Glee: To the Next Level (the second book in the Glee series)

Chapter 26: Competition

"Jake," said Shana as she waited backstage for the show to the start. 

He was busy tying his bowtie, looking out onto the crowd. "Yeah?" he asked, turning around.

"I just want to thank you for the opportunity," she told him with a quick, appreciative nod. "It means so much that you chose me to fill your girl's spot."

Jake laughed. "Not my girl," he pointed out. "But yeah, you know, it's no problem. You definitely killed that song and I think you're going to do great in just a minute now."

They anxiously waited for their glee club's name to be announced. When the moment came, Shana  walked onto the stage by herself, in her pink, black-rimmed dress. The crowd cheered and she heard the faint cries of her parents and her older brother as they called out her name. Then the crowd went silent and the music arrangement began. Bree, Kitty, and Sugar chasséd on stage, snapping their fingers and jumping into their ballet routine behind her. 

["Almost is Never Enough" by Ariana Grande and Nathan Sykes.]

Shana: I'd like to say we gave it a try... I'd like to blame it all on life... Maybe we just weren't right, but that's a lie, that's a lie...

As he waited for his cue backstage, joined by the rest of the group, who were either watching the girls' dance or Shana up front, Jake looked out to the audience. There, he caught sight of a perfectly well-looking Julie and shook his head in disbelief. There was no way she had already recovered which meant she was never sick to begin with.

Shana: And we can deny it as much as we want. But in time our feelings will show. 'Cause sooner or later we'll wonder why we gave up. The truth is everyone knows...

As Shana broke into the chorus, Ryder nervously tapped his foot. "Bro, what is your issue?" Jake asked him.

"I'm nervous," he said, shrugging. "Aren't you?"

"I know what I'm doing this for," Jake responded. "And that's enough for me to power through it." He looked back out to the audience, where Puck was sitting with Quinn and their mothers. Then he searched the crowd for Julie's face, took a deep breath and got ready for his cue.

Shana: And we almost, we almost knew what love was. But almost is never enough.

Ryder nodded at him. Jake nodded back and headed onto the stage, where the crowd cheered as he started singing.

Jake: If I could change the world overnight. There'd be no such thing as goodbye. You'd be standing right where you were. And we'd get the chance we deserve.

Julie sat with Finn, Rory and Sam, smiling at Jake's smooth voice as he looked from Shana to the audience.

Jake: Try to deny it as much as you want but in time our feelings will show.

Jake with Shana: 'Cause sooner or later we'll wonder why we gave up.

Jake: The truth is everyone knows.

Finn, who was holding his phone out for Will and Emma to witness the performance, was the first person to stand up and applaud when the song ended. He then sat back down and turned to Sam, who said, "I don't know. The dance in the back was great. As for Jake and Shana... They sounded great but the chemistry just wasn't as strong. You should've seen Julie and him singing earlier this week."

"Yeah, it's a shame she was sick," Finn said, turning to Julie. "Miraculous recovery, though, right Julie?"

"Yeah," said Julie with a coy smile and two thumbs up at the boys. "Totally."