love like fools ➙ glee

twenty-two ; bohemian rhapsody.

"No one wants any pizza?"

Alicia leveled a blank look at Will. She didn't move from Finn's side, only sparing a glance at Quinn as she sat next to Rachel. No one faced each other. There was a finality in this meeting, one that was emphasized by the rain outside. Meeting in Will's apartment rather than the choir room was their swan song.

She wasn't ready to say goodbye.

Coach Sylvester appointed as a judge at Regionals was a death sentence . Eternal optimist she was, even Alicia couldn't see a way out of this. Not that she'd admit it. Raising up the other members of the team was a responsibility that fell on her due to her sunshiny reputation. Her feelings were irrelevant.

"All right, well, uh, let's get started. Thank you for coming to the first annual New Directions' Regionals' set list nominations party." Will was trying so hard to sound upbeat.

"What's the point, Mr. Schue?" Artie asked. "Coach Sylvester's one of the judges. She's gonna crush us."

"Artie, you don't know that."

"Yes, we do, she told us at Cheerios practice," Santana said.

Brittany nodded. "Yeah, she said, I'm going to crush glee club." 

"A whole freakin' year," Noah said. "All that hard work for nothing."

Tina started crying. Alicia sat upright, no longer slouched into Will's couch. "I'm sorry. I just really love you guys. You know how many Facebook friends I had before I joined Glee Club? Two. My parents. Rachel was right. Being a part of something special -- it made me special. I just can't believe it's going to be over in a week."

Finn frowned. "Wait. Who said it's going to be over?" Right there was a genuine optimist. Alicia wished she could relate.

Mercedes scoffed. "Please. You think Puck and Santana are going to even acknowledge my existence once we're not in Glee Club together anymore?"

"She has a point," Noah said.

"Mr. Schuester?" Rachel asked, her soft voice ringing through the terse silence. "Do you think instead of nominating songs, we can just . . . all go around the room and talk about things that we loved about Glee Club this year?" It was the first time Alicia saw her take a break from her professional ambition.

It was unnerving. If Rachel could give up, things were worse than suspected. Not that she blamed her. Between Coach Sylvester's appointment to Jesse's betrayal, these weren't the best weeks for New Directions.

And it would be their last.

Finn fidgeted. Alicia turned to him,biting her lip when she noticed how upset he seemed. Not like the other members. Rather, he seemed annoyed over their ability to concede so easily. They had worked awfully hard to get this far and it was unlike them to back down from a challenge.

"We shouldn't give up," Alicia said, speaking for the first time. Everyone turned to her in surprise, as if they'd temporarily forgotten her existence. Except for Finn. He'd watched her on and off throughout the evening. "We've faced worse things than this. How many times has Principal Figgins tried to disband us?"

"Sure, but this is different," said Tina, sniffling. "Coach Sylvester's gonna crush us, she's been waiting for this moment all year."

"Yeah, she hates us," Artie agreed. "She actually wheeled me across the hall at top speed last week. I crashed. Into a water fountain. My clothes were soaked for the entire day."

Alicia met Finn's eyes. They both knew the responsibility of getting the club back on track relied on them. Obviously no one else would. Not even Rachel, who was their official captain.