a few parting words!