someone else | j st. james [on hold]

1 | jesse st. james

It started before either of them had even intended for it to. The McKinley High Glee Club wasn't even on Jesse St. James' radar given how small they were. As for Daniella Hummel, she wouldn't have been caught dead if she joined the embarrassment that was New Directions. She had no fucking clue why Finn Hudson, someone just as popular and dependent on his image as her, had joined.

Of course, Daniella — Dan, as she preferred — wasn't going to walk around school shit-talking the Glee Club. Not when her twin brother was in it. Sure, it might feel good to throw a slushie at Rachel Berry, but she held off, knowing that she needed to support her brother's endeavors, as he had so very few passions.

And that unyielding support was what led her to driving her brother and his new friends — if that was the right word to describe them — to another school an hour away to watch their own show choir performance. Kurt would've done it, but the oil change light in his car came on that afternoon, and their mechanic father insisted he not drive it until it was fixed, which would be the next day.

Dan had done minimal talking, every now and then glancing in her rearview mirror at Kurt, Mercedes Jones, and Tina Cohen-Chang. If Kurt wasn't so scrawny, it would've been a tight fit. In her passenger seat sat Artie Abrams. There had been enough room in the trunk of her Honda CRV to fit his wheelchair, and as a soccer player in the fall, a lacrosse player in the spring, and a member of the elite Cheerios, Dan had the upper body strength to lift the small boy and get him in the car.

As soon as the Spanish teacher, Mr. Schuester, handed Dan her ticket to the show, she found their section, making sure to claim the aisle seat while the others were milling around the lobby and talking. The sponsor of the New Directions had driven himself, Rachel Berry, Finn Hudson, and the guidance counselor, Emma Pillsbury, in his own car.

As Dan took her seat, she looked around the enormous auditorium that seemed impossibly full. It made their own small, seldom used auditorium look like a joke. She knew that Coach Sylvester would have loved to have the Cheerios perform somewhere so grand.

It was several more minutes before the others found her. Many of them had popcorn and candy and sodas in hand, catching Dan's attention.

"They have concession stands? For a show choir performance?" she asked, raising an eyebrow as she let the others scoot past her. Artie rolled his chair next to her seat.

"Try the popcorn, Dani," Kurt said, shoving his container in her face. "They put a ton of salt on it just like you like."

She eyed the buttery treat for a moment before giving in and taking a handful. "Okay, I have to get my own. This is delicious."

Dan did her best to not feel bad about it — after all, she had only had a salad and Sue's super cleanse for lunch. A small popcorn wouldn't kill her.

Once Finn had stumbled past her and into the seat next to her, Dan got up and scooted past Artie, who rolled back slightly to give her room. The younger boy did catch her attention before she fully got away.