CHAPTER 13
A.N
Hope you all are enjoying the story so far. Drop a comment/review if you're enjoying it, or if you have any feedback/advice for future chapters. I am looking for some plot points for later in the story so let me know what you want to happen and to who. Enjoy!
"Welcome, welcome, welcome everybody!" Mr. Schue exclaimed as he walked into the choir room on Friday morning. The assignment practice period was officially over, so it was time for everyone to perform. Quinn and Theo had spent almost the entire week together, spending every afternoon supposedly doing the assignment and getting to know each other. But truth be told, they were really just enjoying one another's company. It had become really easy to talk to each other, and so they talked about everything under the sun. They talked about their passions, their hobbies, their aspirations for the future, their upbringings. Theo felt horrible as he continued to keep many secrets from her - Marley's cause of death, as well as his years living in Tampa being a few of them - but he couldn't gather the strength to tell her. Either way, slowly but surely, Theo could feel himself coming out of his shell, becoming a part of the New Directions community seeming less and less terrifying and more enjoyable.
"Mr. Schue, are we performing today?" Rachel asked almost as soon as he walked in. "Because I feel like as soon as we can finish this assignment and move onto Sectionals prep, the better."
"What's with you and Sectionals prep, Rachel? Relax. We've got a long time until then." Mr. Schue chuckled. "But in answer to your question… yes. Performances today."
Theo glanced at Quinn across the room, and as her hazel eyes met his amber ones, she sensed his unease and smiled. She knew that he was nervous about performing. His audition song had been something he had sung in the shower for years, so he had polished it plenty through constant repetition. This song, however, he had just learned that week so it would be a much truer test of his singing ability.
Quinn had thoroughly enjoyed spending the past week with him. There was something different about him. She could definitely feel the roots of romantic feelings beginning to appear inside her, but she forced herself to quell them. She knew better than anyone that it wasn't the right time for Theo, given everything that had happened to him in the past year.
"But before we begin… Finn, Puck, Sam, Mike, Artie… how are you guys feeling? You guys ready for the game this evening?"
It was the football team's first game of the season that evening, the first step in their journey to becoming back to back State Champions. The feelings within the team were extremely anxious, more so than any other year, for a number of reasons. First off, in normal years, there was little to no expectations on them to perform. After all, they were a random public school in the dump of a city that Lima was. However, this year, as the state champions, they were no longer the hunters but rather the hunted, and that was a very new feeling to them.
This feeling was also made even more nerve wracking by the fact that a lot of their key players had graduated at the end of last year, leaving quite a few question marks over whether or not their new recruits that would be replacing them would perform. There were definitely key offensive players still there - Finn, Puck, Mike and Sam being some of them, but it was defense where things got a little more uncertain. Despite all this though, they were all extremely excited for the game that night.
"Heck yeah, Mr. Schue." Finn replied, forcing confidence into his voice. He was their captain after all. "Coach Beiste has been putting us through an insane training camp to get us ready for the season, so it'll be nice to showcase what we've learned and improved upon."
"Yeah, that is if our defense doesn't completely choke." Puck grumbled. "I swear, the Glee girls who played for us last season are better than some of these new recruits."
"Sorry… what? The Glee girls played football last year?" Theo asked, confused.
"Yeah, they played the first half in our Championship game." Sam chuckled. Theo's eyes widened.
"How'd that go?" He asked.
"Well Tina probably made more yards in one play than anyone else on our team." Mike responded, cracking a grin as he recollected that fateful evening.
"Yeah, then like 5 seconds later, she got her clock absolutely cleaned by some ogre linebacker. It was brutal." Puck grinned. Theo shuddered and turned to Tina, who was looking on with a proud smile on her face.
"That must've hurt." Theo remarked.
"Theo, I think the point of the story here is that some of the guys in the Glee club needed help. The whole football team quit a week before the Championship game. And like a family does, the rest of the Glee club stepped in and helped them." Mr. Schue said.
"No, the point of the story is that our team's defense this year sucks." Puck shot back. Mr. Schue rolled his eyes.
"Okay Puck. Well good luck to you all. I'm sure everyone here will all be there to support." Mr. Schue said. "Anyways, let's get into it. So each person will perform their song to their partner. If they want to explain why they chose the song, by all means do so. If you don't feel comfortable sharing because the reason is somewhat intimate, that's more than okay too."
"Who goes first?" Kurt asked.
"Any volunteers?" Mr. Schue said, turning to the entire group. There was a short silence as Mr. Schue waited to hear if someone would volunteer, but to his disappointment, nobody did. He sighed. "Okay, fine, guys. If none of you want to start, the way we'll do it is that we'll reverse the order in which the names were picked earlier this week. If memory serves, the last pair to have been chosen were Quinn and Theo."
"Yeah, that's right." Quinn said, before standing up. "I can go first."
"Awesome! Everyone, give it up for Quinn!" Mr. Schue exclaimed, and the group all clapped for her. Theo shot her a grateful look as she stood up, and she nodded subtly at him. She knew how nervous he was to perform, so she figured she'd take a bit of the stress off by going first.
"What song are you singing?" Mr. Schue asked her.
"I'm going to be singing Let it Be by the Beatles." Quinn replied.
"Any significance to the song? Why'd you choose it?" He asked. To this, Theo and Quinn met eyes for a moment, and Theo raised an eyebrow slightly. Was she going to expose the things that he had told her over the past week?
"Um… I chose this song to make the statement that there are some things that no matter how much we might want to, we can't really change. And that shouldn't affect how we view the next day. As long as we shed our demons from yesterday, we can be whoever we want to be."
Mr. Schue nodded, and Theo smiled faintly at her.
"That's a very good point, Quinn." Mr. Schue said. "And I feel like of all people, given everything you've been through over the past few years, you could probably relate to that better than anyone."
Quinn nodded, and then the music softly began. Quinn's singing was stunning. While singers like Rachel, Santana and Mercedes all relied on powerful belting during their performances, Quinn's voice was a lot softer, but with it came a smoothness and sincerity that even the top singers in the club lacked. There was a unique way that Quinn's voice pierced directly into Theo's soul, her words echoing through his mind, and he truly believed every word she was singing. At the end of the song, he was amongst those clapping the loudest as Quinn took her seat beside him again.
"That was great." Theo whispered to her, and she beamed at him.
"Thanks. Your turn now." She told him.
"Wow, great job, Quinn! That was beautiful." Mr. Schue said. "Next up… Theo! Up you come, buddy." Mr. Schue said. Theo nodded and walked to the front of the room, and the rest of the club clapped and smiled at him reassuringly. Theo took a deep breath to calm his nerves, before beginning to speak.
"So, um… my song is Please Forgive Me by Bryan Adams." He told them.
"Who?" Rachel asked, puzzled. Theo raised an eyebrow.
"Seriously?" Theo remarked. "Summer of 69?! Everything I Do?"
"Forgive her. She doesn't know any music sung by anyone with a normal-sized nose. It has to be by Barbra or no dice." Santana told him, eliciting a scowl from Rachel, but there was little Rachel could say to really refute that.
"So this song, Please Forgive Me, is originally a love song but when I listen to it, I don't really hear that. I hear someone who truly loves someone, but has had to give them up. But even after giving them up, it's not like their love has just disappeared. It's still there, and it eats them up inside." Theo explained. Although he didn't mention a name, when it came to Quinn, everyone knew exactly who Theo was referring to. The music began to play, a soft rock beat that Theo gently swayed to as he began to sing…
It still feels like our first night together
Feels like the first kiss
It's getting better baby
No one can better this
Still holding on
You're still the one
First time our eyes met
Same feeling I get
Only feels much stronger
I want to love you longer
Do you still turn the fire on?
So if you're feeling lonely, don't
You're the only one I'll ever want
I only want to make it good
So if I love you, a little more than I should
Please forgive me, I know not what I do
Please forgive me, I can't stop loving you
Don't deny me, this pain I'm going through
Please forgive me, if I need you like I do
Please believe me, every word I say is true
Please forgive me, I can't stop loving you
Still feels like our best times are together
Feels like the first touch
We're still getting closer baby
Can't get closer enough
Still holding on
You're still number one
I remember the smell of your skin
I remember everything
I remember all your moves
I remember you yeah
I remember the nights, you know I still do
So if you're feeling lonely, don't
You're the only one I'll ever want
I only want to make it good
So if I love you a little more than I should
Please forgive me, I know not what I do
Please forgive me, I can't stop loving you
Don't deny me, this pain I'm going through
Please forgive me, if I need you like I do
Please believe me, every word I say is true
Please forgive me, I can't stop loving you
The one thing I'm sure of
Is the way we make love
The one thing I depend on
Is for us to stay strong
With every word and every breath I'm praying
That's why I'm saying,
Please forgive me, I know not what I do
Please forgive me, I can't stop loving you
Don't deny me, this pain I'm going through
Please forgive me, if I need you like I do
Babe believe it, every word I say is true
Please forgive me, if I can't stop loving you
No, believe me, I don't know what I do
Please forgive me, I can't stop loving you
I can't stop, loving you
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"This seat taken?"
Blaine looked up from his seat on the bleachers of the football field and saw Theo standing over him, pointing at the empty seat beside him. He immediately smiled at the teenager and shook his head.
"No, have a seat man."
Theo sat down on the seat that was on the edge of a row with Mercedes, Rachel, Kurt, Tina and Blaine - all of the members of Glee club who weren't members of the football team or the Cheerios. It was 8 o'clock in the evening, and finally time for the football team's opening game of the season. They were approaching the end of September, and were deep into the season of Autumn, and chilly, gusty winds gently prickled against their cheeks. The sun had long begun to set, and only a few rays continued to peak out from above the horizon. Theo was wrapped in a scarf, gloves, a hoodie and a thick flannel jacket, and yet he was still shivering in the cool Ohio air. After living in Lebanon and Florida his whole life, he most certainly wasn't used to the chill yet.
The air's chilliness was made more so by the tension that was in the air. It was palpable. Every single person sitting in the packed bleachers was nervously looking onto the field, waiting for the players to make their way onto the pitch. After warmups, they had retreated back to their respective locker rooms, and would be arriving onto the field at any minute.
"You ever play football?" Theo asked Blaine, who was sitting beside him. As the only two new members of the New Directions and two of the very few new students at McKinley that year, they had actually gotten pretty close over the past week. Blaine, as Theo had found out, was actually a really nice guy. So was pretty much every member of the New Directions to be honest. Blaine had come from a private school in Ohio, and had transferred so he'd be able to spend his senior year with Kurt. If only he still had someone who loved him that much, Theo thought to himself.
"Um… no, not really." Blaine replied. "I mean I like watching it, and I like playing casually for fun, but I don't play competitively. I think I'd get killed in Game 1."
"You could always be the kicker." Theo commented. "Get all the praise for playing football and yet might as well be playing darts given how they never get tackled."
"Hey! I was the kicker in sophomore year!" Kurt exclaimed from further down the row, where he was listening to their conversation.
"You were?" Theo raised an eyebrow, surprised. "Why? I thought you didn't even like football."
"I thought it'd impress my dad to see me playing a tough guy sport like football." Kurt admitted honestly. Theo couldn't help but laugh at this.
"You wanted to be tough, so you decided to be the kicker?" He chuckled. Kurt rolled his eyes at him.
"Well you seem to know a lot about the sport. You ever play yourself?" Blaine asked. Theo nodded.
"Used to."
At that moment, the football team finally took to the field and instantly, the entire stadium erupted in cheers. School spirit had increased a hundredfold after their State Championship win last year, or it had at least improved when it came to football. There was not a spare seat in the entirety of the bleachers, with all of them being forced to sit directly shoulder to shoulder to fit.
Finn couldn't help but smile as he listened to the cheers, stomps, yells and screams coming from the supporters as he stepped onto the crisp, frosty field. For a moment, he felt like an NFL player, being serenaded by his incredible fans. No, not just an NFL player. They had made it to the top of the mountain last year. He was a superbowl champion, eager and hungry to defend his crown.
"Alright, guys, bring it in!" Finn called, and the football team all gathered in a close huddle on their side of the field. He had to shout for his teammates to even hear him over the glorious roaring of the crowd. The game hadn't even started and they were in full force, egging their team on. Finn took a deep breath and began to address his team. "Look, this is the first game of the season, but it might as well be the final. Every single game we play this year is going to be like a final. As State champs, we're the favorites now, the ones to beat in every game we play. We know that, they know that, which is why they're going to throw absolutely everything they have at us. For many of us, this is our senior year, so we're going to be trying to focus on getting scouts' attention all season. That's great, but when the whistle to each game blows, I want you to forget all about that and just play the game the way we've always played it. Play for yourselves. Play for your teammates, who are all putting their asses on the line for you. And most importantly… play for the Titans!
The football team all yelled and whooped, hyping themselves up for the game. This was it. It was game time.
"McKinley on three!" Finn bellowed. "1! 2! 3!"
"MCKINLEY!"
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"I honestly couldn't believe it." Coach Beiste told Mr. Schue the next day as they sat in the staffroom and she tucked into her traditional lunch of an entire roast chicken. "I mean I genuinely couldn't believe what I was watching. It was like I was coaching a completely different team."
She wasn't wrong. The team that she had watched play last night had absolutely no similarities to the team that took State last season. They were… awful. From the very first kickoff to the final whistle, they struggled to keep up with their opponents, losing to them by 41 to a measly 3.
"Come on, coach. It's the first game of the season. The players were bound to be a bit rusty."
Beiste shook her head.
"It's not even that. God, I wish it was that." She stated. "But we were lacking everywhere in sheer quality of skill. Throwing. Catching. Tackling. It was actually on defense that we had our biggest issues. With so many of our big boys graduated, we lacked physicality and size from our offensive and defensive linesman. It was almost like some of the guys were scared to get hit. I tell you… with the way we played last night, we barely even have a shot at making the playoffs, let alone winning State again."
"Wow. So what are you going to do?" Mr. Schue asked. Coach Beiste shrugged.
"I really don't know, Will. Something clearly has to change, but I honestly don't know what to do. I had to take nearly 25 new players this year to replace all the graduates, so I'm sure they'll get better as the season progresses. But we have games almost every week now. We can't afford to just wait around for them to get better, or it'll be too late. We need to change something now. We're looking weak. We're looking sloppy. We're looking horrible."
"Can I give you some advice?" Mr. Schue asked.
"Please." Coach Beiste nodded.
"We actually had that exact problem in the New Directions two years ago. My kids saw that their competition for Sectionals wasn't the best, so they got complacent. They stopped participating in rehearsals and our quality visibly dropped."
"How'd you fix that problem?" Beiste asked.
"We did a mash-up competition where the boys and the girls both created their own mashups. Winner got to take the opening number for Sectionals."
Beiste chuckled.
"Yeah, no offense Will but I don't think my boys are doing a mashup competition." She remarked. Mr. Schue rolled his eyes.
"My point… is that pitting them against one another in competition is the easiest way to get the best out of them. Better yet… recruit more players, as it'll give your current group a scare and give them competition for their spot on the lineup."
"More guys? Will, I don't think that'll really help. I recruited the best players I saw in the tryout, and I'm already having a problem with the new recruits. We're missing leaders - older guys who can use not only their bodies, but also their voices to direct the team. Wouldn't adding more new recruits just amplify that problem?"
Ms. Pillsbury, who had just sat down with them and had been listening to their conversation, decided to speak up.
"Well maybe you're just looking for the wrong types of players." She suggested. Beiste chuckled.
"Emma, pumpkin, I don't think that's the issue. I'm sure that without a doubt, I picked the very best players who tried out." Beiste replied. Emma nodded.
"That's my point. The best players who tried out." She remarked. "If Will only had the Glee members who tried out…"
"We'd only have the 5 people we started with, and we'd absolutely suck." Mr. Schue said, starting to understand his girlfriend's point. "It took finding people who despite no formal experience, had talent, for us to grow as a group. I found Finn, who's become one of our leaders, because I saw potential in him that he didn't even know was there himself."
"So you suggest I try to find non-football players in the school who look athletically gifted?" Beiste asked.
"Would that be the worst thing to do?" Ms. Pillsbury remarked. Coach Beiste thought long and hard for a while, before shaking her head.
"I guess not. Thanks Emma." She replied. "But let's say I do find some people who look promising, how do I convince them to join."
Mr. Schue chuckled, thinking back to his somewhat 'questionable' methods in recruiting Finn.
"You do whatever it takes!" He told her. "You get creative. You don't take no for an answer! Don't tell anyone this, but it took me practically blackmailing Finn to get him to join Glee."
Beiste nodded thankfully as she finished eating.
"Thanks, guys." She said, her mind now thinking in a completely different way to this morning. As she walked down the hallways of the school that afternoon, rather than seeing students, she saw potential recruits. She looked for those who looked big and strong, those who were smaller and nimbler, those who had experience playing organised sports and those who didn't. However, none of the people she saw had the spark she was looking for. That was, until she walked into her fourth period phys ed class that afternoon…