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

Chapter 23: The Dance-Off

"Who?" asked Julie, confused. Marley shrugged, not knowing what this was about.

"Young Coop," said Sue, smiling and pushing her chest up as she stood to greet him.

"That's Cooper Anderson," Rory explained to his peers. "Blaine's big brother. He's a big deal in the credit rating commercial business."

"Ooh..." a few of them said, watching Cooper in awe.

"I came by to see my little brother," said Cooper with a Colgate smile as he stood with the adults, just in front of Julie and Marley in the first row. 

"Umm, Cooper," Will said, "Blaine graduated... Two years ago..."

"What?" Cooper said, confused. "Then why am I..?"

"I asked you to be the current New Directions' acting coach for their musical?" Will said.

"I thought you meant that because Blaine was here," Cooper said, looking around at all the kids and realizing none of those faces belonged to his brother. "Did he really graduate?"

"Class of 2013," Will said with an amused nod.

"Oh, I should drop by and give him a gift," Cooper said. "At...?"

"NYADA..." Will finished for him. "In New York..?"

"New York, really?" Cooper said, tilting his head as he pictured Blaine over a skyline of the Big Apple. "Hmm, always thought he'd want to follow in my footsteps and go to L.A."

"Anyway," Will said, addressing everyone else, "Cooper is going to stick around for a while and help you all out by running an acting workshop, seeing as he is a professional."

"This is the best day of my life," Bree said, staring at him in awe just like most of the other people in the room. With the exception of Julie, Marley, Alex, and Jake, everyone seemed to be big fans of Cooper's work, so it wasn't a surprise when they all fought over spots in his first session, requiring for Cooper to schedule a meeting with just the boys first, while the girls attended booty camp or Emma's sessions.

***

NEW YORK CITY, NEW YORK

"Jesse," Quinn said, bumping into him at a sandwich parlor.

He turned as he grabbed his order and she walked towards him, having just given her order to the cashier. "Hi, Quinn!" he exclaimed, smiling as she joined him.

"I didn't know you liked it here," she said, looking around at the toned-down, simple people who surrounded them. "Doesn't seem like your kind of scene."

Jesse shrugged. "Food's great and healthy," he pointed out, "what's not to like?"

"Exactly!" she grinned back at him. "Listen, I've got to leave you now because Puck's going to call any second and we only get like five minutes a week so—"

"Oh no," he shook his head. "Don't worry about it. Have fun."

"Thanks," she smiled at him. "Enjoy your lunch and I'll see you whenever we're both over at Kurt and Blaine's place, I guess!"

***

LIMA, OHIO

"What do you know about theatre?" Cooper began, pacing the choir room as the boys sat in the first row attentively.

Rory raised his hand and said, "We should always project—"

"Nothing!" Cooper interrupted him, making him, Stefan and Dan jump up. "You know nothing. Lucky for you guys, I happen to be a professional actor who can teach you a thing or two. Lesson number one... Always point at the person you're talking to."