Hi guys! I decided since this is already a long story, I'd put a summer scene as the deleted scene. But don't worry, there will be more summer chapters! In other news, my three year fanfic anniversary is coming up and I'm so excited! I didn't think I would have come this far in three years! So thanks to all of you for being part of that! Hope you like this chapter and review if you want me to keep going!
Chapter 24: Audition
"You're going to love this show," Rachel said as she and Finn lined up to go into the theatre. Wicked was touring the country this summer, and her dads had gotten her two tickets for their performance in Cleveland. Rachel had invited Finn to go with her. Finn didn't know so much about Wicked, but he knew Rachel loved the show, so he agreed to go with her.
"This is so exciting," Rachel said. "You and me going to another city, just the two of us."
"It is pretty cool," Finn said. It was the matinee, so he and Rachel had left for Cleveland in the morning and would be heading back after the show.
"Which Broadway show is your favorite?" Finn asked.
"Probably Wicked," Rachel said. "Or Funny Girl, but it never goes on tour or on Broadway. Maybe because no one can do it like Barbra."
"Maybe you could, one day," Finn said.
"I doubt it," Rachel sighed. "So, your first Broadway show! This is so exciting!"
Finn gave Rachel a smile. "Well, off Broadway."
"I'm still so excited!" Rachel said.
Rachel was so cute when she got excited. "I know you are. But you are going to have to go to my world, too."
"What do you mean?" Rachel asked.
"Maybe I'll take you to a football game or something," Finn said.
"I wouldn't understand anything!" Rachel protested.
"Don't worry," Finn said. "I'll help you out."
"Okay," Rachel sighed.
Finn took Rachel's hand as their tickets were checked and they both headed to their seats. "Did you know this is the Palace Theatre?" Rachel asked. "There's a Palace Theatre on Broadway, too."
"I didn't know that," Finn said.
"Yeah, this district is like the Broadway of Cleveland, or close enough," Rachel said. "It's where we go to touring shows, since they never come to Lima, or maybe we go to Cincinnati or Columbus."
"That's cool," Finn said as he and Rachel walked to their seats. "So, do you do this often?"
"We do when we can," Rachel said. They sat down to watch the show, and Finn had to admit, it was pretty amazing. The actors were very talented, and the songs were good. There was one song in particular that Finn liked, As Long As You're Mine. It reminded him of him and Rachel.
At the end of the show, Rachel was on her feet cheering. She took Finn's hand as they walked out of the theatre. "Did you enjoy the show?"
"Yup," Finn said. "Kurt was jealous that I got to go to Wicked."
"Oh really?" Rachel asked. Finn noticed Rachel's facial expressions change at the mention of Kurt.
"You okay?" Finn asked.
"I am kind of nervous about going back to school next week," Rachel said.
"You don't have anything to worry about," Finn said. "You've got me and you have glee club."
"Do you think glee club will be able to compete this year?" Rachel asked.
Finn knew what Rachel meant. They were a member short now that Matt and his family had moved to Alabama.
"Of course!" Finn said. Secretly, he was worried about the same thing, but he didn't want to ruin Rachel's mood. "Maybe you and I can sing that song from Wicked at some point?"
Rachel perked up. "I'd love that!"
x
The first day of junior year wasn't bad so far. Nobody had bothered Finn and Rachel at all and they could just talk in the hall in peace. Unfortunalely, they didn't have many classes together, so before and after school and during lunch would be their main time together. Then Jacob Ben Israel came up to them. "Rachel, how do you respond to rumors you're incredibly difficult to work with?" he asked.
Finn had to put a stop to this. "Well, as her boyfriend, I can answer that."
"We've been dating all summer," Rachel said proudly. Finn was proud of that, too.
"Rachel's what you'd call a controllist," Finn said. That didn't mean that she was hard to be with.
"I'm controlling," Rachel said. "Controllist isn't a word," she whispered to Finn before turning back to Jacob. "I'm controlling. Performing is my life. And yes, do I have opinions about it? Does my need to constantly express those opinions annoy my fellow Glee Clubbers?"
"Yes," Finn said. Wrong word choice though. It didn't annoy him. He knew it annoyed everyone else, but he knew it was because they were jealous. "That was out loud, wasn't it?"
But before Finn had a chance to say anything else, Jacob had moved on. Rachel looked at Finn. "I don't want to annoy people."
"You don't annoy me," Finn said. "They're just jealous of you. Of us."
"This is going to be our year, I know it," Rachel said.
"I sure hope so," Finn said.
x
A week later was the first glee club meeting of the year, and Rachel couldn't be happier that glee was back in session.
"These are comments from Jacob Ben-Israel's most recent Glee Club blog: Glee is a giant ball of suck," Mr. Schue announced to the group. Shouldn't today have instead been about getting excited for the new year.?
"We get it, Mr. Schue," Kurt interrupted. "Everyone still hates us. So what? So we're plankton on the high school food chain? Only difference now is that none of us really care."
"Kurt's right," Mercedes agred. "We're a family. They can bring it all they want. None of it is going to break us."
"Okay, I'm really happy that you guys have all bonded. The problem is that all of this negative stuff is keeping other students from auditioning," Mr. Schue said.
"Why do we need new members?" Tina asked.
"Well, since Matt transferred, we only have 11 members, and if we want to go to Nationals, if we want to beat Vocal Adrenaline, we have to go from a small rebel force to a giant wall of sound," Mr. Schue said.
Rachel went forward. "Yeah, Mr. Schuester's right, you guys. You didn't see Vocal Adrenaline at Regionals. They were epic. We're going to need more voices in order to beat them."
Finn came and joined Rachel at the front of the room. "Yeah. I'm with Rachel on this one."
"You're going to have to trust me on this, guys," Mr. Schue said. "Now, here's the plan. Nationals are in New York this year, and we are going. Now let's go out there and show the school how cool it's going to be, how cool we can be. If they're not going to come to us, let's go to them. They say we only sing show tunes and '80s pop. Let's show them how down we are. Let's give them the song of the year, New Directions style."
x
The performance in the courtyard hadn't gone so well.
Rachel had noticed a new foreign exchange student watching the performance and Finn had said a new kid on the football team had looked interested too, but no one else had so much had looked up. Rachel was putting recruitment posters in the bathroom when the same foreign exchange student came in. Maybe now Rachel could recruit her. "I couldn't help but notice you admiring me yesterday in the courtyard."
"Um, what?" the girl asked.
Did she not understand English? "Oh, you don't speak English. You like me sing! You like me sing very much!"
"Um, I totally speak English," the girl said.
Rachel was embarrassed now. "I even did a little research on you. You're a foreign exchange student named Sunshine Corazon because you're from the Philippines, where it's sunny every day."
"Except for the monsoons," Sunshine said.
"Listen, Sunshine, we need chorus members; people to stand behind me and stare at me with wet, moved eyes while I sing solos," Rachel said. "So I encourage you to audition for Glee Club! Glee Club is fun! Swaying in background can be fun!"
As Rachel started to leave the bathroom, Sunshine started singing along with her iPod. Rachel couldn't help but notice that Sunshine was good. Maybe it wasn't such a good idea to have her try out for glee club. What if she got the big leads? Then no one in the glee club would like Rachel anymore! No one would probably even talk to her.
Rachel started singing along, hoping to intimidate Sunshine with her talent, but Sunshine just looked like it was even more entertained. For the first time since Rachel had been at McKinley, she was relieved to see Coach Sylvester, who came into the bathroom and shouted, "Shut up!"
After Sue left, Sunshine looked at Rachel. "Um. That was fun. I'd love to join your club. When are auditions?"
Rachel had to find a way to keep Sunshine from trying out. "Let me get back to you on that one."
x
The new football coach seemed to know what she was doing, more than Coach Tanaka did, but she was a bit intimidating. She held up one of the glee club recruitment posters that Finn had made and hung in the locker room and held it up. "What is this?"
"We're trying to recruit new members for Glee Club," Finn tried to explain.
"The Panther isn't cool with anything except doing exactly what she says without question," Coach Beiste ordered. "That's how you win. Now, first things first. You're all cut. Everyone starts fresh with me. Tryouts start right now. Any questions?"
A pizza worker came in. "I got 25 everything pies for a Coach Beiste?"
Pizza? That would be great! Coach Beiste looked confused. "I didn't order any pizzas."
The delivery man made a call on his phone and then turned to Coach Beiste. "The boss says, uh, if you don't pay for 'em, I have to. Which means we have to reuse my kid's Pampers. For another week."
Coach Beiste handed the pizzas to Finn. "Hand 'em out, Wayne Newton. All right, guys, it's a pizza party. Dig in. Everybody has to eat at least four slices. Let's go! And when you're done, full pads out on the field. We're doing wind sprints. And the first ten to puke are off the team."
She was serious about this. Could Finn keep his spot on the team?
x
Finn had kept his spot on the team, which was a relief. Glee club additions were going to be this week, and Finn was hoping he could recruit the new transfer student from the football team to join glee. He'd texted Puck and Mike, asking them to meet him in the choir room, and was about to text Artie when Artie wheeled up to Finn's locker. "Finn, I need you to get me a tryout on the football team."
Finn looked at Artie. "Are you serious?" Finn really liked Artie, but he was in a wheelchair...
"I figured that if Kurt's gay and he can do it, then why can't I?" Artie asked.
"Being gay isn't a handicap, Artie. How can you play football in a wheelchair, anyway?" Finn asked.
"I have to get on that team, Finn," Artie said.
"Dude, what's this about?" Finn asked.
"Tina," Artie admitted. "She dumped me for Mike Chang. They fell in love over the summer at Asian were counselors, in charge of teaching all those tech-savvy Asian kids about the arts."
"So, what did Tina say when she broke up with you?" Finn asked.
"She complained that I wasn't a good boyfriend," Artie said.
Finn had a feeling Artie was a good boyfriend to Tina. "Dude, I'm sympathetic for you; I just don't see you on the football team."
"Imagine you were pushing me in this big hunk of metal down the field at full speed. The centrifugal force would be too much to stop. I'd be like a medieval battering ram," Artie rambled.
Finn liked that idea. "Dude, you'd be like a human cannonball. That would be awesome!"
Artie looked hopeful. "So you'll help?"
"Sure. But you got to help me first." He saw Sam at his locker down at the end of the hall. "Hey, Sam. My name's Finn. This here is Artie."
"Yeah, I know who you are," Sam said. "You're the quarterback."
Finn nodded. "Exactly, which makes me very cool. And we'd like to talk to you about Glee Club."
"Glee club?" Sam asked.
"Yeah, we're both in it, it's lots of fun," Finn said. "We were going to meet up with the other glee guys to look at songs for this year, and since you're new, maybe you should join. It'll be a good way to meet people."
"Okay," Sam said, walking down the hall with Finn and Artie to the choir room, where Puck and Mike wre waiting. "This is Puck, and this is Mike," Finn told Sam. "So, Sam, tell us about yourself."
"My name's Sam Evans," Sam said. "I like comic books, sports. I'm dyslexic, so my grades aren't that good, but I'm working on it."
"Dude, your mouth is huge. How many tennis balls can you fit in there?" Puck asked.
"I don't know. I've never had any balls in my mouth. Have you?" Sam shot back.
"I like this kid," Finn whispered to Artie.
"I like his confidence, but the Bieber cut's gotta go," Artie whispered back.
"So, can you sing with that big mouth?" Puck asked.
"I've never really sung in front of anybody before," Sam said.
"Dude, let me tell you, chicks dig singers," Puck said.
"Well, give it a shot," Finn said. "We'll back you up, I promise. What song you got in your back pocket?"
"Billionaire," Sam said, picking up one of the guitars. As the boys sang the song together, Finn realized that not only could Sam sing very well, he could play the guitar, too. All the other guys backed him up, Artie and Puck played the guitar as well, Finn played the drums, and Mike danced to it.
At the end of the song, Finn noticed Sam looked like he'd had fun. "Nice. So you think you can come back and do that in front of everybody?"
"Sure," Sam said.
x
Glee club auditions were coming up soon, and Rachel had to keep Sunshine from auditioning. She didn't want to tell Finn why, what if he thought she was crazy for wanting to still be the star of the group? She went into the choir room and saw Kurt and Mercedes. In the past, they'd gotten along at times.. "We have a problem. There's a new student at this school named Sunshine who is a Filipino and is shorter than me. Which I didn't think was possible and is very unnerving."
"Okay, so I'm gonna go now," Mercedes said.
Rachel had to find a way to make them worry this would be bad for them. "Wait! And she has a remarkable voice. I'm just... I'm very worried. You know, not for myself, but for lesser Glee Clubbers who don't get as many solos. So I've paid a hundred dollars to Azimio and Karofsky to brutally slushie us in front of Sunshine's locker, terrifying her and ensuring she doesn't sign up. Okay, so this is the part where you're supposed to be hugging me and thanking me."
Mercedes didn't look impressed. "That's awful. You're awful."
"But solos! I mean..." Rachel said. She thought that they'd be convinced if she made it seem like it was about them.
"Look, Rachel, Mercedes and I are about as self-involved as they come, but more than anything, we want to beat Vocal Adrenaline," Kurt said. "And if there's someone at the school that can help us do that, they're in."
Rachel gave up. "You know what? You're right. It's just... so like me to just be totally blinded by my concern for the two of you. I'll go talk to Sunshine now and just let her know how truly welcome she really is. Thanks."
Rachel figured maybe if she gave Sunshine another address, she wouldn't show up. She went to the library and googled "addresses in Lima Ohio" and scrolled through until she found one she didn't recognize. She had no idea what this place was, but if it was on the internet, it couldn't be anything too bad, right? She wrote it down and went up to Sunshine in the hall. "Hi. So, here's the address for the audition tomorrow and helpful directions. Look forward to seeing you there."
"Thanks," Sunshine said.
x
Glee club auditions hadn't gone well. No one had shown up, and Finn was disappointed. All they needed was one more member, and he thought he and the other guys had recruited Sam. After the wait, he and Artie went to the football locker room and up to Coach Beiste. "Hey, Coach, uh, this is Artie. He'd like to try out for the team."
Coach Beiste gave Finn a look. "You screwing with me?"
"No, no. Absolutely not," Finn stuttered. "Uh, see we figured that if I push him down the field fast enough, the centrifugal force."
"You're out," Coach Beiste snapped.
What? Why was she doing this? "Wait, what?" Finn asked.
"You're off the team, cut, out!" Coach Beiste snapped. "You come in here, pushing a kid in a wheelchair, making me look like some kind of monster because I have to tell him he can't play?"
That hadn't been Finn's intention. "No. No, that's not what was going on here."
"I really want to play. I want my girlfriend back, and I want abs," Artie protested.
"Yeah, he's like a human battering ram, like Braveheart," Finn said.
"You know what? I don't like being screwed with! Do you understand me?" Coach Beiste shouted.
"Dude, you're totally overreacting," Finn said.
"Dude? Get the hell out of my locker room! Go! Think this is some joke? Go!" Coach Beiste shouted.
Finn couldn't believe he'd been cut. He'd thought he was a good player, but then again, last year they'd only won one game, and that was only by one point. Now he was even more worried people would make fun of him, getting cut from the team.
x
"Rachel, can you come to the choir room?" Mr. Schue asked.
"Sure," Rachel said.
Mr. Schue led Rachel to a choir room, where Mike and Tina were waiting. "You sent Sunshine to an inactive crackhouse instead of auditions!" Mike said.
"Tell me this isn't true, Rachel," Mr. Schue said.
"She could have died," Tina added.
Now Rachel was in a tight spot. If she said she didn't know it was a crackhouse, they wouldn't believe her. "I didn't send her to an active crack house. Besides, how did you guys find out anyways?"
"The Asian community is very tight," Mike said.
Mr. Schue looked at Rachel. "I just don't get it. You're better than this."
"No, she's an ambitious little freak who will do anything to hold on to her power," Tina snapped.
If Tina hadn't talked, maybe Rachel could have said that she didn't know it was a crackhouse. "I love you guys so much. I was wrong before. I don't want any new members. I didn't want anyone coming in and-and messing up our group dynamic. Tina, Mike, I mean, what if Sunshine can dance? Then your contributions to Glee will be even more insignificant than they already are now. I did this for you guys."
"Whatever your motivations, you need to make this right, Rachel," Mr. Schue said.
"Can I talk to you alone?" Rachel asked Mr. Schue.
"Sure," Mr. Schue said as Mike and Tina left.
"I didn't know it was a crackhouse," Rachel said. "I was intimidated, so I got a random address from online and gave it to her." She was feeling worse and worse. Maybe she should have sent her to a place where she knew what it was.
"Rachel, I know you love performing, but we need more members," Mr. Schue said.
"I'll have her come to rehearsal tomorrow," Rachel sighed. The truth was, if she wasn't helping lead the team, she didn't know how much longer she could stay there. Everyone was always insulting her in almost every way possible. She found Sunshine at her locker. "I'm sorry for sending you to that crack house."
"They stole my sheet music and used it for toilet paper," Sunshine told Rachel.
"Look, I'll buy you a new set. You can just, um, come pick it up at the auditorium at 4:00 tomorrow," Rachel said. Maybe she couldn't have everything in life.
x
Sunshine had tried out for Glee, but then the director of Vocal Adrenaline had found her and recruited her. The glee club was back to being a member short. Finn went to the locker room to find Sam. "Hey, man, uh, why didn't you show at the audition?"
"I wanted to, I did, but after what Coach Beiste did to you," Sam said. "Do you know how everybody talks about you Glee guys?"
Yeah, Finn knew, and it hurt, but he couldn't let Sam know it. "You get used to all that."
"I'm the new guy," Sam said. "That means I'm already on the outside looking in. I don't want to start off three touchdowns behind. I got to go. Coach Beiste makes us do a hundred push-ups for every minute we're late, so..."
Finn wished he was out there practicing, too. "Yeah, you made the team, that's cool. Uh, what position?"
"Quarterback," Sam said before leaving.
Finn's heart fell. He'd been replaced.
x
Rachel wasn't answering Finn's phone calls or texts. She wasn't online.
She arrived to all the classes at school just as the bells rang, and didn't talk to anyone in class, sitting in the corner.
Finn knew what Rachel did was wrong, but he knew why Rachel didn't want Sunshine at auditions. Everyone was cheering when Sunshine tried out. It was true that she'd been recruited by Vocal Adrenaline, but Rachel wouldn't want to risk anyone but her and Finn being the stars of the club. Rachel told Finn all the time that she wished everyone liked her more and that she thought the only reason the glee club wasn't mean to her all the time was her talent.
Finn liked her for more than her voice, but that was because he'd actually taken the time to get to know her. He'd given her a chance. No one else was up to that.
Rachel wasn't in glee either. Maybe she'd quit? Everyone was saying that Rachel should be kicked out, or never get another solo again, or other things like that. Finn offered to talk to Rachel, but he knew it was going to be tough. He didn't like seeing her hurt or upset, but he knew she'd feel even worse if everyone else verbally attacked her. He finally found her in the hall. Rachel looked at Finn with fear in her eyes. "What did they say?"
"Well, I talked 'em out of giving you a code red," Finn said. "They were pissed, and they had the right to be. What you did was bad, Rachel. We could have used Sunshine to beat Vocal Adrenaline, and now they're just that much stronger."
"Just do it already," Rachel said.
What did she mean? "What?" Finn asked.
"Break up with me," Rachel said sadly. "We both knew it was just a matter of time."
Why would Finn do that? No one made him happier than Rachel. "I think you're forgetting I'm not the quarterback anymore. I'm just another Glee loser now. Fact is, you should be breaking up with me."
"I'll never break up with you," Rachel said.
"Me neither," Finn said. He leaned in and kissed Rachel.
"I did it for the team, you know. I just, I-I love everybody so much, I didn't want anyone else coming in and interfering," Rachel said.
Finn knew no one would buy that. "You got to stop saying that, Rachel. I care about you and everything, but you got to admit the truth. You didn't do this because you love Glee Club. You did it because you love yourself more."
Rachel looked defeated. "Okay. I didn't want anyone else hogging my spotlight. Okay, I love it too much to let it go that easy. Do you think that they'll ever forgive me?"
"They'll come around. I think apologizing would be a good start." Finn held out his hand for Rachel, but she turned away. "Where are you going?"
"The auditorium. I just need some alone time first," Rachel said.
x
Rachel told the glee club that she hadn't known it was a crackhouse, but she wasn't sure if they believed her. At the end of the practice, Finn caught up to her. "Why didn't you tell me you didn't know it was a crackhouse?"
"I was worried you wouldn't believe me," Rachel said.
"I didn't think a crackhouse was like you," Finn said. "Something didn't seem right about that."
Rachel gave Finn a hug. "Thank you."
"Look, you didn't want her to get hurt," Finn said. "I know you. Once everyone else gets a chance to get to know you, they'll believe you, too."
"Do you think everything will be okay?" Rachel asked. "I do want us to find a twelfth member."
"Things will work out," Finn said. "What do you say we go to my house?"
"Yeah, I'd like that," Rachel said. It felt good to know that she still had Finn.
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