Hi guys. Someone left a comment on the last chapter saying that I stopped posting. I hope you guys know that I don't plan to stop writing anytime soon, but updates will be a bit slower for the next month or so since I work retail and this is our busy season, so work is taking up most of my time and energy. Anyway, hope you enjoy this chapter and review if I should keep going!
Chapter 83: Diva
"So what is this?" Brody asked Rachel.
Rachel paused. Why couldn't Brody understand she didn't want to put any labels on - this?
"I don't know," Rachel admitted. "Brody, you have to understand that I'm just starting a new phase of my life. I'm not ready for the type of pressure you're putting on me."
"Pressure?" Brody asked. "Rachel, I live with you."
What was Rachel supposed to say? She hadn't been serious when she talked about moving in.
"Is this about Finn?" Brody asked.
Rachel didn't want to talk about that. She wished it was Finn living with her, not Brody.
"He's been gone for a while now," Brody interrupted. "You're here, in New York, with me, someone else who has dreams like yours, not some guy who worked at a tire shop and is hanging out at his old high school."
Rachel couldn't stand that. "Don't talk that way about Finn," she snapped.
"Okay, I'm sorry," Brody said, not sounding sorry at all. "But let's do something."
Rachel wasn't sure if she liked this idea. "What?"
Brody got out his iphone and posted something on Facebook. "We're saying on Facebook that we're shacked up."
"What?" Rachel asked. "No!"
"What do you mean, no?" Brody asked. "We live together. If this was Finn, you'd be talking to everyone, and you know it." He left, leaving Rachel to think about what he'd said. Rachel knew Brody was right. If this was Finn, she'd proudly be showing off that they were living together.
x
Finn sat in the teacher's lounge trying to think of song ideas for Regionals when Miss Pillsbury came over. "I can't do this, I can't do this," Miss Pillsbury vented to Finn. "There's ten days to the wedding, and I have all these choices to make by myself. I mean, I know Will trusts me, but I'm a Libra, I can't do this."
"Well, when does he get back?" Finn asked.
"End of the week, but it was a big success," Miss Pillsbury said. "Will said that they got Congress to agree to cut federal arts funding in schools by 35% instead of 50. Pretty amazing."
Finn nodded. "Yeah. So, are you guys going on a honeymoon or something?"
"Um, I'm sure we will," Miss Pillsbury admitted. "Will keeps suggesting Costa Rica, but, I mean, us gingers can't be that close to the equator. Why are you asking?"
Finn might as well admit it. The only thing that had been making him happy lately was leading the glee club and he had a feeling he'd lose it soon. "I just assumed that Mr. Schue is going to want his glee club back."
"Well, look, I don't think you need to worry about Will kicking you out on the street, especially not after you did such an extraordinary job while he was gone," Miss Pillsbury assured Finn. "I mean, you coached a really inexperienced team all the way to Regionals. I think that's pretty impressive."
Finn was already getting nervous. "Regionals is a different ball game. You need these big, brassy voices to bully the competition: Rachel, Santana, Mercedes, even Kurt."
"Blaine can do that," Mis Pillsbury said.
The difference between this year's glee club and last year's was that most of these kids were just in it for fun, and last year's really wanted to win. "Yeah, but it's, it's about more than just being able to sing. It's about the attitude, you know? Those kids didn't just want to win, they wanted to crush the competition."
"Well, maybe you should have a lesson that toughens 'em up," Miss Pillsbury suggested. "You know, I mean, weren't there weeks where Will had you guys competing against each other?"
Finn had a feeling this was a good idea. "That's the perfect idea, Miss Pillsbury, thank you. You can be our special celebrity judge."
Finn's phone went off vibrating. He looked and saw that it was Rachel. He opened the text. "Hey :)"
Finn replied. "Hey! Miss Pillsbury and I were just talking about you."
Rachel texted back. "Really?"
"Yeah," Finn texted. "With Regionals coming up, we have to find ways to destroy the competition, like you're so good at."
"That's awesome!" Rachel texted back. "You should see who's the biggest diva."
"Well, with our four main divas gone, we do need to have that spot filled," Finn texted back.
"Yeah!" Rachel texted back. "Maybe I can come back for Regionals."
"I'd like that," Finn texted.
x
Finn had contacted Santana to ask her to perform for diva week. He would have asked Rachel, but since she was in New York, he knew asking her to come would be a little too much. "So, now that we're back in the game, we've got to come strong," Finn told the glee club. "Diva Week is all about finding your inner powerhouse."
"That's right," Miss Pillsbury added. "The Online Urban Dictionary defines a diva as a fierce, often temperamental singer who comes correct. She is not a trick-ass ho and she does not sweat da haterz."
"Great, so I guess the guys are screwed this week," Jake complained.
"Guys can be divas," Blaine countered.
Finn was glad that Miss Pillsbury was here, because he didn't really know what to do. "That's right, we all have inner divas," Miss PIllsbury said. "I myself have been considered quite a diva at many a local restaurant because I know what I want and I will send a dish back."
"You all might as well just quit while you're ahead because there are only two ways to spell Unique, and one of them is D-I-V-A," Unique declared.
"Shanté, I stay, and it will be brought, dished out, and served and mopped up by the time you even pick out a wig," Tina demanded. "Looking at you, clocking that sadness. I have more diva in my little finger than you have in your whole angry inch, Wade-Unique."
"Tina, you've kind of been talking some ridiculous trash for months, unchallenged, and that stops now," Marley said.
Finn didn't know what to say. "Well, may the best diva win."
x
Rachel woke up and saw that Kurt was awake. "Oh, hey, you're awake. An hour before my alarm clock." She saw Kurt going into the kitchen. "Oh, when you're in there, can you make me a little tea, please, with some honey and lemon? You know, it's really good for my throat."
"Sure, I'll just run down to the store and get you some," Kurt snapped.
Had Rachel done something wrong? "I'll take that as a no. An incredibly rude no that deserves an explanation."
"Okay, Rachel, truth time," Kurt said. "You have been a nightmare ever since the Winter Showcase."
Was Kurt jealous of Rachel's victory? "I knew it it was only a matter of time before you became jealous of all of my success, and just when we were getting inseparable."
"Oh we became close because you became tolerable, but now you've got that weird naked boyfriend and that weird Legion of Sycophants," Kurt snapped. "Now you are like, you're like an annoying, self-righteous Lima Rachel on steroids."
Had Rachel really changed? Still, she didn't like Kurt insulting her? "You know what? Let me give you a little bit of truth, Kurt. Okay, the only reason why Carmen Tibideaux even let you sing at the Winter Showcase was because she knew that you and I were friends."
"You might have won the showcase, but my performance was the one that everyone was talking about because I blew you away and I can do it again," Kurt said. "Midnight Madness, you and me, head-to-head."
Rachel knew what Midnight Madness was. "I wouldn't do that if I were you, babe."
"Oh, why not?" Kurt asked.
Rachel remembered their last diva off. "Cause I already beat you once. Diva-Off sophomore year. Remember?"
"Only because I threw it," Kurt said. "That high F in Defying Gravity? I can hit that baby in my sleep. I tanked the note on purpose."
This didn't make sense. "Okay, why would you do that?"
"Cause I didn't want to win," Kurt said. "I wanted to save my dad the embarrassment of having his son sing a song written for a woman."
"I don't believe you," Rachel said. "Take that back."
"I can't it's truth time," Kurt declared.
That had win had given Rachel so much confidence. "That was my first big win. That was the foundation that I built all of my confidence on for the past two years."
Kurt didn't look sympathetic. "Aw, consider it cracked. Get ready for Diva-Off Part Two, and this time I'm not throwing anything. Enjoy your tea."
Rachel couldn't stop thinking about what Kurt had said. Had she really become intolerable since the Winter Showcase? Just last week Kurt had called her a slutty barbie and now this...
Rachel picked up the phone and called the one person she knew could be helpful to her. Finn picked up right away. "Hi."
"Hi," Rachel said. "So, how's diva week so far?"
"Well, Santana came to perform, and they've had some good performances so far," Finn said. "Are you okay? You sound a little down."
Finn always knew. "Finn, do you think I'm too over the top?"
"What do you mean?" Finn asked.
"Kurt told me this morning that I was intolerable and we got in a big fight," Rachel admitted.
"You should try to talk to him," Finn said.
"He challenged me to Midnight Madness," Rachel said. "It's a sing off they have at NYADA."
"What?" Finn asked.
"Yeah," Rachel said. "I didn't think it would all come to this. I thought that New York would be different."
"What do you mean?" Finn asked.
"I thought I'd be happier," Rachel admitted. "Now Kurt hates me..."
"Kurt doesn't hate you," Finn assured Rachel.
"I hope not," Rachel sighed.
x
After hanging up the phone with Rachel, Finn looked at Rachel's Facebook page.
It said that she was shacked up.
What was going on? She'd turned to him. He thought she still loved him. But she was with another guy.
He'd had a feeling, but now it was official.
Miss Pillsbury came back into her office. She and Finn were going to make some more plans for diva week, but Finn had other things on his mind. "What's wrong?" Miss Pillsbury asked.
"Rachel's with another guy," Finn admitted.
Miss Pillsbury handed Finn some pamphlets. "So, how did you find out?"
"She changed her Facebook relationship status to shacked up," Finn explained. "Mine's still heartbroken. I haven't been interested in other women since Rachel and I broke up."
"Well, maybe it's time to be," MIss Pillsbury began. "There's a great new math sub. I know she's a little..."
"She's like 26," Finn admitted. "What do what do I have to offer a grown woman like that? I'm just a man-boy."
"I get what it feels like to be lonely," Miss Pillsbury said. "I haven't really felt like myself since Will's been away, and it's kind of scary. You know, sometimes you feel like it's the only feeling you're ever gonna have in the world. And it will be, until you get back in the saddle."
Maybe there was hope for Finn. "Thanks, Miss Pillsbury. Honestly, you're the only person here who can always cheer me up. Mr. Schue's a lucky guy. He really is."
Miss Pillsbury showed Finn some centerpieces. "Oh, um, but don't just thank me. You can pay me back by, um, helping me pick a centerpiece arrangement." She held up two pieces. "Option number one, or option number two."
Finn looked at the pieces. "I'd go with the white one, because blue is like the color of sad, and white is the color of pure, like you."
"That's exactly what I thought," Miss Pillsbury said. "I'm gonna mark this off my list."
x
Midnight Madness night was here.
Rachel had to admit, she was nervous. She'd tried to call Finn, but he hadn't answered her calls. "Guys, gather some chairs up. Make a semicircle. Oh, we have five minutes," Brody said.
Rachel didn't like competing against her best friend, but he'd wanted to do this. Maybe if he won, it would make things easier between them.
"Welcome to Midnight Madness," Brody continued. "We all know the rules. One song at a time, two singers per song. If you go flat, you lose. Now, the playing space has been split into two. One side per competitor. After the song, I will give you the signal, and you stand with whoever you think won. Majority rules. The group's decision is final. No appeal. No mercy, and only silent applause. This is not a performance. This is a blood sport. First up: Rachel Berry versus Kurt Hummel."
Rachel went forward, trying to make eye contact with Kurt, but he didn't seem to want to. "Now, the song you will be competing with is Bring Him Home, from Les Miz. You guys know it? Per Midnight Madness protocol, since Kurt challenged Rachel, he will be going first."
The music began as Rachel and Kurt began the song. Rachel listened to Kurt, and she had to admit, he was good. Maybe he was better than her.
Kurt: God on high
Hear my prayer
In my need
You have always been there
Rachel: He is young
He's afraid
Let him rest
Heaven blessed.
Kurt: Bring him home
Rachel: Bring him home
Bring him home.
He's like the son I might have known
Kurt: If God had granted me a son.
Kurt: The summers
Rachel: die
One by one
Kurt: How soon they fly
On and on
And I am old
And will be gone.
Rachel: You can take
Kurt: You can give
Rachel: Let him live
Kurt: Let him live
Rachel: If I die
Kurt: Let me die
Rachel: Let him live
Kurt: Bring him home
Rachel: Bring him home
Kurt: Bring him
Rachel: Home.
At the end of the song, Brody spoke. "Thank you. Okay, make your choice."
It was close. Rachel couldn't tell who had won.
Then Brody spoke. "All right. And the winner by the closest margin in Midnight Madness history is Mr. Kurt Hummel."
x
Rachel had lost.
But what hurt wasn't that she'd lost. What hurt was that people were turning against her. Her best friend thought she was a diva and a nightmare. The boy she loved wasn't answering her calls again.
Kurt came into Rachel's room. "Shiva is officially over. You have an audition for Funny Girl three weeks from today. I went down to the open call and got us the last slots."
Rachel looked at Kurt. "I'm not trying out."
"Why, because I won Midnight Madness?" Kurt asked. "Rachel, it doesn't mean anything it just means that we're even. You won with an Elphaba song, I won with a Jean Valjean song. None of which changes the fact that Funny Girl is your favorite musical, and that you were born to play Fanny Brice. This is a once-in-a lifetime opportunity."
Rachel decided she'd tell Kurt the truth. "Let's say by some crazy extraordinary chance I get it. Then what? I become even more of a diva nightmare than I already am now? I can't handle the pressures of stardom, not without losing my best friend and making every single person hate me. So I'm not going to try out."
"You are a diva, and you have been a nightmare, but you're not a diva because you've been a nightmare," Kurt said. "You're a diva because you're talented and ambitious and because no one else in the world can do what you, Rachel Berry, can do. That's what being a diva's all about. Being an original, one-of-a-kind. So hold the nightmare, but bring the diva. You don't need any of that. Your work speaks for itself."
Rachel smiled at Kurt. "I love you. I'm sorry. I hate fighting with you."
"Eh, a little catfight is good for friends," Kurt said. "You know, keeps the relationship fresh."
Kurt down, Finn to go.
x
Finn was back in Miss Pillsbury's office, trying to help with wedding planning. "Will said the white centerpiece arrangements we picked were fine," Miss Pillsbury vented. "Which means he doesn't like them. And he'd like to veto them, but he's just being polite."
Finn thought that meant that they were a good choice. "Um, "fine" doesn't mean that he didn't like the centerpieces."
Miss Pillsbury looked more and more panicked. "I need things to be more than fine. Okay, I need them to be perfect. They have to be perfect and I need them to be perfect."
Finn was reminded of Rachel's freakouts. "Look, I think you're just putting too much into this."
But Miss Pillsbury didn't seem to think so. "No, I'm not, because the last time, with Carl, I let go. I did that already, you know, I said that details wouldn't matter, that my OCD wouldn't get in the way, that whatever would happen would happen, and that marriage was completely ruined before it even began."
Finn knew why it hadn't worked out with Carl. Because she hadn't loved him. "Maybe Carl just wasn't the right guy."
Miss Pillsbury hadn't even seemed to have heard what Finn had said. "This isn't right. I can't do this. I can't do this. I can't get married again. I can't do it again if it's not right."
"Miss Pillsbury, please," Finn interrupted.
She was crying by now. "What about the color white? What if Will hates the color white? Then he's going to hate my dress."
Finn knew that he wouldn't. "Of course he's not going to hate your dress, okay?"
"What about the cake? Not even tried the cake yet," she cried.
Finn felt so bad for her right now. She'd helped him a lot this week, with glee and just giving him someone to hang out with, and he wanted to make things better for her. "Okay, we make a great team. We can figure this out together." She continued crying, and Finn felt even worse. "Emma, stop, stop, stop." Without thinking, he kissed her.
She fell silent.
And so did he.
What had he just done?
He knew his former counselor was very pretty and sweet, and that she liked him - but why had he kissed her? She was engaged to be married.
Had he been getting a crush on her this week?
Finn ran out of the office, not wanting to even think about what he'd just done. The truth was, there was only one person who he could talk to about what had happened. He quickly sent that person a text, asking her if she could meet him at the Lima Bean when she was in town for the wedding.
x
Rachel's phone vibrated and she saw a text from Finn. "Who was that?" Kurt asked.
"Finn," Rachel said. "He wants to meet me at the Lima Bean when we get in for the wedding."
"See, he doesn't hate you," Kurt said. "Are you bringing Brody?"
"No," Rachel said. She'd already talked to Brody about it, and he didn't want to go. Rachel wasn't complaining though. "Are you bringing Adam?"
"No," Kurt said. "That would just make things awkward.
Kurt and Rachel heard a knock on the door. Kurt went to the door and opened it. Santana was there. "Santana, what are you doing here?"
Santana walked in with a suitcase. "I'm moving in."
Rachel didn't know what to say. Moving in? Without even telling them?
"Yeah," Santana said. "I quit college in Kentucky. Wasn't for me. I think this would be a better place for someone as awesome as I am."
"Okay," Kurt began.
"Besides," Santana continued, "you can't just toss your friend who's in a new city on the street, can you?"
"Well... no," Rachel admitted.
"Exactly," Santana said. "This is gonna be great."
10 reviews unlock Chapter 84!