Hey guys! Thanks so much for all the support of this fanfic. This is one of my favorite episodes, so I was excited to write this chapter. Hope you enjoy it and review if you want me to continue!
Chapter 54: Hold On To Sixteen
Rachel drove home, her eyes welling up. She'd seen the disappointed looks on the glee club members' faces when she told them that she wouldn't be able to compete at Sectionals. New Directions was already short on female voices.
She shouldn't have done what she'd done. She wanted Kurt to win and to be able to get into NYADA, but she should have thought this through. The faculty would have been able to figure out the truth.
What if New Directions lost Sectionals? She wouldn't be able to compete ever again. This was her senior year. This year, she was hoping that they could go to Nationals and win the whole shebang.
When Rachel arrived home, she saw her dads watching TV in the living room. "I know what I did was wrong," Rachel told her dads. "And I'm already being punished by the school by not getting to compete at Sectionals and by having a suspension on my record, so please don't make me feel even worse."
"Rachel, cheating is wrong," Hiram said.
Rachel sat down. "I know it is. And I'm sorry."
"Is Kurt mad at you?" LeRoy asked.
"No," Rachel said. "I think he's kind of glad I turned myself in. If I hadn't, this would have been him."
"At least you were honest," Hiram said.
"Yes," Rachel said. She knew more often than not, students tried to cover up the wrong things they did.
Rachel heard the doorbell ring, and LeRoy went to get it. Rachel noticed that neither of her dads had mentioned that she had been banned from competing at Sectionals, which she admitted she kind of deserved. Then she saw her dad come back with Finn.
"Hey, Finn," Rachel said. Was Finn going to tell her about how wrong what she'd done was, too?
"Rachel, I wanted to make sure you were okay," Finn said, taking a seat next to Rachel. "You ran off and..."
"Does Kurt hate me?" Rachel asked.
Finn shook his head. "Of course not."
"I'm really sad about missing Sectionals," Rachel admitted. "I was really hoping we could do a duet together."
"That would have been pretty cool, wouldn't it?" Finn asked, putting his arm around Rachel. "We still have Regionals and Nationals, though."
"I doubt we'll get one after what happened at Nationals last year," Rachel said. "And we lost when we did a duet our first year at Regionals, too."
"Well, they're still a little bit away," Finn told Rachel.
Rachel snuggled up to Finn. "I'll be there cheering you guys on, you know."
Finn kissed the top of Rachel's head. "I was hoping you would."
"What are you going to do?" Rachel asked. "I mean, with me gone, there's nine members."
Rachel could see Finn looked confused. "Well, we can recruit some of the band members to fill in some spots... and maybe we could get Sam to come back."
"Sam?" Rachel asked. She definitely missed Sam. He was a great singer and a nice guy, and they'd all been disappointed when his family moved out of state.
"Yeah," Finn said. "We have an extra room at my house, so if he used my address, he could come back to McKinley."
"You're so smart," Rachel said.
"How about after school on Monday, we go to Kentucky and try to recruit him?" Finn suggested.
"Sounds like a plan," Rachel said.
x
The weekend was slow for Rachel. The glee club was having extra rehearsals to prepare for Sectionals, so Rachel didn't see much of anyone. On Monday morning, she went to school to pick up her work for the week. As she began emptying her locker, Quinn came up to here. "I thought you weren't allowed here."
"I'm permitted on school grounds as long as I'm getting my work," Rachel explained. "Oh, I wanted to tell you I'm available for vocal coaching if you need any help. We need to bring our A game if we have any chance of beating the Troubletones."
Quinn didn't look concerned about Sectionals. "Oh, we're not gonna have any trouble with them. Not as soon as I have Shelby Corcoran fired." She looked around and then whispered to Rachel. "She's sleeping with Puck."
Rachel couldn't believe what Quinn had just said. Her birth mother... the National championship choir winning coach and regional actress... sleeping with a student? That didn't sound like something Shelby would do. "Look, that's a really, really dangerous rumor to make up, okay? You're gonna ruin her entire reputation."
"That's the plan." Quinn sounded as if she was stating the obvious. "And it's not a lie. I heard it from Puck."
Rachel had always known that Puck liked older women, but she didn't think Shelby would do something like that. Her ex boyfriend had slept with the woman who gave birth to her. Rachel had to think - wait, Puck had a fall birthday. "First of all, Puck is 18, so what he and Shelby are doing, even though it's just wrong and so gross, it's not illegal. So all you're doing is you're just, you're getting her fired, which is gonna take away her income to provide food and clothes and put a roof over her child's tiny little blonde head."
"Sounds like an unfit mother," Quinn said. "And I'll be waiting in the wings when they take Beth away from her."
So this was what this was about. Rachel did know that Quinn wanted Beth back, but she also knew that Shelby was doing a good job raising Beth and that she wanted her mother to have the opportunity to raise a child that she hadn't gotten with her. "Beth loves her mom. Shelby is her real mom. Look, you've done a lot of really bad things, Quinn, but if you tell people about this Puck-and-Shelby thing, you'll be ruining this little girl's life, and then you'll have really hit rock bottom." She took her books. "I have my work, and like you said, I can't stay."
As Rachel went home, she couldn't stop thinking about what Quinn had told her. Shelby was sleeping with Puck. Rachel knew this was none of her business, but she couldn't get that thought out of her head. She thought that even Puck might draw the line somewhere. But maybe this wasn't the place to draw the line, since Rachel and Puck had only dated briefly and hadn't spoken much since... everything that happened at this time last year.
In an attempt to get her mind off everything, Rachel spent the day doing today's work. Finn had gotten permission to miss today's after school rehearsal to go recruit Sam, and Rachel was going along. Rachel didn't want to tell her dads about Puck and Shelby because she knew her dads already weren't Shelby's biggest fans. She was glad that she and Finn would have this time alone so she could tell him about what she'd heard.
"Finn, I need to tell you something," Rachel said as she and Finn got in the car.
"What's up?" Finn asked.
"When I went to pick up my work today, Quinn told me that Puck told her that... Puck's been having sex with my birth mother," Rachel said.
Finn looked disgusted. "What?"
"Yeah," Rachel said. "I mean, I guess I shouldn't be surprised because he loves having sex with those women whose pools he cleaned, but..."
"That's so gross," Finn said. "I can't say I'm totally surprised..."
"What do you mean?" Rachel asked.
"The summer before glee club started, I was pretty sure Puck was trying to seduce my mom," Finn said. "She didn't want him at the house for a while after that."
"Then I guess he really doesn't know boundaries," Rachel said. "It's just so gross, how the chain works. Puck slept with Shelby and also with Santana, and Santana slept with you, and you and I sleep together and so..." She made a face, thinking of what Holly had told them last year.
"That is so disgusting," Finn said. "I hope this doesn't upset you, but your mother had won all those National titles... I thought she wouldn't do that."
"Me either," Rachel admitted. "It's just so gross. Quinn wants to report her to Figgins."
"Do you think she will?" Finn asked.
"Well, I told her not to," Rachel said. "Puck is a legal adult, so it's not like she'd end up in jail, but she wouldn't be able to provide for her daughter..."
"I know it's not easy," Finn told Rachel. "To think about that."
"It's really not," Rachel admitted. "But I've always wanted what's best for my mother."
After a few hours, Finn and Rachel arrived at Sam's work place. Sam's Facebook said he worked somewhere called Stallionz, and Rachel assumed that he was a waiter or a busboy or something. However, when she and Finn went inside, something didn't seem right. The bar was dark, they were playing music, and there was the stage. Maybe Sam was in a theatre group?
"Wait. This can't be the right place. Sam works in a bar?" Finn said.
"Well, there just aren't a lot of theaters in Northern Kentucky, so theatre groups just have to perform in whatever space they can find," Rachel guessed.
Finn looked around. "There's a lot of ladies here— like, older ladies."
Rachel realized Finn was right. "Finn, it's no secret that dinner theater appeals to elderly women."
An announcement came over the loudspeaker. "Good afternoon, ladies! Are you ready to meet the men of Stallionz? Then please welcome to the stage, Cobra!"
A boy around Finn and Rachel's age dressed as a fireman came on stage. "I didn't know Backdraft was a musical," Finn said with confusion in his voice.
"Someone get the door, 'cause here comes Mr. Package," the announcer continued.
As another teenage boy dressed as a police officer came on stage, Rachel had an idea of what was really going on here. "Oh, God, no."
"And ladies, let's give a warm welcome to White Chocolate!" the announcer declared.
There he was. There was Sam. He got on stage, dressed as a construction worker. The three boys took off their shirts and began dancing around.
So Sam was making money by becoming a stripper?
"That's not an image I can ever get out of my mind," Finn said.
Rachel noticed women throwing money at the boys. "Give me a dollar."
"What?" Finn asked.
Rachel was going to go try to confront Sam. "Just give me a dollar."
Finn handed Rachel a dollar and Rachel went up to the stage, standing in front of Sam and just holding out the dollar bill. Then Sam saw her and looked at her in shock. "Rachel?!"
Finn came up behind Rachel as Sam got off the stage. "What are you two doing here?"
"We came to see you," Rachel said.
"So, Finn..." Sam looked confused.
"Is there a quiet place where we could talk?" Finn asked.
"Yeah, come on, the others will keep them entertained," Sam told Finn and Rachel, heading to a dressing room.
"What's going on?" Finn asked Sam.
"I tried getting a real job," Sam explained. "DQ was great and I got two free Blizzards a day, but it paid just over minimum wage. Thanks. You know how much I made this afternoon? 60 bucks." He found another dollar caught in his belt. "61... in 15 minutes. Am I ashamed I work here? Yeah, I'm ashamed. My dad got a job working construction to pay the rent, but when my brother needs a new pair of shoes or the TV busts, these abs pay for it."
So Sam's parents didn't even know? "Wait. Your parents don't know that you work here?" Finn asked.
"No, they just think the DQ pays really well," Sam admitted. "I'm good at this."
Rachel felt even worse for him now. "You're good at it because you have that a boy-next-door innocence that makes you approachable, okay? You're good at it for all the reasons that you shouldn't be doing it."
"Come back to McKinley, Sam," Finn added. "We need you for Sectionals. Tell me you don't want it. Dude, you're young, you got so much potential. Working re is, like, throwing your life away."
"Okay, I want it... but my dad will never let me," Sam said.
Finn shrugged. "Don't know till you ask."
"Let's go see," Sam said. He checked out of work and went to the car with Finn and Rachel.
"How is McKinley?" Sam asked. "I miss the New Directions. My new school doesn't have anything like that."
"Well, this year hasn't been off to the best start," Finn said. "There was this girl who tried out who was a terrible singer and Mr. Schue said no, so she got her dad to hire Rachel's birth mother who used to be a National championship winning coach of Vocal Adrenaline to coach a second group. Mercedes, Santana and Brittany joined that group."
"Why would they do that?" Sam asked.
"Because they wanted more solos," Rachel said. "Then last week, I rigged the election for student council president so Kurt would win, and I got suspended."
"That sounds like something Rachel Berry would do," Sam laughed.
"Yeah," Finn said.
The three teens arrived at Sam's house, and went inside where Sam's parents were in the kitchen. "Mom, Dad, you remember Finn and Rachel from last year, right?" Sam asked.
"Of course," Sam's mom said. "Nice to see you two. What brings you here?"
"We came to see Sam," Finn said. "We miss him at McKinley."
"I know he misses all of you, but this is where we got jobs," Sam's dad said.
"What would you think of me going back?" Sam asked. "I haven't bonded with people at my school here, and I really want to go back to McKinley."
"What?" Sam's mom asked.
"Dad, Mom, what I'm trying to say is I want to go back to Ohio with them," Sam told his parents. "They need me to compete at Sectionals this weekend."
"And he could stay at one of our houses, so it wouldn't be like he was homeless," Rachel added. "Not that there isn't a quiet dignity in that or anything."
Sam's dad looked at Finn and Rachel. "You think you two could go in the other room, make yourselves busy, please?"
"Yeah, totally," Finn said. "I'm really good at looking busy."
After a few minutes in the living room, Sam came to see Finn and Rachel. "They said I could go!"
"Yes!" Rachel cheered. She may not be competing, but she had good feelings about Sectionals.
x
A few days passed, and Sectionals were just around the corner. Mr. Schue was running the New Directions (and the two band members) through their dance number, but some people were still discouraged. "What does it even matter, anyway? It's not like we have a chance of winning. Not without the girls," Puck complained.
"Sir, girls smell better than ham and when they're dancing and bouncing around, you can't help but watch them," Rory told Mr. Schue.
"Well, that's it then. We'll take what's most appealing about us as a group, and we'll use it to our advantage," Mr. Schue said.
"Yeah, how about, you know, something like, um... something like that?" Blaine suggested, doing a dance move.
"God, okay, stop, stop," Sam said. "Look, Blaine, this... is totally boy band. What we need to sell here is sex." He did a different move.
"What the hell is that?" Blaine asked.
"That's a body roll," Sam said.
"It's not a body roll," Blaine protested.
"That is sex," Sam repeated.
"Man's not wrong," Artie commented. "I got light tingles where it's only 50/50 for tingling."
Finn had to admit, he'd liked that move. "Sam, that's awesome. That's exactly what we need."
"No, that's not, that's not what we need," Blaine protested. "We don't have to resort to... that. It's cheap. You know, it's selling out."
"I came back here to win," Sam shot back. "When you're desperate, sometimes you got to, you know, use your assets and do what you got to do to get back that advantage. This is the advantage."
"Of course that's what you think, you have to think that in order to sleep at night," Blaine snapped.
"What the hell does that mean?" Sam demanded.
"It means that I'm not for sale," Blaine declared as he and Sam began shoving each other.
Mr. Schue tried to pull them off each other, but Blaine pulled apart first. "Forget it." He left the room.
Finn had to admit he felt bad for Blaine, so he followed him out. Finally, he found Blaine in the weight room, punching a punching bag. "Is that Sam's face?"
"Yep," Blaine confirmed. "Yours, too. Don't act so surprised. After getting bullied so much, I took up boxing. I also started the Dalton branch of Fight Club, which I obviously can't talk about!" Then he looked at Finn and lost his temper. "What is your problem with me, anyway?! Ever since I got here, you've given me nothing but crap."
Finn had to admit the truth. "Honestly, dude, I was kind of jealous. I felt threatened. Your talent kind of freaked me out, made me question whether or not I was good enough. Look, Blaine, I'm sorry. Uh, I've been acting like a jackass to you. With Rachel gone, you're the most talented, well-rounded member of this team. And now more than ever, we need to be on the same page. United."
"Tell me what you need me to do," Blaine said.
"We have an opportunity," Finn said. "An opportunity to be remembered at this school for the rest of our lives for doing the impossible. But it all starts right here, with you and me. I just want to be able to look across that stage at you and know that we did everything we could. No regrets."
"Let's get back to work," Blaine said, holding out a fist.
Finn pumped the fist. "All right." He had to admit, Blaine was right. The way he'd been treating him wasn't right, and they needed to work together if they wanted to win Nationals.
x
Sectionals day was here, and Rachel wasn't in her costume. She was in regular clothes. The New Directions were coming to the audience to watch the other groups perform, and she was able to join them, but she couldn't help but wish she was performing with them.
Finn came up to Rachel. "Sad?"
"Devastated," Rachel replied.
Finn began leading Rachel to join the rest of the glee club in the audience. "Come on."
Shortly after Finn and Rachel took their seats, the first group took the stage, the Unitards. Immediately, Rachel recognized their lead singer. It was the girl she and Kurt had met at the NYADA mixer, Harmony. And she was singing a song from one of Rachel's dream musicals - Buenos Aires from Evita. And this girl sounded just as amazing today as she sounded at the mixer. Getting into NYADA was going to be tough.
At the end of the performance, Rachel saw Quinn get up and leave with the same look she'd had when she told Rachel about Puck and Shelby. Rachel had a feeling that she was going to tell Figgins. She got up and followed Quinn out. "Where are you going?"
Quinn turned around. "Aren't you supposed to be in the auditorium?"
"I saw you leave the auditorium. I know what you're gonna go do. You're gonna go tell Figgins about Shelby and Puck," Rachel said.
"I'm an adult. I can do whatever I want," Quinn snapped.
Rachel began asking herself: why was she so against Shelby getting in trouble? Yes, Shelby was her mother, but they hadn't had the best relationship. Maybe despite everything, she did think of Shelby as her mother. She didn't want to get into that with Quinn though. Maybe Quinn had forgotten Shelby was her mother. "If you want to be a destructive force in the universe, that's your business, okay, but can you just please at least wait until after the Troubletones perform?"
Quinn didn't seem to have fallen for that. "Why?"
Because Rachel wanted her mother to have a shot. Though she couldn't say that to Quinn. "Because we don't want to wreck all the hard work that our friends in that group put into their performance."
"So we win," Quinn said.
"No, not like that. Look, just... if you're going to go through with this, you owe it to Shelby to tell her first. It's the adult thing to do. I got a taste of what it's like to do the wrong thing. Okay? And it feels awful." With that, Rachel went back to the auditorium, hoping that Quinn wouldn't go through with it.
x
When the MC announced that it was time for the New Directions to perform, Finn couldn't help but feel a little nervous. They were without some of their best voices, and the Unitards had an outstanding lead singer, but their setlist did sound good. The music for their first number began.
Tina: A buh-buh buh buh-buh
New Directions: A buh-buh buh buh-buh
Tina: You went to school to learn, girl
Things you never, never knew before
Kurt: Like I before E except after C
Tina: And why two plus two makes four
Now, now, now I'm gonna teach you (New Directions: Teach you, teach you)
All about love, dear (New Directions: All about love)
Mike: Sit yourself down and take a seat
All you gotta do is repeat after me
New Directions (Tina): ABC, (easy as) one, two, three, (or simple as) do re mi
ABC, one, two, three, (baby, you and me girl) (New Directions: You and me)
(Quinn: Ohhhh) (New Directions: ABC) (easy as) one, two, three (or simple as) do re mi
ABC, one, two, three (baby, you and me girl) (New Directions: You and me)
Mike (with New Directions): (Come on,) let me love you just a (little bit)
Tina (New Directions): Come on, let me love you just a little bit (Come on, little bit)
(Teach, teach, sing it out) Come on, come on, come on
Let me show you what it's all about (Come on, all about)
Tina: Reading and writing arithmetic,
Are the branches of the learning tree
Mike: But listen without the roots of love let me tell you, girl
Kurt: Your education ain't complete
Tina: T-t-t-teacher's gonna show you (New Directions: Show you, show you)
How to get an A (New Directions: Nah nah nah nah naah)
Mike (New Directions): Spell me (me), you (you) (with New Directions: add the two)
Listen to me baby, that's all you gotta do
Tina with New Directions (Tina):
(Oh) ABC (is easy as) one, two, three (or simple as) do re mi
ABC, one, two, three (baby, you and me girl) (New Directions: You and me)
Tina (New Directions): (ABC) See, it's easy, it's like counting up to three (One, two, three)
Sing a simple melody (Do re mi, ABC)
New Directions: That's how easy love can be
That's how easy love can be
(Tina: Sing a simple melody) (New Directions: That's how easy love can be)
One, two, three,
You and me!
Kurt: Sit down, girl!
I think I love you
Mike: No, get up, girl!
Show me what you can do!
Tina with New Directions:
Shake it, shake it, baby (Mike: Come on now)
Shake it, shake it, baby (Kurt: Ooh-ooh)
Shake it, shake it, baby (Mike: Huh!)
One, two, three, baby (Kurt: Ooh-ooh)
ABC, baby (Mike: Nah nah!)
Do re mi, baby
That's how easy love can be
Mike: Now I'm gonna teach you how to sing it out
Tina: Come on, come on, come on let me show you what it's all about
New Directions: ABC It's easy, it's 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
Easy as one, two, three
The audience was applauding for the first number, which had to be a good sign. The music for the second number began.
Quinn: This is a story about control,
My control.
Control of what I say,
Control of what I do
And this time I'm gonna do it my way
I hope you enjoyed this as much as I do
Are you ready? I am
'Cause it's all about control
And I've got lots of it
Blaine: When I was seventeen, I did what people told me, uh
I did what my father said, and let my mother mold me
But that was a long ago
I'm in
New Directions: Control (Artie: Never gonna stop)
Control (Blaine: To get what I want)
Control (Artie: I've got to have a lot)
Control (Blaine: And now I'm all grown up)
Blaine: Got my own mind
I wanna make my own (with Artie and New Directions: decisions)
When it has to do with (with New Directions: my life, my life)
Artie: I wanna be the one in control
So let me take you by the hand
And lead you on this dance, ah
Blaine: 'Cause what I got is because I took a chance
New Directions: I don't wanna rule the world,
Just wanna run my life
Ooh
Blaine: So make your life a little easier
When you get the chance just take
New Directions: Control, ooh ooh (Artie: Now I've got a lot)
Artie and Blaine: Ooh
New Directions:
Control (Blaine: To get what I want, ow!)
Control (Artie: I'm never gonna stop)
Control
Artie and Blaine: Now I'm all grown up, wooh! (New Directions: Uh!)
Free-ee at last
Blaine: Out here on my own
Artie: Ooh ooh ooh yeah,
Artie and Blaine: Now control this
Artie: 'Cause I've got my own mind
Artie and Blaine: Gonna make my own decisions
Artie: When it has to do with my life
Blaine: I wanna be the one in control
New Directions: I'm in control (Blaine: Uh)
I'm in control (Artie: Ah)
I'm in control (Blaine: Uh)
I'm in control (Artie: Ah)
Finally, it was time for the third number. Finn was one of the leads for this number, and as they performed, he noticed Rachel looking on in the audience with pride.
Finn: I'm gonna make a change,
For once in my life
Artie and Finn: It's gonna feel real good,
Gonna make a difference
Finn: Gonna make it right...
Puck: As I, turn up the collar on
My favorite winter coat
This wind is blowin' my mind
Blaine: I see the kids in the street, with not enough to eat
Who am I, to be blind?
Pretending not to see their needs
Sam: A summer's disregard,
A broken bottle top
And one man's soul
Artie: They follow each other on the wind ya' know
(Cause they got no where to go)
That's why I want you to know
Finn, Artie, Blaine, Puck, and Sam: I'm starting with the man in the mirror
I'm asking him to change his ways
And no message could have been any clearer
If you wanna make the world a better place
Take a look at yourself, and then make that change
New Directions: Nanana nanana nananana
Blaine: I've been a victim of a selfish kinda love
It's time that I realize
Blaine and Artie: There are some with no home,
Blaine: Not a nickel to loan
Could it be, really me
Blaine and Artie: Pretending that they're not alone?
Sam: A willow deeply scarred
Somebody's broken heart
And a washed out dream (New Directions: Washed out dream...)
Puck: They follow the pattern of the wind you see
Puck and Finn: 'Cause they got no place to be
That's why I'm starting with me
New Directions: I'm starting with the man in the mirror
I'm asking him to change his ways
And no message could have been any clearer
If you wanna make the world a better place
Take a look at yourself, and then make that change
I'm starting with the man in the mirror
I'm asking him to change his ways
And no message could have been any clearer
If you wanna make the world a better place
Take a look at yourself, and then make that change
Artie and Finn: If you wanna make the world a better place
Take a look at yourself, and then make that change
Puck: Stand up!
Artie: Stand up! (New Directions: Make a change!)
Finn: Stand up!
Stand up!
Lift, yourself now!
New Directions: Man in the mirror!
(Blaine: Ooh!)
(Blaine: Ooh!) Ah aaah
(Blaine: Ooh!) ah aaah
Make that change! (Artie: Stand up! Stand up!)
Sam: You know!
You know!
You know! (New Directions: Man in the mirror!)
You know!
New Directions: Change!
The crowd was on its feet after the final number, and Finn was sure that they'd won. He saw Rachel in the audience, and she gave him a look saying that she was so proud of him. When he went backstage with the glee club, Blaine came up to him. "We gave it our all."
Finn gave Blaine a fist pound. "Yeah we did."
As Finn and Blaine gave each other a hug, Sam came over and joined in the hug. "Top dogs!" Sam said. "This is what I was missing!"
Mr. Schue came over to the boys. "Guys, they're about to announce the winner."
x
"In first place, the New Directions!"
Rachel applauded as she saw the group take their trophy, glad that they'd won and were able to go on to Regionals. A few minutes later, Finn came up to Rachel. "Congratulations!" Rachel said, giving Finn a big hug.
"Thanks," Finn said. "We missed you."
"You sounded amazing up there," Rachel said.
"Well, we'll sound more amazing with our victory number," Finn told Rachel. "And since no one said anything about you not being able to help us with that, want to come work on it with us?"
Rachel smiled. "I'd love to."
x
Rachel was able to return to classes on Monday. When she left Figgins's office for checking in, she saw Quinn waiting there. "Well, my suspension is officially over. It'll still be on my transcript, though. I'm just hoping that the admissions department at NYADA sees it as a sign of my artistic, rebellious, attitude."
"Good luck with that," Quinn said.
Rachel wondered why Quinn was there. "Are you going to go tell Figgins about Shelby? 'Cause I just... I still think that it's a really terrible idea."
"I came here to talk to you, actually," Quinn said. "To tell you I'm not going to tell."
"Why?" Rachel asked.
"Because I love Beth, and I don't want to ruin her life," Quinn said. "I wanted to thank you actually."
"For what?" Rachel asked.
"For keeping me from doing something stupid. Something I would have regretted my entire life," Quinn said.
Rachel thought it was odd that the girl who'd tormented her at the beginning of her high school days was now thanking her. "We're kind of friends, huh?"
"Kind of," Quinn agreed. "What do you think about Yale?"
"Oh, no, I have my sights set on NYADA," Rachel admitted.
"No, for me," Quinn said. "I'm not the singer that you and Kurt are, but Yale has an amazing drama program. And I really do like to perform. Certainly would nail all the parts where the girl has to cry."
"No, I think it's a great idea. I mean, especially since you won't have me to compete with. You're a lot better than you know," Rachel said.
Quinn got up. "Well, I'll see you at Glee Club. I have a couple people I need to talk to."
"Okay, well, I don't know if you need help with your Yale application..." Rachel began.
"Not with the Yale application, but, um, there is something you could do for me," Quinn said. "It would be nice to have everyone back in glee, wouldn't it?"
Rachel knew who Quinn was referring to. "Yeah, it would."
"I was thinking, how about we offer them a competition number to lead at Regionals?" Quinn suggested.
"Yeah, that sounds good," Rachel agreed. "They did leave because they wanted more solos, but at the same time, it's our senior year and I'd like for everyone to be together."
"Yeah, me too," Quinn agreed.
After school that day, the New Directions were in the auditorium, singing their victory song. This felt extra special, being able to sing with them again.
Rachel: Give me a second, I,
I need to get my story straight
My friends are in the bathroom
Getting higher than the Empire State
My lover, he's waiting for me
Just across the bar
My seat's been taken by some sunglasses
Asking 'bout a scar and
Finn: I know I gave it to you months ago
I know you're tryin' to forget
But between the drinks and subtle things
The holes in my apologies
You know,
I'm trying hard to take it back
Sam: So if by the time
The bar closes
Sam and Quinn: And you feel like falling down
I'll carry you home
New Directions: Tonight
We are young
So let's set the world on fire!
We can burn brighter,
Than the sun!
Then the group heard some familiar voices joining in. They turned and saw Mercedes, Santana, Brittany and Sugar.
Mercedes, Santana, Brittany and Sugar: Tonight
We are young
So let's set the world on fire!
We can burn brighter,
Than the sun!
Rachel, Quinn, Rory, Kurt and Artie went forward to welcome the Troubletones back to New Directions and join in the song.
Quinn: Carry me home tonight
Just carry me home tonight
Carry me home tonight
Just carry me home tonight
Finn: The world is on my side
I have no reason to run
So will someone come and
Carry me home tonight
Santana: The angels never arrived
But I can hear the choir
So someone come and carry me home
Rachel: Tonight
We are young
Finn and Rachel: So let's set the world on fire
We can burn brighter,
Than the sun!
Mercedes: We are young!
New Directions: Tonight
We are young
So let's set the world on fire
We can burn brighter
Than the sun!
Finn and Rachel: So if by the time
The bar closes
And you feel like falling down
I'll carry
You home
Tonight
At the end of the song, the whole group went into a big group home. Rachel knew that this was one of the best they'd ever sounded, and if, all together, they could sound this good in practice, they'd be unstoppable in competitions.
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