Hey! It's me! Welcome to the third chapter of "Yearbook", which was just supposed to be a oneshot… Oh well, I like writing it! Remember, all of the OC's and Wes' story belong to Eraman, not me! If you've read this far into the story and are confused, then I'm guessing you didn't read "Little Brother Wes" and "Big Brother Wes", in which case you should go read them… NOW! Be gone and read this when you are finished!
DISCLAIMER- I don't own ANYTHING!
Wes banged the gavel three times to silence the chattering Warblers and bring the room to attention. At the familiar noise, all eyes flew to him and he smiled slightly. "Regionals is quickly approaching," he said without prelude, and immediately all of the boys sat up straighter. "We did great at Sectionals, but we need to do even better if we want to move on to Nationals." Excited smiles started to creep across the Warblers' faces. "The council has started working on our set list, but we haven't decided anything yet, so this practice, we will be doing something a bit… different." He smiled at the bemused boys. He had never done this with this group of Warblers, but it had been done a few times when he was younger and he loved it. "We won't be singing today," The confused expressions grew, "Instead, we thought that it would be a good idea to watch old performances and critique them- see what are good things to do, what are things we shouldn't do- and we may just get some ideas." The confused expressions cleared, replaced with looks of excitement. "Now, none of us have had the chance to go get some, so would four of you head down to the library and look in the archives? Ask the librarian if you can't find them."
Wes chuckled when everyone jumped up at once, wanting a hand in which performances they would watch, clamoring to be heard. He shared an amused glance with Thad and David before he took hold of his gavel and banged it again as the room fell silent. "Thank you. Unfortunately, you can't all go, so…" He looked around the room. Who would make the most interesting choices? "Nick, Jeff, Blaine, and Kurt. I trust that you with find us some interesting performances? Between the four of you, I don't think we'll end up bored with your choices." A laugh rippled through the group. That was definitely true. The four mentioned grinned and hurried from the room, closing the door behind them.
Out in the hallway, four boys were making a beeline for the library, talking excitedly amongst themselves about the meeting.
"Haven't done this before!" Nick grinned.
"I didn't even know we had archives." Kurt said, impressed.
"Neither did I," said Jeff.
"Wes told me about them once, but I completely forgot," Blaine said, then considered for a second, "Do you think that's where all of the auditions are, or are those kept somewhere else?"
"Oh, those are kept in the back room of the choir room," Nick answered, "Auditions are private, they don't want them available to the general public."
"Understandable," Kurt hummed. "This is going to be really interesting, though. Do you think the Warblers ever actually danced?"
"Oh, yeah they did." Jeff responded. "But not for a few years now." Kurt sent a questioning look at him and Nick picked up. "There was a Warbler with an artificial leg, so they got rid of real show choir choreography so that Oliver could still be in the group. We never got out of the habit. Oliver graduated last year."
Kurt looked astonished, "Wow, that was really nice of everyone." The guys here are so nice it's unreal, Kurt thought. He still wasn't completely used to it.
"Yeah," Nick said, before going back to their original topic. "I can't wait!" The other three boys chuckled at Nick's excitement, and hurried more when they saw the hallway that led to the library. They turned a corner sharply, and all of a sudden, Nick and Jeff, who were leading the charge, were on the ground, rubbing their heads.
"Ouch." Nick muttered, squinting his eyes and massaging his forehead. "Sorry… Oh, hi Principal Carmichael." There was an apologetic sound in his voice when he realized that the person that he and Jeff had crashed into was their good-humored principal. Carmichael chuckled and reached out both hands to pull the two Warblers to their feet before stooping to pick up the books and papers that he had dropped. "It's quite alright, Nick, Jeff. Hello Kurt, Blaine. Where are you off to in such a hurry? I thought that you had Warbler practice?"
"Oh, we do!" Nick said, his previous excitement returning. "Wes sent us to get some recordings of old performances to critique."
Carmichael chuckled fondly, "Oh yes, he used to get so excited when the council would do that." Then he thought for a second, "Hm, I know just the performances to send you back with. We had quite the group that year. Follow me." Carmichael led the boys through the library door that he had just come out of, greeting the librarian briefly before weaving his way through the bookshelves towards the back of the room, where there was a shelf almost completely filled. Sound tapes started from the top left, until VHS tapes started to mix their way in, which slowly became DVD's. Carmichael tapped his chin as he examined them, reading the labels until he came to a DVD, which he smiled at. He pulled out one DVD case, which read: Sectionals 2003-04.
"This year, we had quite the talented group. Feel free to help yourself to any other recordings, just make sure that you return them. And tell Wes that I hope he appreciates these." With these words, he left, smiling at the boys. The four Warblers examined the case, which was blank but for the words on the label. Then something hit Blaine.
"Wait, 2003?" The other three looked at him questioningly. A grin was growing on the short boy's face. "Isn't that the year of the yearbook that we found with Wes in it?" Slowly it dawned on the other boys. Grins crept across their faces.
"You think…?" Nick trailed off.
"I do," Blaine grinned, "His yearbook picture that year said Warbler. He was a Warbler that year."
Jeff frowned slightly, "But he wouldn't be in this one. He wouldn't have been allowed to compete." Kurt, Nick, and Blaine looked at him confusedly. He elaborated. "To compete, all members of the choir have to be in high school. Wes was in sixth grade. He was too young."
"Oh." Blaine sounded disappointed, but Kurt started to examine the DVD's on the shelf and grinned.
"There are more from that year!" His excited voice made the others turn around. He pointed to a few. "Look, all of the ones in this group are from 2003-2004. See?" He started to read them off. "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (Impromptu), Pre-Nineties Assembly, the list goes on." He looked up and grinned with a gleam in his eye. "Shall we?" The other three boys nodded eagerly and began examining the titles.
After a few minutes of consideration, they agreed on the one that Carmichael had given them, one that was from the 2000 Regionals, and the Pre-Nineties Assembly. "Oh, guys, we'd better be getting back if we actually want to watch these today," Blaine said, checking his watch. The other boys looked too and looked shocked at how much time had passed. They managed not to run until they got out of the library, but broke into a sprint as soon as the door closed. After all, they wanted to fit them all in.
Three and a half minutes later, they stood in front of the doors, catching their breath slightly before opening the doors and walking in. All eyes immediately turned to them and grinned when they saw their red faces (those uniforms are not made for running), and the fact that they were slightly out of breath. A few boys teasingly wolf-whistled and one asked if they had taken a detour. Nick and Jeff flipped them off simultaneously and everyone laughed. They headed up to the council table and dropped the DVD's on the table in front of Wes.
"Carmichael thought that you'd enjoy these ones." Wes pulled them toward him and read the titles before sighing. "Really?" he muttered, eyeing the Pre-Nineties Assembly. "This one?" The four boys were back at their seats, and David and Thad saw that Wes was looking at the DVD's, and grinned at each other excitedly.
"Oh well." Wes sighed and stood up, not needing his gavel; everyone was watching him anyway. "Okay, who's ready?" The room exploded in cheers, and David stood up and put a disk in the player, pulling down the screen that was usually pulled up out of sight, and turned on the projector. Rock flicked the lights off.
"This is Sectionals 2003." David announced. Wes spoke up before the DVD loaded. "The Warblers performed last this year, do you want to just skip the other two?"
"Wait, how did you know?" Trent asked confused. He, along with most other boys, obviously hadn't made the connection between the year that they had seen in the yearbook and the year that David just announced. Wes didn't answer, they would figure it out soon enough. It would actually be kind of funny to see their faces when they figured it out. He just repeated his question, and the Warblers agreed to skip the Sweetbanks and the Whirlwinds.
He took the remote and skipped over the performances, only pressing play when he saw the Whirlwinds' final pose. The camera did a sweep over the audience, and he briefly saw his twelve-year-old self slipping into his seat in the empty front row reserved for the Warblers. The camera did one last quick sweep before settling back on the dark stage. The present-day Warblers leaned forward, waiting for the Warblers of the First Age to appear. Suddenly, out of the darkness on the stage, the WotFA opened their mouths and sang. (Warblers, Philip, All)
Ooga-Chaka Ooga-Ooga
Ooga-Chaka Ooga-Ooga
Ooga-Chaka Ooga-Ooga
Ooga-Chaka Ooga-Ooga
Ooga-Chaka Ooga-Ooga
The lights came on, revealing the Warblers standing in perfect rows, with a single boy standing in front of them all. The soloist started singing.
I can't stop this feeling (Ooga-Chaka Ooga-Ooga)
Deep inside of me (Ooga-Chaka Ooga-Ooga)
Girl, you just don't realize (Ooga-Chaka Ooga-Ooga)
What you do to me (Ooga-Chaka Ooga-Ooga)…
The WotFA continued singing, and closed the song with all of them singing together in a perfect harmony.
… I said I'm hooked on a feeling
And I'm high on believing
That you're in love with me
I'm hooked on a feeling
On the screen, the boys finished their song, and waited for the applause to finish before starting the beginning to Michael Jackson's Bad. Through both songs, the present-day Warblers stared awestruck at the screen. The boys on screen were amazing. When the last note of Bad faded away, they jumped to their feet clapping as loud as the audience on screen, and Wes smiled nostalgically. Then, on screen, one of the Warblers broke ranks and headed to the edge of the stage. The huge boy looked vaguely familiar to most of the Warblers, but they couldn't place him. At least, not until he pulled a tiny boy wearing a Dalton uniform up onto the stage easily. The little boy turned to the audience and bowed with the bigger boys before running off stage with them. The screen turned dark, and everyone turned to Wes, who just raised an eyebrow, smirking. "Let's watch the next one, shall we?"
David put the next disc in the player and turned to his friends. "This one says Pre-nineties Assembly, 2003." The boys took a seat, almost all of them eyeing Wes, but soon turned to the screen when a picture showed up on it.
It was the school auditorium, filled with students that none of them but Wes recognized. The camera was obviously in the middle of the room, the perfect place to watch from. Principal Carmichael was just walking off stage and took a seat next to Ms. Lincoln, who seemed a bit disappointed, and Carmichael was looking mischievous. The curtains opened, and the music for Wake Me Up Before You Go Go started, coming from the WotFA's mouths. They danced around the stage, and all of them appeared to be having a great time. The little boy, who most had their suspicions about who it was, was dancing next to the huge African-American Warbler who had lifted him up onto the stage, and was grinning while he was singing. The present-day Warblers kept shooting glances at their chairman, but he just grinned back at them and continued to watch. The song ended, and the auditorium broke into applause, while an Asian boy stepped forward.
"Whoa, Wes! It's you!" Niff said, teasing him. Wes laughed and rolled his eyes.
On screen, the Asian boy cleared his throat. "Fellow students", he said. "Beloved Dalton teachers and staff. We are gathered here today to celebrate the victory of our outstanding fencing team who beat We-High last week! Great job fencers! Thank you for coming, everyone! And now we present our newest member. Boys!" The boys all got in position. They stood in a trapezoid-like fashion and held their hands on their backs. It was quiet for a moment, but then they heard a young voice.
A-buh buh buh buh buh
The Warblers answered:
A-buh buh buh buh buh
The boys parted and the little boy, who was now clearly Wes, was seen and he started singing as he walked up to the front: (Wesley, Philip, Warblers)
You went to school to learn, girl
Things you never, never knew before
The lead from Sectionals- Philip- joined him at the edge and the two of them danced exactly the same while the Warblers made their own dance.
I before E except after C
And why two plus two makes four
Now, now, now I'm gonna teach you
Teach you, teach you
All about love, dear, all about love
Sit yourself down, take a seat
All you gotta do is repeat after me
A B C, easy as one, two, three
Are simple as do re mi
A B C, one, two, three, baby, you and me girl
A B C, easy as one, two, three
Are simple as do re mi
A B C, one, two, three, baby, you and me girl
Come on, let me love you just a little bit
Come on, let me love you just a little bit
I'm a gonna teach how to sing it out
Come on, come one, come on
Let me show you what it's all about
The boys in the audience stood up cheering and clapping.
Reading and writing arithmetic
Are the branches of the learning tree
But listen without the roots of love every day, girl
Your education ain't complete
T-t-t-teacher's gonna show you, show you, show you
How to get an A,
Na na na na
Spell me, you, add the two
Listen to me baby, that's all you gotta do
A B C is easy as one, two, three
Are simple as do re mi
A B C, one, two, three, baby, you and me girl
A B C is easy it's like counting up to three
Sing a simple melody
That's how easy love can be
That's how easy love can be
Sing a simple melody
One, two, three, you and me
Sit down girl I think I love ya – Philip stood with his legs spread apart and made some hip-rolls.
No get up girl show me what you can do – Wes slid between his legs and got up. Philip grinned and grabbed hold of him, underneath the arms and lifted him away as he sang the "come on now" part.
Shake it, shake it, baby, come on now
Shake it, shake it, baby, ooh
Shake it, shake it, baby
One, two, three baby oo oo
A B C baby and now
Do re mi baby now
That's how easy love can be
A B C is easy as like counting up to three
Sing a simple melody
That's how easy love can be
Now I'm gonna teach you how to sing it out
Come on, come on, come on
Let me show you what it's all about
A B C is easy as like counting up to three
Sing a simple melody
That's how easy love can be
Now I'm gonna teach you how to
Sing it out, sing it out, sing it out, sing it out
A B C is easy it's like counting up to three
Sing a simple melody
That's how easy love can be
The song ended and both audiences cheered loudly, the Wes on screen being hoisted up onto the huge boy's shoulder, and the eighteen-year-old Wes being clapped on the back by his friends. After the screen went dark, everyone made their way back to their seats, randomly laughing and cheering.
"You guys do know that that was seven years ago, right?" Wes laughed, and a few boys flapped their hands in a whatever fashion.
"Dude! You were awesome!" David said, eyes wide. "And you were, like, twelve!" Wes laughed and shook his head.
"You were really good," Kurt said, "I don't understand why you didn't become soloist when you were old enough."
Thad laughed. "Because he's Mr. Morals! Once he joined the council, he refused to audition."
"Well, that doesn't matter," Nick said, with a mischievous grin. "We have a more important topic to discuss!"
"Yeah!" Jeff matched his boyfriend's grin. "Look at how adorable Wes was!" The room erupted in laughter and teasing. Wes rolled his eyes. Nick chortled, "What happened to you?" Wes walked over calmly and whacked him upside the head, which only succeeded in making the group laugh harder.
"You two are nearly worse than Otthan themselves." Wes muttered, pretending to scowl, but a fond smile played around his lips. Nick and Jeff heard him and looked up.
"Otthan? Who's Otthan?" they asked in unison.
"Otthan is the 'couple' name for Otto Johnson and Nathan Newland. They were freshmen the year I first came here… What?" He asked when he realized that the two younger boys were staring at him open-mouthed.
"You mean the Prank Kings?" Nick asked, eyes wide. Wes stifled a snort. Of course.
"Yes, the Prank Kings. They were the first to basically adopt me when I came here."
Jeff had an expression of dawning comprehension on his face. "So that's why you never fall for our pranks!" Wes shook his head at the looks of wonder on Niff's faces.
"Whoa." The two boys sat back in their seats, finally understanding how Wes was always one step ahead of them. The other Warblers watched the proceedings with amusement, others still looked back and forth between the blank screen and their big brother, trying to reconcile the images. Even though they had seen pictures, it was different to see it in a recording. Wes laughed lightly.
"Come on, little goldfish," a few boys snapped their open mouths shut. "Are you ready for the next video?" Without waiting for a response, he put the last disk in the player- a disk without him, he noticed with relief- and settled down in his seat and glanced over his boys as he did so. "Let's watch." Wes pressed play.
A/N- How'd you like it? I hope you did! Not my favorite ending, but I did this while I should have been doing my chemistry homework! Please review!
-Little-miss