The Transfer: A Glee Fanfiction

Chapter 16

The opening guitar sounded through the auditorium. Rachel clutched her mic until her knuckles were white, and sang.

You wanna play, you wanna stay, you wanna have it all

You started messing with my head until I hit a wall

Maybe I should've known, maybe I should've known

That you would walk, you would walk out the door, hey!

   

The words added fuel to the fire of Rachel’s anger. She glared at Jesse, making her point beyond clear. He refused to meet her eyes. He was staring at his shoes, his hands balled into fists on his legs. Rachel saw some of the other members glance at Jesse uncomfortably.

    Coward, Rachel thought. He couldn’t even look her in the eyes and face the mess he’d made. She noticed two members snickering behind Jesse, and gave them just as harsh a glare. One of them had the decency to look away in embarrassment, but the other, a boy with broad shoulders and dark hair styled carelessly, stared back with a smirk. Rachel rolled her eyes and picked up where Nicky left off in the song.

But even if the stars and moon collide

I never want you back into my life

You can take your words and all your lies

Oh oh oh I really don't care

Even if the stars and moon collide

I never want you back into my life

You can take your words and all your lies

Oh oh oh I really don't care

Oh oh oh I really don't care

    Despite the anger coursing through her veins, Rachel felt carefree. She melted into the rest of the song, having the most fun she’s had in a long time. Nicky grabbed her hand and spun her around in a circle, making her hair fan out before resting haphazardly on her shoulders. Rachel felt her anger falling away with every word she sang, and by the end of the song it was like a huge weight had been lifted off her chest.

    “Wonderful!” Mr. Careisy praised. “I loved the energy! Great choice, Ms. Berry.”

    Mr. C stood up from his seat and walked onto the stage. He stood beside Rachel, facing the crowd with a serious expression.

    “As is Vocal Adrenaline tradition, the existing members will deliberate for as long as necessary to determine if Ms. Berry is a good fit for the team.” He turned to Rachel and said, “You’ll have to leave for this part, but you’ll have an answer by tomorrow.”

    “Alright,” Rachel said breathlessly, still riding her high from the song with Nicky. “Thank you.”

    Rachel made her way off the stage as Vocal Adrenaline stood up to take her place. The dark haired boy that was sitting behind Jesse bumped Rachel’s shoulder with his arm and stage whispered loud enough for Rachel to hear, “No wonder he broke up with her. He wouldn’t get a second glance with her on stage.”

    Rachel pretended not to hear him and grabbed her bag from the third row of seats where she’d left it. She turned and waved goodbye to Nicky before walking out of the auditorium.

    She fished her phone from her bag as she made her way to her locker to check her messages. Four texts and five missed calls. Well, this is a surprise, Rachel thought. Do I even have this many friends?

    The first text was from her dad that morning. Should’ve known.

    “Just landed in NY! Call if you need us. Love you pumpkin! xoxo”

    The next message was from Kurt:

    “Heard what happened w/ Finn… U want to talk over coffee?”

    Rachel knew exactly what Kurt would say. “Did you even give him a chance? Why do you keep running away? You’re being so selfish.” And probably more accusations, because whenever there was a problem with her and Finn, Kurt always took his brother’s side. Still, coffee didn’t sound too bad. She sent him a text back.

    “Coffee sounds good...don’t want to talk about Finn though"

    Her phone buzzed with his response before she could open her other texts.

    “Ok...I’ll bring Blaine and Mercedes and we can make it a party :)”

    Rachel wasn’t sure how she felt about seeing Mercedes (she could recall some choice words the girl had used when Rachel said she was leaving), but she told Kurt she would meet them there in thirty minutes.

    Her third text was from Puck, surprisingly:

    “Just checking to make sure u r ok. Us Jews gotta stick together, babe.”

    Rachel and Noah had a strange history, and he was the last person (aside from Santana) she would have expected a message from. It was still nice to hear from him, though, and his thoughtfulness made her smile. She typed a quick reply:

    “I’m alright. Thanks for checking Noah :)”

    The name on her last text made her heart drop.

    “Rach, please pick up. I need to talk to you.”

    Well, now she knew who her missed calls were from. Why was Finn trying so hard to get a hold of her? Rachel gathered her books quickly, deciding she’d talk to him after coffee. That is, if she could pluck up enough courage to even call him.