Glee: World of Chances (the fourth book in the Glee series)

Chapter 25: The Beauty Within

["Enchanted" by Taylor Swift.]

Julie: There I was again tonight. Forcing laughter, faking smiles. Same old tired lonely place... Walls of insincerity. Shifting eyes and vacancy. Vanished when I saw your face... All I can say is it was enchanting to meet you...

From behind the glass window that currently divided them, Sebastian concentrated on the beats. He could count on the vocals and the lyrics being great, but it'd taken Julie over a week to write this song and, finally, it was coming out perfectly.

Julie: Your eyes whispered, "Have we met?" Across the room your silhouette. Starts to make its way to me. The playful conversation starts. Counter all your quick remarks. Like passing notes in secrecy.

Surprisingly, Santana and Sam had both insisted on being there for the recording session, standing behind Sam and bobbing their heads as they listened. Even more surprisingly, Julie had allowed it, knowing that she'd have to do this in front of thousands if everything worked out well, so her sort-of-friends shouldn't bother her.

Julie: And it was enchanting to meet you. All I can say is I was enchanted to meet you...

For Santana, listening was about competition. It was no secret that the two were Sebastian's only artists, which naturally meant they had to be the one on top. And Santana wanted to be number one, for once, so after years if being second to Berry, Mercedes, or even Lady Hummel on occasion, she wanted someone to beat.

Julie: This night is sparkling, don't you let it go. I'm wonderstruck, blushing all the way home. I'll spend forever wondering if you knew. I was enchanted to meet you...

And Sam was just curious. He hadn't written a song since their first single and his only other piece of work to add to the album was "She's Got a Boyfriend Now" which wasn't new at all, but hadn't made it onto any other works and felt good enough for this one. So he wanted to know how Julie wrote when she wasn't seeing anyone. Did she write about taxes? About what she had for breakfast? Where might someone out-of-love find her muse?

Julie: The lingering question kept me up. 2 AM, who do you love? I wonder 'til I'm wide awake... And now I'm pacing back and forth. Wishing you were at my door. I'd open up and you would say, "Hey. It was enchanting to meet you. All I know is I was enchanted to meet you."

Yet, somehow, she had produced yet another winning love song. Sam could tell from the way Sebastian looked at her that he approved. The song was going on her album for sure, maybe even becoming a single. "Just the Girl" had done extremely well already and Santana's single "Since U Been Gone" was going to be released next week to help launch her album. Who knows when Julie would release her first single, but it was bound to be in competition with whatever the two of them had out at the time.

Julie: This night is sparkling, don't you let it go. I'm wonderstruck, blushing all the way home. I'll spend forever wondering if you knew. This night is flawless, don't you let it go. I'm wonderstruck, dancing around all alone. I'll spend forever wondering if you knew. I was enchanted to meet you.

Sure, it was a good song, Santana thought, but there was no reason to be threatened. After all, her voice received nothing but positive reviews in the last three days since her show.

Julie: This is me praying that. This was the very first page. Not where the story line ends. My thoughts will echo your name. Until I see you again. These are the words I held back. As I was leaving too soon. I was enchanted to meet you.

Sebastian wasn't thinking numbers or chart topping. He was just curious: had his fake-date idea really worked? Was that what had motivated her to write this song? Or was he giving himself too much credit?