The Performance
Brendon shut the door of his locker sluggishly. Sleep still hung heavily in his eyes and he was sure he would hit the floor if he took another step. Somehow, instead of going home at 10, as he expected, he got home at almost 2 in the morning. He practically sent the entire evening with Hayley.
He didn't regret it though. She was the most interesting thing since...well, since Ryan. Sure, his glee club members were interesting too -each had their own story to tell, given their "condition"- but he felt like he really connected with her. Finally, someone outside of Ryan that seems to understand him.
He checked his watch. He was supposed to meet Ryan in the choir room in a few minutes. They were performing, for the first time, for the student body at the assembly. Ryan didn't think it was such a good idea, might even increase the overpowering bullying rate in the school, but Brendon thought otherwise. In fact, he thought that showcasing the talents of the outcasts might even earn then some respect from their fellow classmates.
That is, if they went through with this.
He started for the choir room, knowing Ryan might scold him for being late for rehearsals. I wonder how Ryan would feel about Hayley, he thought, I mean, he did tell me to meet new people after all.
As if on cue, he felt someone bump into him. He looked down and saw that it was one other than Hayley herself. She looked the same as she did last night. Glowing white face, bright smile, flaming red hair. Only, she was in jeans and a simple shirt.
"We meet again," said Brendon.
"We should probably stop meeting like this," said Hayley chuckling.
"Probably."
"So, I hear you head a glee club here in school."
"You heard right. In fact, we're having a performance at the assembly this morning. I assume you're watching?"
Hayley shrugged. "Can't avoid it if it's during assembly." She didn't mean to offend, but the confused look on his face made her think twice "I was kidding. I'm sure it's going to be amazing. And, since you're head of the glee club, you must have an amazing voice."
Brendon felt like his ears were on fire. "Um...I don't think I'm really..."
"There you are," said Ryan behind him. "Where the hell have you been? We're starting in 30 minutes." His eyes found Hayley. "Who is this?"
"Oh, uh, Ryan, this is Hayley," introduced Brendon "Hayley, this is my best friend Ryan. I told you about him last night."
"Oh right. It's so nice to meet you Ryan." Hayley took Ryan's hand and shook it cordially.
"Nice to meet you too Hayley," said Ryan, just as cordially. He looked at Brendon. "And how do you know Hayley?"
"I met her at the soiree."
Ryan looked surprised. "You did? Congratulations! See I told you you'd be able to meet people without me. Now, we really have to go. I'm sorry Hayley."
"No worries," said Hayley "Break a leg guys!"
Brendon waved back at her, but Ryan dragged him roughly back to the choir room.
"You should've went Ryan," said Brendonas they walked. "Hayley's really cool. She likes exactly the same things as us!"
"hunger games, Harry Potter, doctor who and game of thrones?"
"Yeah! Isn't that awesome?"
"But I was right though. You were able to meet someone without me."
"Yeah fine. You were right."
Ryan smirked, pleased that he was, once again, right. But somehow, he could shake the weird feeling he had about Hayley. She didnt look like a potential stalker. She looked too... normal. But still...if Brendon hung around her...
"Hey guys," said Brendon as they entered the choir room. "Sorry I'm late. I ran into someone." He flipped through the clear book containing song sheets. "So, what song are we doing this morning?"
"The muse by Darren Criss," said Ryan.
"Really? Since when?"
"Since you picked it last week?"
Brendon chuckled, finally remembering. He patted Ryan on the shoulder. "Ah Ryan. What would I do without you?"
He faced his choir mates. "Alright, so we're going to mix things up a bit. We're still following the same format. However, for this song, I thought we should have two leads."
Ryan rolled his eyes. Typical Brendon. Always spontaneous. But Ryan saw it coming. That's why he decided to practice beforehand. Besides, who else would he pick...
"I decided that my other lead would be," said Brendon, pausing dramatically. "William Beckett."
Ryan paused in surprise. What the hell? He looked at William and saw that he was completely caught off guard. He looked so unprepared.
"Bren," said Ryan "You do know William's new, right?"
"Yes," replied Brendon "That's exactly why I picked him as the second lead! This is his time to show everyone what he's made of!"
"Yeah but don't you think it's unfair to the others?" Ryan looked warily at the other members. "You haven't given this opportunity to them."
"I think the song really fits William," said one glee member
"Yeah! He's got such a nice voice," said another.
"Yeah, his voice fits the sultry nature of the song," said another, wiggling his eyebrows at William.
"He's going to rock it so hard!"
"Everyone's going to love him!"
Brendon looked at Ryan and gave him the same smirk Ryan always gave him. But Ryan wasn't going down without a fight.
"Well, what does William say about it?"
Brendon looked at William. "Well, William. You up for it?"
William grinned. "Are you kidding me? I love this song. I've been practicing it ever since you picked it."
Brendon looked at Ryan again. "Strike two."
Ryan was fuming. "Fine! Fine! It's your glee club. Whatever." Ryan tossed his bag onto the piano chair and sat down on one of the seats.
Brendon didn't seem to notice. He rubbed his hands together. 'Alright. Let's rehearse!"
~~/~~
Jordan hid behind his locker, checking on his myspace account. He recorded some stuff he'd been working on and put them up the night before. When he woke up, the plays on the music section reached 20. Now it rose to 60 and still counting. There were even some comments like "Wow! Great stuff!" "You should have your own concert one day!" "This is my kind of music!"
He still couldn't get over how cool it was that people like him now, that people appreciate him this way. It beats the lonely days in the bleachers or the cafeteria tables back in his old school.
He still didn't know how Christofer reacted yesterday. He didn't look mad or glad at all. He looked rather surprised and stunned. Like he didn't know what was going on.
Oh well, thought Jordan, he'll get used to it eventually.
Suddenly, he felt a tap on his shoulder. He turned around and faced Christofer. He was holding his iPhone and looking rather confused.
"What's up?" asked Jordan.
"You have a myspace?" asked Christofer, like he couldn't believe Jordan of all people would have one.
"Yeah...I've had one for a while..."
"Yeah, but I've never seen the music section before."
"Yeah well, I kind of have a thing for music."
"Oh..." said Christofer, still looking confused. "Sorry...it's just. The park thing...and..."
"What about it?"
Christofer shook his head. "Nothing. Forget about it." He put an arm around Jordan, though it didn't seem as welcoming as he expected it to be "Come on. We're going to be late for the assembly."
~~/~~
"I don't understand why we have to watch a bunch of gay and disabled kids sing," complained Travis as they filed into the gym "I mean, we hear a lot of those on the radio. What's the difference?"
"It's mandatory," said Gabe shrugging "What can you do?" Secretly though, he'd been waiting all morning for the presentation. He didn't know why, but he wanted to see the guy sing. How does he look like when he sings? Did it sound amazing? He didn't know. All he knew was that these thoughts weirded him out and he decided that all he wanted to see were the hot lesbians.
The gym was filled with noise as the students filed in. It gradually died down as President Stump took his place at the podium. He was a tall, thin man, with bleached blonde hair combed way over one side, obviously to cover his bald spot. His bright blue eyes surveyed the crowd.
"Good morning students," he greeted "Before today's proceedings, I have some announcements. Vandalism is still not tolerated in this school. So, whoever decided to write 'Mr. Stump is a great big jackass" will be punished severely."
Sierra, who was seated some seats away from Gabe, saw Dave Strauchman, elbowing Alex Gaskarth, who looked like he was going to collapse from his laughing fit. She rolled her eyes. That boy didn't need to cover anything up. He'd always be clean.
"Some of our students will be performing for us this morning. Everyone is expected to shut up and listen politely. Ladies and gentlemen, I present to you The Glenndale High glee club!"
Only a handful of people clapped as the glee club took it's place on the stage. The choir started humming a tune, and suddenly everyone was interested. It was a haunting kind of tune, the kind that draws you in almost immediately. All eyes were turned to the man under the spotlight.
"You're a diamond that I'm afraid to touch," sang Brendon, his figure casting a shadow on the stage
"You're damn near flawless and I'm sure you'd cut on my
Eyes, my hands, my head, my heart
You'd tear this canvas skin apart
Oh what a waste of human art that'd be"
A second spotlight shone on the guy beside him. Gabe couldn't stop staring. He was so sure gigantic angel wings would sprout somewhere on his back.
"You're a dungeon but you're made of glass," sang William.
"Your prisoners have no idea they're trapped
Cause you look so beautiful inside
It makes us feel like we're alive
But Lord knows we'll never survive your walls "
"But didn't you know that all along," the whole glee club sang together
"You didn't need to hear your song
And if you don't know that
Then you might as well be dead"
"You make me feel so alive," sang William and Brendon
"But it's consequence, I want to be dead
Was it how you arrived? I can't tell
Or was it in the way you left us here"
"But didn't you know that all along
You didn't need to hear your song
And if you don't know that then you might as well-
Might as well oh"
"You didn't need to hear your song
Cause you just knew it all along
But you didn't know that so you might as well—
Oh might as well be dead"
Suddenly the whole gym erupted with applause. Brendon smiled up at everyone. They loved it. They actually loved it. They knew that a bunch of misfits were singing, and yet they managed to put on a good show. The praise was genuine and he knew it.
"Man," commented Travis with contempt "I don't understand why everyone's clapping. They're a bunch of fags. They don't even sound that great."
Gabe wasn't paying attention. His eyes were fixed on William. Whoa was the only word going through his mind. He looked completely different when he sang. Brighter. Stronger. He wasn't sure if it was the spotlight tricking him, but it didn't matter. He'd forgotten to breathe during the whole performance. Now he was concentrating on getting sufficient amount of air in his lungs.
Travis nudged him. "Dude. You okay?"
Gabe blinked. "Yeah...yeah..."
"Well come on. Let's get outta here. I'd rather be in English right now."
Gabe stood up with Travis, stealing one last look at the glowing William before taking off.