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

Chapter 26: Competition

On stage, the rest of the club had come out from behind the curtains and was now ready to groove as the next song began.

["Price Tag" by the incredibly Jessie J. Check out the Glee Project version!]

Shana: Seems like everybody's got a price. I wonder how they sleep at night.
Joe: When the sale comes first and the truth comes second. Just stop for a minute and--
Shana and Joe: Smile!
Shana: Why is everybody so serious? Acting so damn mysterious?
Alex: You got your shades on your eyes and your heels so high that you can't even have a good time.

Dan and Amity slowly walked up to the center of the stage together.

Dan: Everybody look to their left...
Sugar: Yeah...
Dan: Everybody look to their right...
Amity: Can you feel that?
Sugar: Yeah!
Amity: We're paying with love tonight!

They moved back into their formation as everyone sang the chorus together. As the second verse approached, Ryder and Kitty took the center.

Kitty: We need to take it back in time... when music made us all unite!
Ryder: And it wasn't low blows and video-- Am I the only one gettin' tired?

They moved out into separate directions as John and Marley took the center.

Marley: Why is everybody so obsessed? Money can't buy as happiness.
John: Can we all slow down and enjoy right now. Guarantee we'll be feelin' all... right.

When they moved out of the way, it was instead Bree and Jake who stepped in.

Bree: Everybody look to their left
Kitty: To the left...
Bree: Everybody look to their right...
John: To the right...
Jake: Can you feel that?
Sugar: Yeah!
Jake: We're paying with love tonight!

Together, the glee club sang the chorus again, dancing around the stage as the audience danced along with them. Unique belted behind every chorus to come and before they knew it, they were out of breath and the music had ended. This time, it was Julie who jumped up excitedly and cheered as the rest of the crowd joined them.

The group made their way back to their seats in the audience, where they sat a row in front of Julie. Jake turned around and softly asked, "What are you doing in Defiance?"

"Supporting my team," she said with a smile. Jake just watched her for a moment, not saying anything, before turning back around. Instead, Ryder turned around, briefly smiled, and looked back to the stage as Aural Intensity was announced.

"They were really good my first year in glee club," said Finn. "They beat us at Regionals. Second place to Vocal Adrenaline."

"Should we be worried?" asked Rory.

"Umm..." Finn mumbled as the group went on stage. "No. Not at all." Julie could tell he was lying. He was worried.

Their first song was "End of the World" by Before You Exit. And it wasn't just good. It was phenomenal. When the song ended, Julie turned to Rory, whose jaw had dropped. Julie could see Ryder nervously run his hand through his hair and Unique scratched her wig. Both signs of nerves.

Their second performance was "Rock that Body" by the Black Eyed Peas, which wasn't as great as the other one but could still win them first place.

"Alright," Kitty told the people around her. "They were good. But we can beat that. We were also really good."

Jake looked back at Julie for a moment and then turned around. He shifted uncomfortably in his seat and hoped they had been good enough to beat that. Lastly, The Unitards were announced and came out on stage. 

"Wow, she's pretty," Dan said as they watched a girl take the lead, standing at the front of what seemed to be a pyramid formation on stage.

Joe nodded. "Very pretty," he agreed.

"Oh my gosh," said Kurt as the music began. "That's the girl who practically made me soil my best trousers at that NYADA mixer my senior year... Man she was good." This comment made everybody nervous.

Harmony: Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, sometimes I get a good feeling, yeah. I get a feeling that I never never never never had before, no no. I get a good feeling, yeah.

Jake looked back at Finn this time, who seemed to realize that the lead singer of the group had the essence of Rachel Berry. She looked like she wanted it. On stage, the Unitards were giving it their all with "Good Feeling" by Flo Rida' and by the end of the song, half of New Directions was sure they'd lost. The second song began and Julie instantly recognized it as "Made in the USA" by Demi Lovato. The song was definitely a crowd pleaser. 

The crowd murmured result predictions as the three judges (she only knew one; he was the anchorman on her dad's favorite news channel) went away to discuss the performances. She began to chew on her nails as her teammates went up on stage when the results were ready to be announced. 

"You think they won?" she asked Sam.

He looked at her briefly and back to the stage. "I hope they did," he said.

On stage, the New Directions clutched closely together, awaiting the results.

"It's a close call for all three," Finn murmured. "I don't even know which one was the better out of the other two."

"In third place..." the announcer said, "from Wayne, Indiana, Aural Intensity!"

They solemnly made their way off the stage as the remaining two teams inched closer together, towards the center where the first place trophy was being held.

"And now..." the announcer continued. "The 2013 Sectionals first place winner..."

Amity was shaking more than she realized it because Alex, who was squeezed between John and her, grabbed her hand to calm her down. 

"From Lima, Ohio," the announcer said, causing an uproar, "the New Directions!"

Harmony watched as the other team, the team she'd spent a lot of time bashing on online, carried the trophy she'd worked hard for, jumping, shouting, and crying. She herself was on the verge of tears as she rushed off the stage to control herself elsewhere.

"We won!" Julie exclaimed from the audience, hugging Sam.

"Congratulations!" Sam exclaimed. "I mean, not that you did anything but—Well, you—I'm sure if you hadn't been sick you'd—"

"Thank you," she said to get him to stop trying to say the right thing. As Finn carried the phone over to the sidelines, the group marched off the stage with their trophy. Julie joined them, hugging Kitty and Bree as she grinned at them all, proudly.

"We're going to Regionals, baby!" Unique exclaimed into the phone, where whatever Mr. Schue was saying on speaker was muffled by their cheering.