"Welcome to the 2014 Show Choir Nationals competition," said the announcer a few seconds after the New Directions had taken their seats in the large stadium. They were all anxious to find out who the judges were.
"I'd love to have Carrie Underwood," said Shana excitedly. "Ooh or George Strait!"
"Shh," Kitty told her, waiting to hear who was announced.
"Give it up for your judges," the announcer continued. "From Adolescent Mother, give it up for Violet Bryant." The New Directions, along with everyone else, clapped as a plus sized sandy-haired girl stood up, a toddler hanging from her neck, and waved at the crowd.
"Hey, Quinn," Sam whispered. "You know if college doesn't work out..."
A few of the New Directions turned around to look at them and laugh as Quinn scowled and hissed, "Bite me."
"Next up," the announcer went on, "celebrity dog-walker and weekend chef, Victor Garcia!"
"Love his work," Sugar cheered, clapping louder than anyone else in her section. Julie and Ryder smiled at each other in amusement when they saw how enthusiastic Sugar was about this celebrity who, frankly, sounded made-up.
"And last but definitely not least," said the announcer, "put your hands together for country music and television personality, Blake Shelton!"
"Oh my gosh, I think I'm about to pass out!" Shana said, fanning herself quickly. The girls were on their heels clapping. Even some of the guys felt themselves a little starstruck.
It took a a while for the roar to die down, but when it did, Sugar leaned into Rory and said, "This definitely makes top three best competition judges ever."
"Really?" Rory responded. "Who beats Blake?"
"Ok, so there was Lindsey Lohan," Sugar began to list, holding up her fingers, "and, uh, Tickles the Clown."
Rory made a weird face, raising an eyebrow as he questioned Sugar's judgment but before he could respond the judge was saying, "And now... all the way from Westerville, Ohio... Give it up for Dalton Academy's Warblers!"
The crowd cheered and Julie glanced over at Harmony. Harmony looked at her and gave a simple nod; this group was definitely the favorite this year.
The boys, most of whom Sam and Finn didn't even recognize, walked onto the stage. And there was Sebastian Smythe-- now a senior-- leading his guys in an acappella performance of Flo Rida's "Club Can't Handle Me."
"Legit..." John murmured. Marley nodded beside him, tugging on her hair nervously as she wondered how they could possibly beat them.
"I hate orange," said Kitty, looking down at her dress and thinking she looked like a carrot.
"Unimportant," Bree whispered to her, not taking her eyes off of the Warblers.
On stage, Sebastian was determined to untarnish their bad reputation from the previous year. He'd worked hard the last few months just to get them where they were and now he had a chance-- his last chance-- to make things right for The Warblers before leaving.
When the song ended, the crowd cheered as they transitioned into their next song and then the one after. After they were completely done, Julie played with the necklace around her neck nervously and waited as Throat Explosion was introduced.
Ryder noticed how nervous she was and turned to look at her when he noticed the necklace. He had thought she'd stopped using it for good but now realized she just didn't wear it with the Cheerios uniform-- the girls couldn't wear jewelry anymore. She felt his eyes on her and turned.
"What's up?" she asked.
"Nothing," he said quickly, turning up to the stage as Throat Explosion began a medley of "Short People" by Randy Newman and Madcon's "Glow."
By the time the song ended, all jaws had dropped. Sam sighed and told Finn, "I knew they'd come up with something incredibly unique to wow the judges but..."
The Throat Explosion members left the stage literally glowing. In Gaga-like fashion, they had worn costumes that lit up like Katniss Everdeen, except instead of fire it was light. A lot of it. It was as close to super-bright as you could come without blinding someone and everyone in the room was very impressed.
"Ok," said Joe once they were gathered backstage. "This is the moment we've been working towards all year. I want you all to just forget what you just saw and heard. We have something special here and we don't need bright lights or flashy choreography to prove it. So let's get out there and show them who we are as individuals and how we come together to make the special groups that is New Directions."
As he said their name, the announcer said it, too.
"Come on, quick," Sugar urged them, putting her hand in the middle of their circle as the others did the same. "On three. One... Two... Three..."
"Amazing!" they all shouted together. Marley turned to John, who was going out there first.
"Good luck," she told him. "You're going to be amazing."
"Thank you," he said. "Same to you."
Just as he was reaching the stage curtains, Kitty stopped him. "Go out there and kill it, Brown."
"Thanks Wilde," he responded, rushing onto the stage with a guitar around him. There, a set of instruments had been placed behind them, as they had a live band accompanying them. "One, two, three, four!" he shouted as he began to play. The crowd cheered loudly and he strummed away like he never had before for their rock-heavy version of a White Stripes classic.
John: I'm gonna fight 'em off... A seven nation army couldn't hold me back! They're gonna rip it off... Taking their time right behind my back!
Alex came onto the stage, joining him with the repetitive notes on his own guitar.
Alex: Oh and I'm talkin' to myself at night because I can't forget... Back and forth through my mind behind a cigarette...
John and Alex: And the message comin' from my eyes says leave it alone...
They retreated upstage as the other boys came out one by one and joined them.
Ryder: Don't wanna hear about it. Every single one's got a story to tell...
Rory: Everyone knows about it... From the Queen of England to the hounds of hell...
Jake: And if I catch it comin' back my way, I'm gonna serve it to you...
Dan: And that ain't what you want to hear but that's what I'll do!
Joe came out last and the crowd cheered as the guys parted like the Red Sea for him to make his walk downstage.
Joe: And the feeling coming from my bones says find a home... Said, find a home, yeah!
Alex and John continued to play their guitars as the boys moved around the stage in a planned disorder, the attention on the guitarists as the rest of them rocked out and harmonized for backup vocals. When the guitar break ended, John and Alex joined Joe downstage, with the latter standing between them fiercely.
John: I'm going to Wichita... Far from this opera forevermore...
Alex: I'm gonna work the straw... Make the sweat drip out of every pore!
Joe: And I'm bleeding, and I'm bleeding, and I'm bleeding. Right before the lord... All the words are gonna bleed from me. And I will think no more!
Alex, John and Joe: And the stains comin' from my blood tell me "Go back home"...
Joe: Go back home!
John: Said leave it alone!
Joe: Said leave it alone, hey!
Alex strummed the final note and the music ceased. The crowd cheered and the girls came out as the music shifted to a country tune that Blake Shelton lifted up a fist happily for. Country music rarely won show choir competitions but considering their location it made sense to have at least one song. So now Shana was heading up the stage with a smile on her face.
Shana: Mmmmm... I'm booking myself a one-way flight. I gotta see the color in your eyes. Yeah tellin' myself I'm gonna be alright. Without you baby is a waste of time.
She joined the other members as they did their simple but sweet country choreography. Joe stepped up, dancing with Bree in the middle.
Joe: Yeah, our first date, girl, the seasons changed. It got washed away in a summer rain. You can't undo a fall like this.
Joe and Bree: 'Cause love don't know what distance is.
Bree: Yeah, I know it's crazy...
They stepped back and Jake stepped into the center, dancing a slightly more elaborate partner-dance with Julie. As the others danced behind them, clapping their hands to the beat.
Jake: But I don't want "good" and I don't want "good enough." I want
Jake and Julie: "can't sleep, can't breathe without your love"
Jake: Front porch and one more kiss, it doesn't make sense to anybody else. Who cares if you're all I think about.
Jake and Julie: I've searched the world and I know now,
Jake: It ain't right if you ain't lost your mind
He let go of her and let her face the audience alone as he retreated.
Julie: Yeah, I don't want easy, I want crazy. Are you with me baby? Let's be crazy.
Jake: Yeah.
She danced her way back to the group and joined her new partner, Rory, as Shana and Dan stepped forward and danced from one side of the stage to the other.
Dan: I wanna be scared, don't wanna know why. Wanna feel good, don't have to be right.
Shana: The world makes all kinds of rules for love. I say you gotta let it do what it does.
Joe and Bree stepped forward and joined them, their hands clasped together as they danced.
Bree: I don't want just another hug and a kiss goodnight. Catchin' up calls and a date sometimes.
Joe: I love that we're rebels, and we still believe. We're the kind of crazy people wish that they could be, yeah...
Bree and Joe: Oh, and I know we're crazy, yeah...
And now they were all doing some version of the dance that Jake and Julie had previously done while the two took the center again.
Jake: But I don't want "good" and I don't want "good enough." I want
Jake and Julie: "can't sleep, can't breathe without your love"
Jake: Front porch and one more kiss, it doesn't make sense to anybody else. Who cares if you're all I think about.
Jake and Julie: I've searched the world and I know now,
Jake: It ain't right if you ain't lost your mind
Julie: Yeah, I don't want easy, I want crazy. Are you with me baby?
Jake and Julie: Let's be crazy.
While the New Directions sang the chorus together, Ryder, who was partnered with Sugar at the moment, looked over at Julie and Jake and saw that they actually looked like they were having fun. After a tinge of jealousy washed over him, he remembered that he was going to sing pretty soon and began making his way to the front.
Ryder: Yeah, I don't want easy, I want crazy. Yeah, look at us baby, tonight the midnight rules are breaking. There's no such thing as wild enough, and maybe we just think too much. Who needs to play it safe in love? Let's be crazy!
He joined the others again for the rest of the song and wondered why it was that during their big group numbers Julie and Jake always seemed to end up together. The song ended, though, and shifted into the final number of the day, which was "Ho Hey" by the Lumineers.
New Directions: Ho! Hey! Ho! Hey!
Marley (New Directions): (Ho!) I've been trying to do it right... (Hey!) I've been living a lonely life... (Ho!) I've been sleeping here instead... (Hey!) I've been sleeping in my bed
Marley and Kitty (New Directions): (Ho!) Sleeping in my bed. (Hey!) (Ho!)
Harmony and Dan stepped forward and joined them at the front as the others swayed behind them.
Dan (New Directions): (Ho!) So show me family
Harmony (New Directions): (Hey!) All the blood that I would bleed
Dan (New Directions): (Ho!) I don't know where I belong
Harmony (New Directions): (Hey!) I don't know where I went wrong
Harmony and Dan (New Directions): (Ho!) But I can write a song... (Hey!)
They were joined by Sugar and Rory, who smiled at each other as they took the stage. Sugar didn't care about winning as much as the other seniors, or any of the other members, really. She just wanted it to be fun. And it was.
New Directions: 1, 2, 3
Sugar and Rory: I belong with you, you belong with me, you're my sweetheart... I belong with you, you belong with me, you're my sweet...
New Directions: Ho! Hey! Ho! Hey!
Next to join the line that was forming downstage were Jake and Ryder. Jake could tell Ryder wasn't too happy with him as they walked up to the front together and Ryder stared him down a bit.
Ryder (New Directions): (Ho!) I don't think you're right for him.
Jake (New Directions): (Hey!) Look at what it might have been if youRyder (New Directions): (Ho!) took a bus to China Town.
Jake and Ryder (New Directions): (Hey!) I'd be standing on Canal... (Ho!) and Bowery. (Hey!)
Jake (New Directions): (Ho!) And she'd be standing next to me. (Hey!)
New Directions: 1, 2, 3
John and Julie joined them next and John placed an arm around Julie as they swayed at the front now.
John and Julie: I belong with you, you belong with me, you're my sweetheart... I belong with you, you belong with me, you're my sweetheart...
Next to join them were Amity and Alex, who hadn't spoken much lately and each felt weird and distance, not looking at each other as they sang out to empty space.
Amity and Alex: Love – we need it now... Let's hope for some... So – we're bleeding out...
The rest of the members came up to the front as Unique stood in the center.
Unique: I belong with you, you belong with me, you're my sweetheart. I belong with you, you belong with me, you're my sweet...
New Directions: Ho! Hey! Ho! Hey!
The music ended and the New Directions took a bow all together as the crowd cheered. They exited the stage and headed outside while the judges met in a private room.
"I think we did a good job," Joe said as they all hung out together. "We weren't totally synchronized as far as choreography or vocals but... I could really feel the love in there. And I really dug it."
"Preach," Unique sighed with exhaustion as Bree rested her head against his shoulder.
"I'm really going to miss you guys," Sugar mumbled. "I can't believe it'll all be over in a week. High school and glee club and everything."
"It won't be over," Kitty told her. "You can drop by whenever you want and join us with your amazing voice."
They laughed and Sugar said, "I'd love that but I think I'm going to, you know, go out and explore. I don't want to be one of those loser graduates who hangs around the high school too much."
"Speaking of..." Jake mumbled as Finn and Sam approached.
"Hey guys!" Finn exclaimed. "That was great."
"Really," Sam agreed. "The feels. Quinn cried so much she had to go reapply her makeup in the restroom."
“That's why I wear waterproof mascara," Unique said, shaking her head with disapproval.
“Hey Julie, can I have a word?" Sam said. Julie looked up in surprise and nodded as everyone watched them walk away with curiosity.
“What's up?" Julie said when they were alone.
He then proceeded to reach out and hug her. When he let go, he sighed and said, “I fought really hard to hold this back and even more so for our friends to keep my secret... but there's something I need to tell you and I think if I wait any longer my head might explode."
Julie laughed and said, “Okay..? What's going on?"
“I'll show you!" he said excitedly as he pulled out his phone and opened to a picture of himself standing in front of a bus ad. It took her a few seconds to realize that the almost naked guy on the bus was him.
“Oh my..." she began.
“Yup," he nodded proudly.
“This is..." she said, looking up at him with a surprised look on her face.
“Yup," he nodded.
“Oh my gosh!" she shrieked, jumping up and down happily and then hugging him once again. “This is amazing Sam!"
"I know!" he beamed with glee. "My dream. I fulfilled it just like I promised you."
"You did," she nodded with a smile on her face.
"And, uh, in case you're wondering," he said. "I know things have changed since we made that promised so I don't expect you to hold your end of it. I'm with Mandy now and you're--"
"No need to explain," Julie said. "We can just leave it at that. Congratulations Sam; I'm really happy for you."
She began walking away rather quickly and he said, "Wait there's more." But she was already gone. Alone, he mumbled, "I've moved back to Lima, just FYI..."
***
The New Directions stood on stage with the other groups as the results came in. "I want you all to promise me that regardless of what happens we're going to love the results, okay?" Joe said. Everyone nodded as the host opened up the envelope.
"In third place," he began, "from Lima, Ohio, the New Directions!"
Will sighed, but clapped along, dreading the reaction of the kids. To his surprise, however, they all began jumping up and down, cheering so loudly for themselves that he almost didn't hear as Throat Explosion was announced the winner.
On-stage, the other teams were confused by the joy of the New Directions, who had gone from 1st place, to 2nd, and now 3rd. But to them, it was about more than that. It was about celebrating everything they'd been through that year and the fact that Joe, John and Sugar had just had their final competitions ever.