Glee: Back to the Top (the third book in the Glee series)

Chapter 2: Brand New Day

"I'm telling you," said Julie as she talked to John over the phone, "I came so close to blowing it for good. I guess a part of me hoped Ryder had told Jake something because I was so sure that's what he was going to tell me this morning."

She heard her best friend sigh before he said, "How would Jake even know? Last time I checked he and Ryder don't even talk anymore."

"Oh, it was obvious in school today that they don't," she agreed. "But I don't know. Maybe Ryder told Marley and she told him or something."

"And why would Marley tell Jake?" John asked. Julie could tell his voice had gone up almost inscrutably. 

"Maybe they're talking again," Julie suggested.

"Things couldn't possibly have changed that much over the summer," he told her.

She shrugged, aware that he couldn't see her. "Maybe..." she said. "I mean, you're not here. I have a stepmom and a stepbrother down the hall. Sue Sylvester is now Ms. Sylvester and she's coaching glee club with Mr. Schue, which is super awkward. And then there's the whole Ryder thing."

"You're right about two of those things," he said. 

"What do you mean?" she asked. Before he could respond, there was a knock on the door. "Hold on, I think someone's here," she told him. Standing up and putting the phone down, she headed for the door, making sure to check who it was before opening it. When she did, it took less than a second for her to reach for the lock and open the door. 

"Surprise," John said with a smile.

"Oh my gosh!" she exclaimed as she jumped into his arms. "You're here!" She hopped back to the ground and looked at him suspiciously. "This is you, right?" she said, poking at his skin. "I didn't jump into an episode of Supernatural."

"We need to keep you away from Netflix," he grinned as he walked into the house without hesitation.

"Wait, but why are you back?" she asked as she closed the door and followed him to the living room. "Not that I have a problem with you being here but what happened to La La Land?"

John frowned. "I was in over my head," he said. "Living with Cory wasn't as great as I thought it'd be."

"Yeah, my big bro has weird habits," Julie nodded.

He laughed. "Not what I meant," he replied. "It's just I thought we'd be hanging out and jamming out but he's studying chemical engineering and that has nothing to do with guitars or anything I'm into. So it was just a mistake. Besides that, it's hard to make it out there. Realistically, I'd need a bit more of a start-up first. I don't know how the other glee alumni did it so easily."

"Rachel went to college," she said.

"Lame," John responded, having voiced his opposition to attending college a million times.

"Mercedes got discovered on YouTube," she went on.

"Ok, that seems a bit unlikely but better than college..." he said.

"The rest of them were friends of Rachel and/or Mercedes," she shrugged.

He thought about this for a second and then asked, "You thinking of making YouTube videos of you singing?"

Julie laughed. "You know I don't want to be a singer," she said.

"Yeah, I know," he responded. "And it's a damn shame considering you've got the best voice I've ever heard."

"Yeah?" she questioned him teasingly. "And not Marley?"

She could swear there was a hint of blush on his face as he asked, "How is she?"