Hi :3 I can't believe that this story has over 50 reviews, I'm so happy! You guys are the best, thank you! The songs I used for this chapter are Just Like You by Three Days Grace and Hey You! by Tokio Hotel.
"Be quiet" Jonathan said in a hushed voice "If my father discovers that we're here…"
Elizabeth nodded. Barbra, however, only bit her lip.
"We shouldn't be here" she said
"Come on, we'll only watch them for a minute and then we'll go" Elizabeth said.
The three of them sat down and looked at the stage. Vocal Adrenaline was rehearsing there, wearing black shirts and jeans.
"No, no, no!" Jesse said, and his students stopped "You guys are not getting it!"
Jonathan and Barbra smiled when they saw him, but Elizabeth frowned.
"You have to smile!" Jesse said "Come on, I want to see your showface!"
The Vocal Adrenaline members smiled.
"No, not like that!" their coach exclaimed "As a very wise woman once said: I want a look that's so optimistic, it could cure cancer!"
"That's my grandmother" Barbra whispered, smiling.
"Look, if we want to win, then you have to do this right!" Jesse said.
"I told you, he has no mercy with them" Jonathan said "Every single mistake you make, you're going to regret it for the rest of your life"
Jesse kept talking to his team, while Jonathan, Barbra and Elizabeth watched. Jonathan accidentally kicked something that made a big noise, but Jesse didn't seem to realize.
"I didn't think that you guys were so useless!" he exclaimed. Then, with his back turned at his son, he exclaimed "Jonathan, get down here, RIGHT NOW!"
"Damn it!" Jonathan said.
Barbra and Elizabeth hid so Jesse couldn't see them, and Jonathan walked towards him.
"Hey, dad" he said, smiling.
"What the hell are you doing here?"
"I came to visit" Jonathan said, still smiling.
"You were spying on us" Jesse said, crossing his arms.
"No! How dare you make such a terrible accusation?" Jonathan said, placing his open hand on his chest.
Jesse just looked at him, his arms crossed and his eyebrows raised. His students were looking at them too.
"We'll talk when we get home" Jesse said "Now, go!"
Jonathan nodded and turned around, but he stopped when Jesse talked to him again.
"And take Barbra and her cousin too!"
Barbra and Elizabeth looked at each other.
"Damn" they said.
"Operation 'Spy on Vocal Adrenaline' was a huge fail" Elizabeth said, as she entered the choir room, followed by Barbra and Jonathan.
"You went to spy on Vocal Adrenaline?" Alma asked, shocked.
"It was Lizzie's idea!" Barbra said, as she and Jonathan sat down.
"Thanks, Barbra" Elizabeth said, and she sat next to Sam.
"Guys, you can't do that!" Alma said "It's cheating!"
"Sorry, Miss Schue" Jonathan said "But if it makes you feel better, I'm grounded for the rest of my life."
"Kids, I understand that you're nervous about Regionals, but we still have a chance to beat them" Alma said "We're amazing, remember?"
"Yeah, but they're epic" Elizabeth said.
"Hey, come on!" Alma said to her kids "We're going to find a way to beat them"
The kids nodded, but they still looked sad. Alma stood up.
"I say we start practicing" she said "I found a couple songs we could use"
Anna and James opened their lockers at the same time and retrieved their books.
"Too bad Hannah and Steven had that fight, right?" James said, closing his locker.
"Yeah, they were so cute together" Anna said, closing hers.
"Don't get offended" the boy said, while they walked together, holding hands "But I think it was Hannah's fault"
"What?" Anna said.
"Yeah, she overreacted. Besides, Steven is right. How can you be in a relationship with someone that doesn't even let you hold her hand?"
Anna dropped her hand to James, and looked at him. She was clearly angry.
"Well, I think it was Steven's fault" she said. "He was a total jerk to her!"
"What?" James exclaimed, frowning.
"Yeah!" the girl said, stepping towards him "If he really liked her, he should've been a little bit more comprehensive, don't you think?"
"Well, if she really liked him, maybe she should've been a little bit more demonstrative!" James exclaimed.
"You don't know what Hannah has been trough!" Anna said "You don't know her!"
"And you don't know Steven, so you don't have any right to judge him!"
Both of them stood there for a moment, breathing heavily and looking into each other's eyes, before Anna turned around and walked away. James ran and took her hand.
"Where are you going?" he asked.
"I don't want to be near you"
Anna brushed off James' hand and ran away. James sighed rubbed his face.
"Believe me, it was terrifying!" Jonathan said, and Barbra laughed "I almost wet my pants"
The girl laughed again.
"I don't think you dad is that scary" she said.
"Well, I think spying on his team's rehearsal wasn't a good idea"
Jonathan and Barbra stopped talking so they could study, sitting on Barbra's bed. After a couple minutes, they heard a scratching on the door, and Barbra stood up to open it. Judy ran inside, wagging her tail, and jumped on top of the bed. The puppy sat on Jonathan's lap, trying to lick his face.
"Aw, she missed her daddy" Barbra said, and she sat next to Jonathan.
"Hey, Judy" Jonathan said, petting the dog "Daddy missed you too!"
Suddenly, Blaine entered the room, his hair a complete mess. Barbra laughed when she saw two little paws in his shirt.
"There you are!" Blaine said.
Judy barked and jumped off the bed. She ran towards Blaine, who lifted her off the floor, scowling.
"What happened, Uncle Blaine?" Barbra asked.
"Your evil puppy stained my shirt!" Blaine said. He hoisted Judy up to his face "Why, Judy?"
Judy licked his nose, and Blaine laughed. He put her on the floor.
"I can't be mad at you" he said.
"Blaine!" Kurt called from downstairs "Stop playing with Judy and let the kids study!"
"Yes, dear" Blaine said. He rolled her eyes at the kids, who laughed. He left the room, followed by Judy.
"They're inseparable" Barbra said, smiling.
Jonathan laughed. His phone rang, and he took it. The boy winced when he saw the screen.
"Hi dad"
"Where are you?" Jesse said.
"Barbra's house. We're studying" Jonathan explained.
"Hi, Mr. St. James" Barbra said, and Jonathan passed her the phone.
"Call me Jesse, Barbra"
"I'm sorry for spying on your team today" Barbra said.
"Oh, don't worry" Jesse said "I know it wasn't your fault"
Jonathan rolled his eyes and took the phone from Barbra's hand.
"What can I do for you, dad?" he asked.
"I need you to come home, little traitor."
"Okay, I'll be there in a minute"
Jonathan hung up the phone and put it back in his pocket.
"I gotta go" he said, while he put his books inside his backpack.
"I'll walk you to the exit" Barbra said, and they left her room.
Once Jonathan was gone, she entered the living room, where Elizabeth was talking on the phone.
"Okay, bye!" she said before she hung up. Barbra sat next to her.
"Who was it?" she asked.
"Adam" Elizabeth said.
"What did he say?" Barbra asked.
Elizabeth looked away, like she didn't want to tell her. Finally, she decided to do it.
"He met a girl at college" she said "He said she's really cool"
"That's…" Barbra licked her lips and smiled "That's great"
"Yeah. Her name's Crystal"
The girls went silent. Elizabeth expected Barbra to say something else, and she was surprised when her cousin stood up and said:
"Well, I have to study"
Elizabeth watched her climb the stairs and sighed. Kurt stepped inside, looking for something. He saw the concern in his daughter's face, and sat next to her.
"Lizzie, what's wrong?" he asked.
"Why does everybody keeps their feelings from me?" Elizabeth whined "I want to help them, but I can't if they don't let me!"
"First of all, tell me what happened" Kurt said.
"It's nothing, papa, don't worry" Elizabeth said.
"Lizzie" Kurt said, placing a hand on his daughter's knee "I can't help you if you don't let me"
Elizabeth laughed softly, and Kurt smiled warmly at her.
"It's okay if you don't want to tell me" he said.
"I want to" Elizabeth said "But I can't."
Kurt nodded and stood up. Elizabeth watched him as he took a DVD from the shelf.
"Do you want to watch Chicago with me?" Kurt asked, and he winked at her.
"Of course" Elizabeth said, grinning.
Alma looked at the blank paper in front of her. She sighed and put her pencil on the table.
"It's useless…" she mumbled to herself.
Alma had been trying to come up with songs the kids could do at Regionals, but nothing seemed good enough. It had to be something amazing if they wanted to beat Vocal Adrenaline.
"Hey"
Alma turned around to see William standing in the doorway.
"Dad" Alma said, surprised "How did you get in?"
"The door was open" William said, sitting next to her.
Alma sighed. Once again, she left the door to her apartment open. Great.
"What happened, dad?" she asked.
"I came to visit" William said.
She smiled. Even when they saw each other at school every day, her father still dropped by her house to visit her. Alma looked at the notebook and the pencil once again, but her mind was as blank as the paper in front of her.
"What are you doing?" Will asked.
"Trying to think about songs for Regionals, but nothing comes to my mind" Alma said, frustrated.
"What about Journey?"
"Thanks to you, dad, I grew up listening to Journey, every single day of my childhood" Alma said, smiling "I think I had enough"
"You can't have enough of Journey, it's the best band ever!"
They both laughed, before Alma's expression turned dark again. William placed a hand on her shoulder.
"Come on, they'll do great no matter what song they perform" he said.
"Yes, but we're competing with Vocal Adrenaline"
"Alma, it doesn't matter if you win or not"
"I know. It's just…" Alma lay back on her chair, looking at the ceiling "These kids are so amazing! They deserve to win this and every competition"
"I know how you feel. But you can't always win. Besides, you don't know what will happen. Be positive" William said, and smiled brightly at her.
"Okay" Alma said, smiling too.
Anna was about to leave the classroom when she felt someone touching her shoulder. She turned her head to see Steven stading behind her.
"Hey, Anna" he said nervously "Can we talk for a minute?"
She nodded and turned around completely, looking at him firmly with her arms crossed.
"Look, I'm sorry about what happened with Hannah" he said "It was my fault, so please don't get mad at James"
"Did he tell you…?" Anna said.
"Yes." Steven sighed "He is really sad. I don't want you to be mad at him because of me."
"No, it's not your fault" Anna said "I mean, yes, it is your fault that Hannah is mad at you, but it's not your fault that I'm mad at James"
"Then what's the reason?"
"Look" Anna said "I understand that he defended you, you're his friend. But every time someone says something about my sister, I get really angry. And he said that Hannah overreacted, something I'm sure she did, but…"
"I understand" Steven said "When someone says something about your siblings, or your friends, it's natural to get mad, even if what they said it's true."
Anna nodded.
"I just wanted to make sure that you weren't mad at him because of me" the boy said "I would feel terrible it that were the case"
"No, don't worry. I'll talk to James" Anna smiled at him, and he smiled back.
"Thanks" Steven said as he walked away.
"I'm home!" Spencer said, opening the front door of his house.
"Spencer!"
A little girl ran towards him and hugged him. He laughed and lifted her off the floor.
"Hey, Mandy!" he said, ruffling her blonde hair.
"I missed you. Why are you late?" she asked.
"I had football practice" Spencer said, carrying his little sister to the kitchen.
"Did you kick their asses?" Mandy asked.
"Yeah" he said, laughing.
Spencer's smile disappeared when he saw who was in the kitchen. His father looked at him for a moment before he kept looking for something in the cabinet.
"Daddy, daddy!" Mandy exclaimed "Spencer kicked ass at football practice!"
"Don't talk like that, Mandy" the man said, without looking at them.
"Let's go, Mandy" Spencer said, frowning.
He turned around, still carrying his sister. His father stopped him when he was in the doorway.
"Spencer"
The boy looked at him.
"Tell your mother that we ran out of vodka"
Spencer left without another word, scowling. Mandy looked at him and placed a little finger between his furrowed eyebrows.
"If you scowl, your eyebrows will fall" she said.
He laughed and kissed her in the cheek.
"Hi, Spencer!"
Spencer saw Elizabeth walking towards him and tried to cover his face. The girl finally got to him, smiling.
"Did you hear that…?" she said, but she stopped when she saw him "Wow, what happened to you?"
Elizabeth examined the purple bruise on Steven's cheek. He avoided her eyes and turned his face so she didn't saw it.
"It's nothing" he said "I tripped and hit my face with the table"
"Yeah, sure" Elizabeth said sarcastically "Spencer, you can trust me. I won't tell anyone"
Spencer looked at her. He examined her sincere eyes and reassuring smile, before he sighed and closed his locker.
"I had a fight with my dad" he said quietly.
"What?" Elizabeth was shocked "Why?"
"He's always drinking, you know?" Spencer said "I don't even remember what he looked like when he is sober"
Elizabeth bit her lip and placed a hand on his shoulder.
"Yesterday he was fighting with my mom" Spencer said "He does that every night when she comes home from work, but this time, he hit her. He had never hit her before. My little sister was crying. She's only four years old"
Spencer looked at Elizabeth, and she could see the mixture of anger and sadness in his brown eyes. He sighed before he kept talking.
"So I went to the kitchen. I stood between he and my mom, and he hit me" Spencer pointed at his bruised cheek "My mother interfered, and he left the house. He hasn't come back yet" the boy frowned and hit the locker "But I swear that when I see him again, I'm going to disfigure his face"
Elizabeth hugged him, and he hugged her back, tightly. Spencer hid his face in her shoulder.
"I'm sorry, Spencer" she whispered, caressing his back "If there's anything I can do…"
"Actually" he said, breaking the hug "Could you take care of my sister today? My mom has to work late today, and I don't want Mandy to be at home if my dad comes back"
"Sure" Elizabeth said, smiling "I'm great with kids"
"Thank you, Lizzie" Spencer said, hugging her again.
"Don't worry" she said, smiling.
"She looks a lot like Spencer" Sam said.
"I know, right?" Elizabeth said, smiling.
Mandy, Spencer's little sister, was playing with Judy in the backyard. When Elizabeth told Sam that she was going to take care of her, she offered to help. They both watched the little girl laugh and run after the dog.
"Do you need something, girls?" Kurt said from the kitchen.
"No, thanks, papa" Elizabeth said.
Mandy sat next to her, with a confused look on her face.
"Is he your dad?" she said, pointing at Kurt.
"Yes" Elizabeth said, smiling.
"I thought that the mister with the funny hair was your dad" Mandy said.
"They're both my dads" Elizabeth explained.
"Does that mean they're married?"
"Yes"
"That's funny, I've never met a person with two dads before" the little girl said, looking at Kurt. He looked back at Elizabeth "Do they love each other?"
"Yes, very much" Elizabeth said.
"That's awesome" Mandy said, grinning.
"I know!" Elizabeth smiled at her dad, and he smiled back before he returned to the kitchen.
Suddenly, Mandy's smile disappeared from her face.
"What's wrong?" Sam asked.
"My daddy doesn't love my mommy" Mandy said, pouting "Yesterday he hit her"
Elizabeth and Sam exchanged glances. Elizabeth sat Mandy on her lap and smiled at her.
"That doesn't mean he doesn't love her" she said.
"But you don't hurt the people you love. My brother told me that"
"Well, maybe your mommy and your daddy have some problems that they need to solve" Elizabeth said "But I'm sure that everything will be okay"
"Really?" Mandy asked.
"Yes" Elizabeth smiled at her.
Mandy nodded. She stood up and kept playing with Judy. Sam and Elizabeth exchanged smiles while they watched her.
Spencer threw the ball against the wall and grabbed it when it bounced back at him. He had been doing that for the last hour, waiting to hear his father coming back at any moment. The boy texted Elizabeth to ask her how was Mandy doing. She texted him back telling him that everything was alright. Spencer thanked her for the umpteenth time that day and sat up in the bed.
Spencer looked around. His bedroom was a mess. After his father had left the night before, he had entered his bedroom and threw everything to the floor in anger. His clothes, his textbooks, his CDs… Spencer stood up and started to clean up. While he did it, he remembered something his father had said to him after he hit him.
"You're just like me! You hate me right now, but you know you're just like me!"
The boy was about to explode again when he heard the bell rang. He ran down the stairs and opened the door, expecting to find his father standing there. But he was surprised when he saw Sam and Elizabeth, both of them holding Mandy's hands.
"Spencer!" Mandy hugged him.
"Mandy!" he said "What are you doing here?"
"I'm sorry, Spencer" Elizabeth said "She was crying, she said she wanted to be with you"
"Nah, it's okay" Spencer said "I don't think my father will come, anyway."
"Lizzie, Sam, come!" Mandy said, running upstairs "I'll show you my room!"
Spencer looked at his sister She was sleeping in her bed, hugging her old teddy bear.
"She's so cute" Sam said, smiling.
"Yeah" Spencer smiled at her and kissed her forehead softly "Let's go to my room"
They left Mandy's room, and Spencer turned off the light. When Spencer opened the door to his bedroom, Elizabeth and Sam looked around, surprised.
"Oh, sorry about the mess" he said "I'll clean it up, give me a second"
"We'll help you" Sam said, bending down to pick up some books.
"No, you don't have to…" Spencer said, trying to stop them.
"Come on, Spencer, let us help" Elizabeth said.
"You've done enough already, you took care of Mandy" the boy said.
Elizabeth rolled her eyes and started to pick clothes from the floor. Spencer sighed and kneeled down to clean the mess. After a while, the room was clean.
"Thank you, girls, you rock" Spencer said, and he sat in his bed.
"You need help, and we're glad to help you" Sam said, smiling.
"I can't believe it" Spencer said "I'm so… angry, I've never felt like this before."
Elizabeth sat next to him and took his hand. Sam was looking trough his CDs. She took one of them from the shelf, smiling.
"Do you like Three Days Grace?" she asked "I love them!"
"Me too, they're awesome!" Spencer said.
Sam looked at the track list in the back of the CD, and smirked. She placed it on the stereo and looked at Spencer.
"I found the perfect song for you" she said, and started skipping songs until she found the one she wanted to hear.
When the music started, Spencer smiled. He stood up and started to sing, while the girls watched him.
I could be mean
I could be angry
You know I could be just like you
Spencer let his emotions flow with the song, singing with his eyes closed.
I could be fake
I could be stupid
You know I could be just like you
He opened his eyes and frowned.
You thought you were standing beside me
You were only in my way
You're wrong if you think that I'll be just like you
Sam and Elizabeth had their eyes fixed in Spencer while he sang, anger evident in his voice.
You thought you were there to guide me
You were only in my way
You're wrong if you think that I'll be just like you
You thought you were there to guide me
You were only in my way
You're wrong if you think that I'll be just like you
He looked at the girls briefly before he sang the next verse.
I could be cold
I could be ruthless
You know I could be just like you
I could be weak
I could be senseless
You know I could be just like you
Spencer closed his eyes once again, remembering all the things his father has done.
You thought you were standing beside me
You were only in my way
You're wrong if you think that I'll be just like you
His fists were clenched and his eyes shut.
You thought you were there to guide me
You were only in my way
You're wrong if you think that I'll be just like you
You thought you were there to guide me
You were only in my way
You're wrong if you think that I'll be just like you
Spencer felt his anger leaving him slowly with every word of the song, like it was purifying him somehow.
On my own, cause I can't take living with you
I'm alone, so I won't turn out like you
Want me to
He opened his eyes and looked out of the window while he sang.
You thought you were standing beside me
You were only in my way
You're wrong if you think that I'll be just like you
He then looked at the picture that was resting in his bedside. It showed him and his dad playing baseball when he was a kid.
You thought you were there to guide me
You were only in my way
You're wrong if you think that I'll be just like you
You thought you were there to guide me
You were only in my way
You're wrong if you think that I'll be just like you
He walked towards his bedside and put the picture looking down, as he sang the last lines.
I could be mean
I could be angry
You know I could be just like you
He sighed and smiled at the girls.
"I feel better now" he said.
"It's the power of music" Elizabeth said, smiling.
Alma entered the classroom and found her students talking all around the choir room.
"Alright, kids, sit down!" she said, and they hurried to their seats "I've been thinking about songs for Regionals, and I got a couple ideas. But first, why don't we do a group number? It's been a long since we don't do one"
The kids nodded and smiled. They stood up and followed Alma to the auditorium.
The kids stomped on the floor, following the rhythm of the song. They exchanged smiles before Jonathan stepped forward and sang.
Come on you can look at me
I don't need to fit in
Stand up if you give a damn
It's the living season
Lucy stepped forward too, singing.
Who and what you're looking for?
Have you got a reason?
You can if you wanna see
Touch I'm on only human
Hannah sang her part, standing in the edge of the stage.
The same blood
The same cells
The same God
The same hell
Kevin, who was standing next to her, sang the next part.
The same life
The same love
Somebody, anybody
Everybody stand up.
They sang together, stomping on the floor and clapping.
Hey you!
We can turn it up
Hey you!
We can turn it up
Jonathan stood in the middle and sang.
You know no one's listening
They don't want to hear it
Lucy sang, standing next to him.
Saying what you wanna say
People start to fear it.
Hannah sat in the edge, looking at Alma while she sang.
The same fist
The same shout
The same pain
The same doubt
Kevin sat next to her and sang.
The same joy
The same love
Somebody, anybody
Everybody stand up
Once again, all of them sang together, jumping around the stage and clapping.
Hey you!
We can turn it up
Hey you!
We can turn it up
Silence has been killing you
Screaming deep inside of you
Just turn it up
Just turn it up.
They stood in a line, and only the boys sang
All that you got, just turn it up
Ready or not, just turn it up
The girls threw their fists in the air, singing their line.
Louder!
The boys sang again.
Don't ever stop
The girls raised both arms and sang.
Louder!
The boys stepped forward while they sang.
Just turn it up
The girls jumped as they sang their line.
Louder!
The boys looked at them from over their shoulders, singing.
What's making you hot
The girls stepped forward so they were all standing in the same line.
Louder!
They sang altogether.
Just turn it up
Jonathan sang his part, smiling sideways
Come on you can look at me
I don't need to fit in
Lucy pointed at herself while she sang.
You can if you wanna see
Touch I'm only human
Hannah sang with her hands in her pockets
The same blood
The same cells
The same God
The same hell
Kevin sang his part, raising his arms.
The same life
The same love
Somebody, anybody
Everybody stand up.
The kids sang, exchanging smiles.
Hey you!
We can turn it up
Hey you!
We can turn it up
Silence has been killing you
Screaming deep inside of you
Just turn it up
Just turn it up.
They kept stomping on the ground while they sang.
Silence has been killing you
Screaming deep inside of you
Just turn it up
Just turn it up.
They pointed forward, singing the last verse.
All that you got
Just turn it up
Ready or not
Just turn it up
Alma clapped, smiling at her kids, who jumped off the stage with big smiles on their faces.
I'll give you a little spoiler: Someone will return in the next chapter! Thank you for reading, please leave a review :3