A New Direction (Glee and Finchel/Samchel fan fiction)

Chapter 7- The Talent

"What? Mr Shue, I think you need to count again." I was outraged. I was in glee club, the week after we got our assignment, and all of the duos had just performed their songs, and Finn and I were clearly the best. We had all finished voting and somehow, Brittany and Sam won.

"Rachel," Mr Shue replied, rubbing his forehead, "The girls won fair and square. Plus, I agree with the majority of the glee club that their rendition of Valerie was amazing."

"I agree, Mr Shue, that Valerie was an excellent choice for Brittany and Santana to perform, but in no way does it fit the theme 'New Beginnings'. My version of the Queen hit-"

"Our version." Finn added.

"Yes," I continued, "Finn and myself's version of the Queen hit was nothing short of remarkable." I was now standing, with my arms crossed. On my left was Sam, who was awkwardly glancing between Mr Shue and I, while Finn was on my right, sitting still. 

"I'm sorry Rachel, but we voted, and you didn't win. There will be plenty of other opportunities for you to sing at sectionals." Mr Shue stated, now leaning back against the piano. 

"Well, if none of you can appreciate my vocal talents then I don't know if you deserve to have me as a part of the New DIrections." And with that, I stormed out of the choir room. I was quite famous for my exits. As soon as I left the choir room, I ran down the hallway and turned a corner, so no one could see me. Tears rolled down my cheeks and made my eyes red. I collapsed on the floor a short while later and leaned against the wall under a window. I was never good enough. I won every singing contest, every talent show; but when it came to my peers choosing who was best, I was never first choice. I was always the girl chosen last for teams in gym class, or the last to be invited to a sleepover. I just wanted to be accepted, but I knew that I never would be.

I heard footsteps approach me and I hoped that it wasn't a footballer with a slushie. It wasn't. I looked up half expecting to see Sam, but I saw Finn. He sat down on the floor next to me with no questions. He just sat. After a while he finally spoke,

"We were amazing. We killed it, but maybe Brittany and Santana  have a better chance of getting us a win at sectionals. I bet they don't see many girl-on-girl duets often."

"But we were so good." I replied, barely looking Finn in the eye. 

"I know we were. Anyway, like Mr Shue said, there are other chances to sing. He's looking for someone to sing a solo, you know." Finn pulled me close to him, wrappig an arm around my shoulders.

"Well, I just ruined all chances of even having a shot at getting that solo. No one likes a drama queen. You know, all I've ever wanted is for others to accept me, and appreciate me. That will never happen."

"Rachel." Finn cupped my face in his two hands and turned it towards his, "who cares what they think? I appreciate you. I think you're incredible." He wrapped me into a hug.

I let a small smile escape my lips. Finn and I sat together until Glee club had ended, caught in each other's arms.

"Where did you go on Friday after glee?" Sam asked when he saw me on Monday morning, pampering my nose at my locker, "Finn went looking for you."

"Yeah I know. He found me, and we talked a little, and then I went home. No big deal." I replied, my eyes still fixed on my mirror.

"What about on the weekend? You didn't reply to any of my texts."

"Sam," I said as I closed my locker, "I just needed some time to clear my head, to think about whether I really want to be in glee club anymore."

"I get why you were mad. I mean, you sang amazingly, but all of us who didn't get the duet for sectionals were dissapointed. If you're gonna stay in glee club you need to learn that we have to share and take turns and support each other. I will always support you. You just need try to support everyone else."

"I know, I get that now. I'm an only child, so I don't really have a lot of experience with sharing, but I'll try, I really will."

"I'm proud of you." Sam smiled, pulling me close to him and kissing the top of my head.

"I've gotta go and talk to someone, but I'll see you at glee club after school?" I said. 

"Sure, bye beautiful." Sam turned and walked towards his football friends, while I made my way to the Spanish classroom.

Mr Shue was setting up for his class that morning.

"Mr Shue? I need to talk to you about something." I knocked on the wall of the classroom as I stopped at the open door.

"Come in, Rachel." Mr Shue replied with a wide grin. He sat on the teacher's desk at the front of the room in front of the blackboard, and gestured for me to sit down on the student desk in front of him.

"I just wanted to apologize for my outburst in glee club last week. It was completely uncalled for, and I can now see why Brit and Santana won. They deserved it. I'm sorry."

"It's okay, Rachel. I understand how it feels to not feel like you belong, not feel like anyone truly likes you, but I can tell you that you are a great asset to the New Directions. I also noticed your point about Valerie not being a song fitting the theme this year, so I am in negotiation with the girls now to see if we can find a better suited song, so thank you for pointing that out." Mr Shue rubbed his hands together as his smile spread across his face, "On another note, I had a male visitor come and see me about a half hour ago and convinced me to give you the solo for sectionals. I know that you're the perfect member of ND to perform the opening act of our setlist and you deserve it. You're incredibly talented, Rachel. So, I want you to go and think some song choices for your solo. It needs to be touching and moving, but alive and thrilling. Now, you better get to class."

"Thank you, Mr Shuester. I won't let you down." I rose from the desk and smiled at my new favourite teacher, before leaving the room. I had the solo. It was mine. I knew I had one person to thank for it, and surprisingly, it wasn't Sam. I spotted Finn in the hallway just a few feet ahead of me.

"Thank you." I whispered in his ear, as I gave him a hug from behind, before taking off to period one. I quickly glanced back, only to see Finn standing with a wide grin across his face.

Author's Note: Firstly, THANK YOU FOR 400 READS! I never thought my fanfic would get past 10 reads. I appreciate every single one of you, and I love waking up every morning to see more reads on  my fanfic. Please don't forget to vote and comment! Let me know what you like or don't like about my fanfic, give me suggestions and tell me what you think of the plot or what you think/would like to happen! Thank you again.

~Alex~