𝚍𝚊𝚢𝚍𝚛𝚎𝚊𝚖 • 𝚐𝚕𝚎𝚎

𝚇𝙸

I sat in the backroom, pacing. It was here. Regionals. The only memories that came back were the memories from when we lost. The thoughts that had gone through my head the last time they had announced who won.

The silence in the room was deadly. The only noise was the noise coming from the group in the room next door. They were all cheering and talking about what had led them here.

As I sat in the room, trying to catch my breath, the door opened. "Are you alright?" The voice asked in a low whisper. I looked over, considering it wasn't Finn or Sam. "I could be better," I told her. Scarlett, who had come into the room, sat down next to me.

"Alright, go. I'm not Finn or Sam, so whatever it is, say it."

"I'm just...nervous. The last time it was my first regionals, Quinn gave birth and we lost. It was traumatizing, to say the least." She just smiled as she looked at me. 

"Okay, so, I've been friends with Finn since what, kindergarten? I mean, I practically watched you grow up. You did amazing with these kids, A.J. You worked your ass off to get them to where they are. But, remember I was there when we lost. I saw how to hurt you were. But, you aren't going to lose. You are going to win. You know how I know that?" I just shrugged. "Because you are A.J friggin' Hudson." 

She stood up in front of me and held her hand out. "Now, come on. They're getting ready to go on." I could tell by the look in her eyes that my pupils had gotten wide. "They're going on?" She nodded. "Yes, and Sam has water for you to drink because when you're nervous, you drink a lot of water." 

I stood there for a minute. "I drink a normal amount of water when I'm nervous." She laughed a little as I walked out the door. 

**

As I walked into the crowded auditorium, I looked around. The thousands of people sitting there. It wasn't hard to spot where Finn, Lexie, Sam, and Santana sat. Even sitting down, Finn was still a giant. Scarlett went and sat next to Santana on the end and I sat in between Finn and Sam. At this point, my nerves were getting the best of me. I was shaking. I couldn't think. I could barely hear the people talking beside me. 

"Are you okay?" Finn had asked me. I just shook my head before I spoke. "No. If we lose this, I will have lost everything. All the money I had left. I won't even have enough money to pay for my own wedding." He just looked at me. Soon, the lights went out and the announcer had announced the first group. As I watched the first group perform, my mind went to the very first regionals we had, and the pep talk that Finn had given me to keep me from running or passing out on stage. 

**

Flashback 

"A.J." I didn't even bother stopping I kept pacing back and forth.

"A.J." I kept going. "A.J" I was still going. "Amelia Jane." That was when I stopped. I didn't lookup. I just stood there, staring into space. "I-I-I can't do this. Finn, I can't. Every time I get up on stage, I have a breakdown and I start sweating and I pass out. What if I pass out and ruin it for everyone?"

I felt his hands grab my shoulders. I looked up at him. "This isn't the Amelia Jane I grew up with. She was brave. She was amazing. The only thing she was scared of was spiders." I laughed a little. "If you need anything, or you feel like you're going to pass out or anything like that, just, watch me. Sing and watch me and you'll be fine."

I sighed. "You are going to kill that single melody." I smiled. "Now, let's go kick some ass huh?" 

**

I hadn't even noticed that the first group had finished performing until I heard everyone clapping. I stood up and started clapping as well, as to not make it seem like I wasn't paying attention. Once everyone had finished clapping and sat down, the announcer came back once more.