Back to the Start Chapter 19: Setback, a glee fanfic

I was currently blindfolded. I really didn't need the blindfold since I was pretty sure that I knew where we were going. Still I let my mom lead me. Chrissy was also blindfolded. I was still kind of nervous about this even though I knew that I shouldn't be. I needed to try to make sure that I didn't ruin things. I was glad that people realized that it wasn't entirely my fault, even though I said that I definitely shouldn't have said. I was also kind of nervous because the fact that Quinn and I had kissed made me feel very bad. I had to tell Sadie, but I couldn't think of a way to do that without breaking her heart.

"You two can open your eyes now." Mom declared. I opened my eyes to see that Burt, Katie and Quinn were there and there was a welcome home sign on the wall.

"Want some cider?" Katie asked.

"What's going on?" Chrissy questioned as Mom went over to hug Burt.

"Burt asked us to move in with him." Mom explained. One of my biggest concerns was how there was going to be enough space for all of us. It was possible that Quinn wouldn't end up staying, but there was still one more person than before.

"This is a surprise." I lied. I was also trying to act shocked.

"The party was my idea. If you're going to say something, say it loud." Katie joked. I really wouldn't say this was loud.

"I know that is going to take some getting used to, but you're going to love it." Burt declared. "Plus you don't have to drive over here every time you wanna watch the game on the big screen. There's a lot of food from another country that isn't ours."

"Girls, this house is twice as big as ours. It has two bathrooms." Mom declared. "And the yard is big enough to you can practice in."

"I don't want an extra room. I like things the way they are." Chrissy argued. I couldn't help but wonder if she really didn't like the change or if she thought that she had to act that way. "I don't want this."

"I think I know why you're resisting this." Katie remarked. I hoped that she wasn't going to make things worse. "Your room is totally drab. You need to redecorate. I can help."

I couldn't help but notice that she was saying your and not our like she wasn't going to be staying with us.

"You want both of us in one room?" Chrissy asked. "And where's Quinn gonna stay, along with the baby?"

"We have a bonus room that we're going to turn into a nursery and I can knock down a wall upstairs, but for right now this is gonna have to do." Burt explained. "Plus, we'll have a lot more money when the other house sells. Here's 300 to redecorate however you want. Go ahead. Have at it."

"I'll take it." Katie volunteered.

"Katie, I really think you should let us decide what's going to be in our room." I stated.

The following day when we got to Glee, there really wasn't anything different, other than the fact that Sadie seemed to be acting nervous as well. Did she know that I had kissed Quinn? Tina wasn't in the Glee club, so there wasn't a really a reason for us to dress up like Lady Gaga.

"Guys, we have a serious problem." Rachel interrupted. "Vocal Adrenaline has 18 empty boxes of Christmas lights. Do you know what this means?"

I was pretty sure that no one actually knew what it meant. Also where did you get Christmas lights this time of year?

"What are you talking about Rachel?" Mr. Schue asked.

"They're doing Gaga." Katie remarked. "They're going for full-on theatricality. We can't win. I wonder how they found out our weakness."

You know they hadn't actually done Lady Gaga at Regionals, so I couldn't help but wonder if it was a diversion tactic.

"I don't get Lady Gaga." James remarked. I was pretty sure that I understood her more than before, but I still didn't really want to dress like her and I really want to sing her music either. I just didn't think it was the kind of music that suited my voice.

"You know if they're doing Gaga, why don't we just do it better?" Mr. Schue suggested. I was pretty that he was overestimating our abilities. "We are going to perform a Lady Gaga number at Regionals."

I couldn't help but wonder how he expected everyone to put together elaborate costumes in a single day.

The other thing that we were supposed to be finding out this week was that Shelby was Rachel's mom. I assumed that was what Sadie had told her the other day, but as far as I knew, none of us were going to go Carmel High. I was pretty sure that most of the stuff I was going to do this week was going to revolve around the stuff at home. I decided to try to distract Chrissy from her issues.

"So I need your help." I told her. "I don't really want to wear a Lady Gaga outfit. I know it won't look as weird as it did before, but it really just isn't my style. Do you think you can help me with that?"

"I don't know. I don't know how much I can focus on that right now." She remarked. "I know that we're supposed to end up moving in with Burt and Katie, but it all feels so weird."

"It means that you're human. You can't always control how you feel." I pointed out. I did wish that Mom was more willing to listen to our issues. Did she really not think that she was moving too fast for us? Not to mention, it was a kind of stressful time in the school year and Quinn for only a few weeks away from giving birth. This was probably something that was better suited to do after the school year was over. "So did you have any artists that you listened to that were theatrical growing up?"

You know I had never really asked her about what her life was like growing up.

"I liked The Runaways." She declared.

"You mean like the movie?" I asked. That was a group that I didn't really know very much about other than the fact that Dakota Fanning and Kristen Stewart made out with each other in the movie. I would have to do some research on them.

"They're actually really good. You need to listen to them." She remarked. It was also nice hearing her talk about something that she liked. It kind of felt like I was getting to know her as a person for the first time.

The following day was our first Gaga rehearsal. I was kind of surprised that the school would allow us to wear such outfits at school. These weren't things that they were wearing just for Glee, they were actually wearing them at school. Was the dress code really that lax?

Of course, there was another thing that I was worried about. We were in our playoff run at school, which involved multiple games thing week. I had to keep my focus. The championship would be next week and we needed to be at our best.

"So do you have any plans for when the season is over?" I asked Coach Tweedy at practice.

"Well one thing is I have gotten some offers to coach at more prestigious schools." She explained.

"Really?" I asked.

"Yes. They would pay more but I don't know I want to do it. I also wouldn't be surprised if some other schools offer you some scholarships." She declared. "You're one of the greatest players that I have ever seen."

"I don't know if I want to go anywhere else if you're not my coach. And I don't want you to leave either." I admitted.

"Well I haven't said yes to anything." She explained. "Besides you and the other girls, there are other reasons why I might not want to go."

"You should really ask Coach Kiernan out." I replied. "She seems like she's a lot happier now. I think that you two would be really good together."

"It's not that simple, Faith." She remarked.

"I mean the worst thing that she can do is say no." I pointed out. "You won't know unless you try."

When we got to Glee, several people were dressed as in their own Gaga outfits, including Sadie, who was wearing a gold leotard with wings and sunglasses. I had to gawk at her a little bit.

"Wow." I remarked.

"I'm glad that you like it." She commented. "So there's something that I need to talk to you about."

However, before she could say anything else, Mr. Schue walked into the room.

"So it's good seeing that a bunch of you have embraced the Gaga look." He stated. I was one of the who hadn't. Also none of the guys except Adonis had either and also surprisingly, Quinn decided not to dress up even though she had last time. We were the only girls who hadn't. "I think it's time for us to perform something together."

They all performed "Just Dance" which I probably thought was the best song from her first album. It wasn't as bombastic as some of the others and was just a kickass song. I still didn't see myself singing it though.

"I wanna sing something by myself." Sadie then announced. She grabbed a microphone and

"Wait, where's Rachel?" Ben asked. "I noticed that it's a lot quieter in here."

"I found something interesting about Rachel." Santana remarked. "Did you know that Ms. Corcoran from Vocal Adrenaline is her mom?"

People were shocked by that revelation even though it was kind of obvious from looking at them. Okay…it had been. Rachel didn't look as much like her as before. I supposed it would be surprising.

"I'm here." Rachel remarked as she once again walked wearing an outfit made of stuffed animals. That seemed like a waste of good stuffed animals. Even if she wasn't using them, they could make someone else happy…and I was not just saying because I had a stuffed cat that I couldn't help sleeping with. He made me feel safe okay. "This outfit represents the childhood that I never had and I'm not leaving you just because Shelby is my mom."

"Okay not to interrupt this moment, but can I go now?" Sadie asked.

"Yeah take it away." Mr. Schue instructed as Sadie began to sing. That was a good Gaga song. I did kind of her music.

We are the crowd, we're c-coming out
Got my flash on it's true, need that picture of you it's so magical, we could be fantastical
Leather and jeans garage glamorous
Not sure what it means but this photo of us don't you have a price, ready for those flashing lights

Cause you know that baby I

I'm your biggest fan, I'll follow you until you love me papa-paparazzi
Baby there's no other superstar you know that I'll be your papa-paparazzi
Promise I'll be kind but I won't stop until you are mine
Baby you'll be famous, I'll chase you down until you love me papa-paparazzi

Real good we dance in the studio snap snapped that stuff on the radio
Don't stop for anyone we're plastic but we still have fun

I did wonder what she wanted to tell me but I didn't really have time to talk about it because I had a game that I needed to get to.

We won the game. We would be heading to the semifinals. I scored two goals, but one of them was the game winner, so I was happy.

The following day, I decided it was time to have my discussion with Mr. Schue. He needed to know not to have such a narrow view of things.

"Mr. Schue, I wanted to talk to you." I announced.

"Faith, come in. I've been looking at this site called House of Gaga that tells me all about her and all of the different things that we can do." He explained.

"That's why I'm here. I don't want to do Gaga and I'm pretty sure that I'm not the only one. I really think we need to expand our idea of theatricality. It's something that Lady Gaga invented." I pointed out.

"You have an excellent point." He agreed. "I need to make it clear that all of you can express theatricality in your own ways."

I had an idea, but I was little nervous about it. I couldn't believe that I wanted to do it, but I felt like I needed to. Not to mention, the song kicked ass.

So after school, I was wearing a trench coat. I needed to hide what I was wearing because I really didn't want anyone out of the choir room to see me. I kind of didn't want them to see me either, but it was part of the performance.

The music began to play and I could already see some looks of shock on people's faces. I was pretty sure that they knew where it was.

Can't stay at home, can't stay at school
Old folks say you poor little fool
Down the street, I'm the girl next door
I'm the fox you've been waiting for

After I finished the first verse, I threw the coat off to revealing what I was wearing underneath. It was a white corset, black panties and black stockings just like Cherie had worn in the movie. They said that imagining other people in their underwear was good for getting over stage fright, which I didn't know how that help because that would probably make me more nervous, but performing in your underwear was certainly different.

Hello Daddy, hello Mom
I'm your ch-ch-ch-cherry bomb
Hello world, I'm your wild girl
I'm your ch-ch-ch-cherry bomb

Stone age love and strange sounds too
Come on baby let me get to you
Bad nights causing teenage blues
Get down ladies you got nothing to lose

Hello Daddy, hello Mom
I'm your ch-ch-ch-cherry bomb
Hello world, I'm your wild girl
I'm your ch-ch-ch-cherry bomb

Hey street boy, you want some style
Your dead-end dreams don't make you smile
I'll give you something to live for
Have ya and grab ya till you're sore

Hello Daddy, hello Mom
I'm your ch-ch-ch-cherry bomb
Hello world, I'm your wild girl
I'm your ch-ch-ch-cherry bomb

Cherry bomb, cherry bomb
Cherry bomb, cherry bomb
Cherry bomb

You know a lot of the song wasn't as much. There was shock and applause as I finished.

"Okay, that is definitely not a song that we can perform at Regionals." Mr. Schue declared. "But I assume that you've also done some research on this look and why it is good display of theatricality."

"Absolutely. In fact, I feel that The Runaways, while not very successful are one of the founders of the theatricality movement. Punk rock in general was great at expressing the counterculture and bringing it to music in a similar way that the hippie movement did. I think without Cherie Currie's performance in Japan wearing this outfit, female theatricality wouldn't exist." I explained.

"That was great work, Faith, but I think you should go put some clothes on." She told me.

I went to the locker room to change, but it didn't take long for me to be caught by Sadie. She started to kiss me, I knew that I had to tell her because I couldn't keep it from her anymore.

"Sadie, we need to stop. I have something that you need to know. You see the other day I kissed Quinn." I explained. She looked surprised.

"Well that makes what I'm going to say…well honestly I don't know if I feel better or worse." She remarked. "I slept with Rachel."

"What?" I questioned in surprise.

"It was when I told her about Shelby being her mom. I thought I was comforting her but one thing led to another."

Now I was conflicted. Both of us had cheated on each other. I was pretty sure that was not okay and two wrongs didn't make a right. I figured out what I needed to say.

"Can you please say something?" She requested.

"I think this is over." I declared. "We both cheated on each other and that's not okay. We shouldn't be together."

We both started to cry. I knew that it was the right thing to do even though it hurt a lot. I then remembered where the two of us were.

"Do you think you can leave so I can get changed?" I requested. She walked out of the room and I began to cry some more. I couldn't believe that it was over just like that. I put a lot of work into the relationship and in the end, it didn't even matter.

I had another game to play and I knew that I would have to do it with a broken heart. I could not let my team down because I knew that they were counting on me to be my best and I had to make sure that I was doing my best. So despite the fact that I wanted to cry, I put everything that I had out on the field and we won. We dominated. We were going to be going to our second finals in two years and I didn't want to stop there. We wouldn't know who we would be playing though until Saturday.

After the game, I went home because I needed to talk to Quinn. I knew that it was too soon to start a new relationship, but we needed to have a discussion.

"So were you going to do anything this week?" I asked her. I felt like it was the best way to lead the conversation.

"Well I don't really think that Lady Gaga is for me. I loved seeing you perform though and I though that you looked great too." She said.

"I think that you can find something even if it isn't a Gaga song. Theatricality spans many years and I know that there will be something that you like." I told her. "Quinn, Sadie and I broke up."

"Oh god. I'm sorry. I don't even know why I kissed and I wasn't trying to ruin your relationship." She apologized.

"It wasn't just you." I pointed out. "It was me and it was her too. It turns out that she also cheated on me. We both screwed this up and I can't believe that it's over. We need to start packing up for the move."

"I know what song I want to sing." She commented. I supposed that was a good thing. It was then that I managed to see Chrissy walking towards our mom's room. I decided to follow her.

"Mom, I really need to talk to you." She declared.

"What is it Honey?" Mom asked. I hoped that Chrissy wasn't going to do anything that she would regret.

"I know that you love Burt and love him too, but I really think that is moving too fast." She pointed out. "Also why are you making all of these decisions without asking us first? I get that you're the parent here, but it feels like Faith and I have no say in what happens. You're asking us to abandon the home that we've lived in our whole lives just like that. Do you ever think that maybe I'm not ready to move yet. I don't want to move."

I had to admit that she had some good points there.

"Also I need to ask you what happens if something goes wrong? What happens if we sell this house and something comes up that ruins your relationship? Where do we go?" She added.

"Christina Hudson, none of that is going to happen." Mom stated.

"Wait, Mom, do you think we can hold off on moving until the end of the school year?" I interrupted. "It'll give us more time to get used to this instead of just throwing us into everything and it will give us a lot less to worry about."

I hoped that she would at least listen to us. Even though I had had my outburst before, it did give us more time to sort all of it out. I noticed a bit of a look on her face that I wasn't sure what to make of.

"Okay, I'll tell Burt that you two need more time." She agreed. "You're right. I have been moving pretty fast with this relationship and even though I think that this could benefit us, I don't want to do anything that you two aren't ready for."

I was glad that we managed to resolve that situation like adults because all three of us were, even though Chrissy and I didn't look like it. It was one less problem that we needed to worry about.

The following day, Quinn was in the choir room wearing a denim vest and jeans with a headband.

"So this may not be one of the most theatrical songs, but this band was one of the greats of hair metal." She announced as she began to play.

We both lie silently still in the dead of the night
Although we both lie close together we feel miles apart inside
Was it something I said or something I did did my words not come out right
Though I tried not to hurt to you, though I tried

But I guess that's why they say

Every rose has its thorn
Just like every night has its dawn
Just like every cowboys sings a sad sad song
Every rose has its thorn Yeah it does

Though it's been a while now I can still feel so pain
Like a knife that cuts you the wound heals
But the scar that scar remains

I know I could saved our love that night if I had known just what to say
Instead of making love we both made our separate ways
And now I hear you found somebody new and I never meant that much to you
And to hear that tears me up inside and to see you cuts me like a knife

Every rose has its thorn
Just like every night has its dawn
Just like every cowboys sings a sad sad song
Every rose has its thorn
Every rose has its thorn
Just like every night has its dawn
Just like every cowboys sings a sad sad song
Every rose has its thorn

"Quinn, I think you may have gotten the lesson this week better than anyone. While theatricality can make people notice you, the most important thing about music is being yourself." Mr. Schue explained.

On Saturday night, I was going with the team to see the other semifinals match so we would know who we were up against. Carmel High was playing against a school from Cincinnati. We were basically going to be scouting who we could be playing against in the finals. I didn't think very much of it until I saw something shocking happen. Sadie walked onto the field. She hadn't even told me that she was going back. That wasn't even the most surprising thing. They won the game, which meant that I would be playing against Sadie in the finals.

So for starters, things went differently because there really weren't any big issues with Katie like Finn and Kurt had. The real issue was the speed of things happening. Also, Faith and Sadie and are going to have to play each other in the State Championship. The songs are "Paparazzi" by Lady Gaga, "Cherry Bomb" by The Runaways, and "Every Rose Has Its Thorn" by Poison. Please don't forget to review.