Falling-Prequel

Acafellas

Acafellas
•••••
Will counted the steps as he tried to do choreography with the New Directions. " 5,6 ... 7 and 8.... step and step. Step and step. And turn it around. Down and up. And hit, hit... down... hit..."

Rachel stopped dancing. "Can we stop, please?"

"You don't have to ask me every time for permission to go to the bathroom, Rachel. You can just go Rachel." Will replied.

" It's not my bladder. It's the choreography." Rachel pointed out.

Haley exchanged looks with Quinn, and Santana as they tried to hold a laugh in.

"Okay, what's wrong with the choreography?" The teacher asked confused.

"It sucks." Rachel said tentatively, referring back to the conversation she'd had with Haley, Quinn and Santana earlier that day.

[Flash back]
A few hours earlier, Quinn, Haley, and Santana followed  Rachel in the hallways of the school to talk about choreography.

"It sucks." Quinn spoke up bluntly.

"It's completely unoriginal. Rachel." Haley nodded.

"Are you guys going to get shunned for talking to me?" Rachel asked, shocked that the most popular girls in school were talking to her.

"Sweetie, we're a team now. But you've got to do something about Mr Shue's dance routines." Quinn explained.

"She be telling' the truth." Santana commented. All the girls stood staring at Rachel, despite their hatred for her.

[Back to reality]

" We can't compete with vocal adrenaline with these steps. You're a great vocal coach, Mr.. Shue, but you're not a... a trained choreographer. That's what we need to be the best. We need Dakota Stanley." Rachel explained.
[Flash back]

" He's the best show choir choreographer in the midwest. He works with Vocal Adrenaline. You can't take Regionals without him. He was the understudy to the candelabra in　Beauty and the Beast on Broadway." Haley said, raising an eyebrow as Rachel's face slightly lit up.

[Back to reality]

" Just because he understudied doesn't mean he ever performed." Their teacher protested, refusing to give up on the choreography.

" Did you ever perform, Mr. Schuester? After high school. Did you even try?" Quinn asked.

"He didn't." Haley snickered to Santana, who smirked.
-------
Sue sat making her rowing while Haley and Quinn sat in front of her, and told her the events of the previous few days.

"It's a good start. You're sewing the seeds of destruction." Sue commented.

"Mr Schuester barely even shows up for rehearsals." Haley spoke up.

"Oh, no, no, no. "barely" will not cut it. I will not be satisfied until glee club is disbanded. And what about this dakota character? Any chance he actually helps?" Sue asked, as the girls smirked.

"Hum!... They're soft. He'll eat them alive. I give them 15 minutes before the first one quits Or tries to commit suicide." Quinn said.

Sue exited her rowing machine and sat in front of the girls as she spoke.

"You know, ladies... I learned a lot in special forces. I was on the strike team in Panama When we extracted noriega. We took out the shepherd... Then we went after the sheep. You need to go after these glee clubbers One by one. I want my full budget restored..." She said, as Quinn nodded, while Haley frowned in slight confusion.

"I need a fog machine."
-------
Mercedes, stood by her locker looking at the couples parad in the corridors along the lockers. She saw Santana kissing Puck.

"Kurt. ... Have you ever kissed anybody?" Mercedes asked Kurt who appeared next to her, as he opened his locker.
"Yes. If by someone you mean the tender crook of my elbow." Kurt answered. "No, I haven't. But I want to. All right, stop it right there, Mercedes. We are in Glee club. That means we are at the bottom of the social heap. Special ed kids will get more play than we will. The only thing that gets me by is my knowledge that we are superior to all of them." He added, as Mercedes smiled

"What are you wearing on our operation Dakota stanley field trip?" Kurt changed the topic.

"Is there a dress code?" Mercedes frowned.

"No, but every moment of your life is an opportunité for fashion. We'll hit the mall after school. Meet me at lunch." Kurt said, as he walked away.

"Okay."

"You should totally scoop that." Quinn smirked, as she ran to catch up to Mercedes, linking her arm with hers.

"Hum! ... I don't think i'm his type." Mercedes replied unsure.

"Oh, I think you are." Haley nodded, making a face at Santana as the three passed her and Puck.

"Just follow our lead. We've got your back." Quinn added, as they pulled Mercedes with them.
--------
"Are we even sure they're rehearsing today?" Quinn asked, as the small group of Glee members made their way to Carmel High, so they could sneak into rehearsals.

"Vocal Adrenaline rehearses every day from 2:30 until midnight." Rachel shook her head, as she exuded a confident exterior.

"I'm just so nervous these Vocal Adrenaline kids are gonna laugh at us. They're so cool and popular, and we look like we just stepped off the short bus." Mercedes muttered.

"Those sweaty Nazis have just had more time to practice. We have more heart. And you don't look touched in the head. That outfit is amazing." Kurt assured, as he wrapped his arm around her, while they advanced toward the building.

Mercedes smiled, before she exchanged looks with Quinn and Haley who encouraged her to continue talking. "So, would you ever, .. You know, want to hang out?"

"Come over. It's Liza Minnelli week on amc!" Kurt said, causing her to grin.

Rachel spoke up as they neared the building. "Guys! That's Andrea Cohen. She won outstanding Soloist last year at absolutely tampastic." As Rachel stepped closer to the girl, she took a step back when Andrea tossed into a trash can.

"You can't ... leave rehearsals for any reason. That includes heat exhaustion or crohn's disease." The girl cried out, as Haley frowned.

"Are you guys Vocal Adrenaline? We'd like to talk to Dakota Stanley about choreography for our Glee Club.

"Don't! He's a monster." Andrea replied, wiping her tears.

In the rehearsal room, the Glee Club attended the  rehearsal of Vocal Adrenaline. They stood there completely stunned by their performance.

"Get off my stage!" Dakota Stanley shouted.

Moments after the rehearsal, Rachel walked after Dakota as he made his way to his car.

"Mr Stanley! We're the McKinley High Glee club."

"No interviews." Dakota shook his head, practically ignoring the group.

"We'd like you to choreograph for us." Tina added.

" Look, my fee is $8,000 per number, Plus a $10,000 bonus if you place in the top three. And with Dakota Stanley at the wheel, you will place at the top three. Move it." Dakota said, turning on the ignition and driving away.

"How are we gonna get $8,000?" Rachel asked.
------
After help from Coach Slyvester the group had raised enough money from a car wash to hire Dakota Stanley.

The shorter man stood submitting a paper to each member of the Glee Club as they stood in a line.

"Okay, please examine your personalized menus. This is what you're going to be eating for the next six months." He said.

Mercedes spoke up confused. "Um, mine just says coffee."

"Hum! Hum!" Dakota hummed in agreement.

"What's smelt?" Rachel asked.

"A pungent low-carb freshwater fish. Okay, let's start with today's business." Dakota said, as he stopped in front of Artie. "You're cut. Artie. You're not trying hard enough."

"At what?" Artie asked.

"At walking. we can't be wheeling you around during every number. It throws off the whole dynamic, and it's depressing." Dakota said simply.

"So, you're kicking him out?" Mercedes asked.

"Mm-hmm. Also you. ouse got to go, Effie." Dakota pointed at Mercedes.

" Oh! ... " Mercedes muttered unimpressed.

"No, no, no. Yeah." Dakota continued down the line.

Kurt spoke up aggravated. "You can't kick people out of Glee Club because you don't like the way they look."

"Uh, why don't you shut your face-gash and stay away from aerosol cans because you could burst into flames at any second?" Dakota asked, before looking at the four Cheerios. "You four ...you're great. you're perfect. Seriously. don't change a thing."

"Uh, you..... ew, nose job." He said, scrunching his face while looking at Rachel.

Santana, Haley, and Quinn exchanged looks as Brittany smiled.

"Now just hold on a second." Finn said, trying to protest.

"What was that, frankenteen? Why don't you, uh, wipe that Dopey look off your face and get some lotion for those knuckles you've been dragging on the ground?" Dakota interjected.

"What's wrong with you?" Finn asked offended

"What's wrong with me? What's wrong with me is that you're freakishly tall. I feel like a woodland Creature. Um, am I hurting your feelings? Did I say something wrong? Because I thought you wanted somebody who respected you enough to tell you the truth. But maybe you don't have the confidence to hear it, hmm? Maybe you need somebody who's going to Lie to you and tell you things like, "you got what it takes." But you know what? As far as I can see, you don't. So, why don't you just take a little second, take a breather, and ask yourself, "do I want to be a winner..or not?" Finn : Screw this. I quit." Finn announced, as he left, followed by Tina.

"Me-t-t-t-too." Tina agreed, stuttering, as she looked at Artie. "Let's roll, Artie."

"No. great, great. You know, separate the wheat from the chaff; that's perfect." Dakota said.

"Wait." Rachel said, as everyone stopped. "Barbra Streisand. When Barbara was a young ingenue, everyone told her in order to be a star. She'd have to get a nose job. Thankfully, she refused."

"Where's this going, yentl?" Dakota asked.

"Where it's going is that... We don't need you. Let's face it. We're never going to be as good of dancers as Vocal Adrenaline. We're gonna win because... we're different. And that's what makes us special." Rachel explained.

Mercedes spoke up again. "They told J.Lo her booty was too big."

"Curtis Mayfield was more successful after he became paralyzed." Artie added.

" Jim Abbot." Finn said.

"I have no idea who that is." Kurt shook his head.

"He was a one-armed pitcher for the yankees. Pitched a no-hitter." Finn clarified.

" Okay, so, yeah. Misfits and spaz-heads and cripples can make it, too. That's great. What's your point?" Dakota crossed his arms.

Rachel's smile grew as she looked down at Dakota. "Our point is that... you're fired. And I'm taller than you." The Glee Club members smiled.

"Mm..." Dakota rolled his eyes. "Not by much."
-------
Sue was enraged from hearing that her plan with Dakota had failed.
"This is what we call a total disaster, ladies. I'm going to ask you to smell your armpits."

Quinn, Haley and Santana smelled their armpits, as they scrunched their faces at the stench.

"That's the smell of failure. And it's stinking up my office. I'm revoking your tanning privilèges for the rest of the semester." Sue said.

Santana, began crying, before she left the office in tears, followed by Haley who rolled her eyes.

Quinn paused. "Mrs Sylvester, I want to thank you." She began.

"For what?" Sue frowned.

" For teaching me a valuable life lesson. When you really believe in yourself, you don't have to bring other people down." Quinn walked out, leaving Sue sitting in shock.