Glee: A Brand New Direction (first book of Glee series)

Chapter 51: Done

So for these performances, or at least for the third one the New Directions do, it may help to listen to Madilyn Bailey's cover on YouTube, since that was where I got the inspiration for. That is all, enjoy!
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As the competition began, I noted that one of the judges was the woman from Sister, Sister. Another was the woman from Switched at Birth. And then a woman I did not know at all. Weird.

We sat in our seats as Vocal Adrenaline went on stage. I was kind of glad we weren't first, but the amazing performance the team gave was really siking me out. They sang three songs by The Go-Go's. Why didn't we think of that? Everybody loves the Go-Go's!

Blaine was right, though. Our real competition was Throat Explosion. They began their medley of "Mr Roboto" and "Counting Stars," completely wowing everyone in the audience. Jean Baptiste was a god. Seriously. He was truly amazing and clearly born for the stage.

"They are amazing..." Finn murmured.

"He is amazing," I corrected him. Ryder shot me a look. Couldn't I compliment a talented performer without him being all weird about it?

As the group finished their set and we headed backstage for our own setup, Kitty told me, "He really is great. Too bad he lives in Indiana."

"I'd go long distance for him," I joked. 

"Alright enough!" exclaimed Ryder from a few feet away. We all turned to look at him.

"I was kidding..." I murmured, kind of hurt by his sudden lack of patience. Before I could say more, he rushed over to me and leaned down to kiss me. Then he nervously tapped his foot as he turned to the rest of them and I was pretty confused. And then we met up in a prayer circle as we always did. We were given speeches from Finn, Mr. Schue, Jesse, and Mercedes. Then we went on stage for our show.

First up was the senior number, a performance of "I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For," which didn't really make me nervous because I was only dancing and doing a bit of singing. I could do that. At least I thought I did, until the actual dancing started. It wasn't that big of a deal, but one small misstep and my ankle started hurting. A lot. I couldn't pull a Marley and faint, however. I had to suck it up. The song was almost over, I could make it. 

As the song was coming to an end and Sam walked around me, he saw the look on my face. "Are you okay?" he mouthed. I didn't respond. I just went over to take my place on the stage next to Bree.

"Do you have any cortisone laying around?" I asked her. She shook her head. I had made it through a cheerleading Nationals win without it and going up a three-inch step is what had brought back the pain. Fantastic.

"You're up next so you better get better..." she mumbled. And right on time, the music started for the next song. A ballad. The song. I took a deep breath as I faced the back and the music played. And then Blaine began to sing.

As Sam joined him, all the guys turned around and joined him for the chorus. And we just continued to sway. I wonder if it looked too awkward. Maybe we should've taken a different approach.

The nerves were filling me as we approached the second verse. My solo was in the second verse. At this point we were all down on the main floor of the stage, swaying in perfect formation as we sang the chorus together.

Jake and Marley led the chorus the second time around. Then Tina held out a high note into the bridge, where Blaine and Sam started leading again. During the final chorus, I belted out in the background, making sure my voice was the most heard melody as Mercedes had told me to do when I was belting the last couple of notes. It's what she always did to stand out and be memorable. Just power through the end.