𝗚𝗟𝗘𝗘 | 𝗕𝗹𝗮𝗶𝗻𝗲 𝗔𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗼𝗻

𝐀𝐬𝐢𝐚𝐧 𝐅

CHAPTER III : ASIAN F

"Five, six, seven, eight!" We had run through this dance about five times now and I was slowly becoming more and more exhausted. Mr. Schue finally told us to stop and I dropped down onto the floor dramatically making the people around me laugh. Tina, who was there this time, extended her hand out to me and pulled me off the ground and in between her and Quinn. I rested my head on her shoulder, Quinn then leaning her head on mine as Mercedes came strolling in "You're late" Mr. Schue stated, not even looking in her direction "I know, I overslept" She said throwing her arms up "It's 4:30 in the afternoon" Quinn pointed out confusedly "My alarm clock went off 30 minutes late this morning. Kind of shifted my whole schedule" Mercedes said, everyone, giving her unconvinced looks "Anyway, what's Santana doing here?" "I've re-worn my allegiance to the Glee Club without telling Coach Sue" Santana explained "Mercedes, I'll catch you up," Mike said.
They walked over to the empty part of the stage and the piano vamped, starting the music. Mike counted down and they started the dance. They only got as far as the spins before Mercedes had to stop, clutching her stomach. she walked over to the bin quickly and bent over it. I furrowed my eyebrows in concern "Mercedes, you okay?" Mr. Schue asked, placing his hand on her back "My stomach hurts. I think I'm gonna be sick" She said worryingly "Why are you babying her? I mean, she can't do three steps without puking cause she ate a Quizno's before she showed up in this joint" Santana said sassily "Mr. Schue, you have us scheduled to the second right now. With school, Glee Club, and Booty Camp, when else am I supposed to eat?" Mercedes said and truthfully, she had a point "When the rest of us do" Santana said, crossing her arms "Oh like you eat!" Mercedes retorted "It's not about eating, it's about the attitude. Sectionals are coming up, and if we don't give it our all" "I am doing my best" Mercedes said frustratedly "No, you're not" Mr. Schue said. I narrowed my eyes at his back, he wasn't being very kind "It's not about doing our best anymore. It's about doing better" He said somewhat angrily. I lifted my head off Tina's shoulder as Quinn lifted hers off of mine. I looked behind me, exchanging a look with Finn. We raised our eyebrows at each other in shock before turning back to Mr. Schue and Mercedes as Booty Camp ended.
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The entirety of McKinley High sat in the bleachers in the sports hall, waiting for the senior class president's candidacy announcement. I sat with Tina and Quinn when suddenly Brittany and the Cheerios burst into the room, singing. Brittany welcomed all the girls to come down and dance with them. I hesitated, but Tina and Quinn both linked their arms through mine and dragged me down with them.
Run The World (Girls) — Beyoncé (Sung By Brittany & The McKinley Girls)
The song ended with loud cheers from all of the girls in the room. We were all crowded together and I hugged Quinn and Tina tightly whilst laughing. A small girl pushed through the crowd towards Brittany, a microphone in her hand, and handed it to her "Hi. I'm Brittany S. Pierce, and I'm your next senior class president"
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The next day, Mercedes, Rachel, and I were called into Ms. P's office. We had been told that we needed to try out again and I was okay with that, Mercedes, however, was not "Let me get this straight. You can't make up your minds, so we have to try out again?" Mercedes asked frustratedly "In the biz, it's called a callback. With such an iconic role as Maria, it can appear as if they're just giving me the part" "God, Rachel, can you just shut up? If we're all here that means we all have a shot. Not just you" I said glaring at her "We'd like all three of you to come back on Thursday for the ultimate Maria-off" Artie said, stopping Rachel from replying to me "Done. I can't speak for Mercedes or Naya, but I'll be singing the timeless Maria classic 'I Feel Pretty'" Rachel said, smiling cockily "Actually, that's too easy, Rachel. We've picked a song that we think has the potential to show off all of your talents, in unexpected ways" Ms. P said and I furrowed my eyebrows. Artie handed the three of us a sheet of paper "'Out Here On My Own' from the seminal behind-the-scenes musical Fame" Artie said as we accepted the sheets from his hands "I know it" Rachel said "I lived it" Mercedes said "I will sing it" I said shrugging my shoulders and wondering why Rachel and Mercedes were being so dramatic. The school bell rang and Rachel, Mercedes, and I left the office. I stopped at my locker, as Rachel and Mercedes spoke. I took my camera out of my locker, as Blaine and I had made plans to do some photography. I closed my locker and gasped when I saw Rachel standing there "Look, in the spirit of Broadway camaraderie, I'd like to offer you a hug to congratulate you on your call-back" She said leaning closer to me. I put my hands up in front of me, making her back away from me "No, no thank you" I said "Why not?" She asked confusedly and I rolled my eyes "Rachel, since I got here you have been, how do I put this nicely, you've been a jerk. It's very obvious you don't like me and I honestly don't like you either so can you just, like, not?" "Oh! I'm sorry, I didn't know you were so threatened by me" She said, flicking her hair over her shoulder "Threatened? By you? Where the hell did you get that from?" "The subtext of your words" "Rachel, if anything, you should feel threatened by me. I can hit notes none of you others can. So now if you would leave me alone, I have to meet Blaine" I smiled innocently at her and walked away, meeting Blaine by my car. I smiled softly at him, all the stress flooding out of me. He smiled back and waved happily at me "You ready to go?" He asked as I reached him and unlocked the car "Yep, where are we off to? Any ideas?" I asked, walking around to the driver's seat "I have one idea" He said vaguely. I raised an eyebrow at him and nodded slowly "You wanna tell me where it is? So I can drive us there?" I asked. He smirked at me and shook his head "It's a surprise. Throw me the keys and I'll drive" He said holding his hand up for the keys. I clutched the keys to my chest tilting my head "I don't know, how do I know you won't kidnap me or crash the car?" He sighed, smiling softly, and leaned forward, his arms up on top of the roof of the car "Just trust me" I straightened my head and nodded. He stood up and held his hand out again. I chucked him the keys and we swapped sides, him getting in the driver's seat whilst I got into the passenger's.
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We drove for about half an hour and of course, I asked Blaine if we were there yet every five minutes. When we finally arrived, it was a woodland area. We stepped out of the car, locked it and he walked over to me. He took my hand, interlocking our fingers, and guided me through the trees to an open area. My eyes widened when I saw it, it was beautiful. There was a small crystal clear lake, the color of sapphires with lily pads floating around on it. A few feet away there were a few small flower fields. One full of bright yellow sunflowers, that towered at almost Blaine's height. Another one was filled with soft purple lavender flowers, the smell so strong and soothing and the last one was filled with multi-colored tulips. There was a tall tree, right beside the lake. The leaves were a gorgeous, emerald color, the branches dangled low some of them brushing the top of my head. The lighting was perfect as the sun was starting to set a little and I could just imagine the photos I was going to take "It's perfect" I whispered, still stunned at the beauty. Blaine chuckled softly and lifted the hand he still held above my head. He spun me around and I stumbled slightly but Blaine wrapped his other arm around my waist, steadying me "You're perfect" I blushed softly and pushed against his chest slightly "You're cheesy" "You love it really" He said smirking at me. I chuckled and pushed away from him completely "Let's get photo taking" I said. I walked over to the tree, slipping underneath the low-hanging branches, and gestured for Blaine to follow me, which he did "Lean up against the tree and look up at the branch" I instructed, pointing up at the tree. I crouched down, lifting my camera to my eye. I flipped the cap off the lens and pointed the camera at Blaine. The sun rays caused shadows of the leaves to cover Blaine's face and they made his eyes sparkle. He leaned up against the tree, balanced one of his feet on his tiptoes, leaning his foot flat against the tree. He put his hands in his pockets and looked in the direction I told him to "Okay, three, two, one and" I pressed the photo button and took the photo "Done" I said and he moved from his position "Can I see the picture?" He asked, coming up beside me. I shook my head at him "You can see all of them when we are done" I said, pushing away from him. I took a few more photos of him in different positions, one of him lying in the flower fields, one of him leaning over the lake, and a few candid ones I took of him when a butterfly landed on his nose and then his finger. When had finished taking one of him picking a tulip, he came up to me. I smiled at him in confusion as he crouched down beside a bush, that I hadn't even noticed was next to me. Blaine picked one off the bush and walked back over to me. He tucked my hair behind my ear and then placed the flower behind my ear. I blushed slightly as he pressed a kiss to my cheek "Let's take a picture of us" He said pulling away from me "How? I didn't bring my tripod" I said, internally cursing myself for forgetting it. Blaine searched the area around us, finding multiple large rocks and piling them up. He took the camera from me and place it on top of the rock pile "Is that good?" He asked, running a hand through his hair. I nodded my head and walked over to the camera, setting a 30-second timer on it and also setting it to take four photos, all five seconds apart, and pressing the start button. I quickly ran over to the way Blaine stood, in front of the sunflowers. He wrapped his arms around me and pulled me close whilst I wrapped my arms around his neck. The sun hit us perfectly and the sunflowers we had set up in front of, made the situation so much more serene. Just as the camera took the first photo, Blaine poked my nose making a 'boop' noise, making me giggle. My laugh made him laugh as well and he reached his hands up from my waist to my face, framing my jaw with his hands. I removed my arms from around his neck and held his hand against my face, smiling softly up at him. He then, to my surprise, leaned in and pressed a kiss to my forehead. The camera beeped, signifying that all four pictures had been taken and I reluctantly pulled away from him. I walked over to the camera, Blaine, trailing behind me and I picked it up. I flicked to the pictures that had just been taken as Blaine, wrapped his arm around my waist. I leaned my head on his shoulder and held the camera up in front of us so he could see the photos too. The first one was of Blaine 'booping' my nose and me laughing, the second one was of the two of us laughing, the third was of him, holding my face in his hand and me smiling him up at him, and last but not least the fourth one was of him, pressing a kiss to my forehead "They're wonderful" I said quietly. Blaine nodded his head and smiled down at me. I lifted my head from his shoulder and turned around in his arms. He leaned down towards me as if to kiss me, but something in my brain told me to push away. So I did "Um, it's—uh, it's going to get dark soon, we should probably get going," I said, hanging my camera around my neck again. Blaine nodded silently and took my hand leading me back to where the car was.
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Kurt and I ran up the stairs, on our way to find Blaine. Kurt had bought him a bouquet, as had I and we had the plan to give them to him, hence the running to find him. We ran into him halfway up the stairs and he smiled brightly at the two of us "The cast list goes up on Friday. Are you nervous?" Kurt asked, his hands behind his back as he clutched his bouquet "A little. I'm trying not to think about it" Blaine said, adjusting his bag over his shoulder "I wouldn't be. Our mole in the casting office says that there's only one actor they're seriously considering for the role of Tony and his initials are B.A" I said, swaying slightly. Blaine chuckled softly and Kurt and I exchanged a look. We both turned back to Blaine, revealing the bouquets behind our backs "Guys, they're beautiful" He said, accepting the flowers from our hands "But what are they for?" "You killed your audition, Blaine. If anyone else got Tony, including me, the wrath of Sondheim would fall upon William McKinley like a plague of Shubert Alley locusts" Kurt said, making
Blaine chuckle again "These...are to celebrate you," I said, reaching out to take his free hand. He looked down at our joined hands with a soft smile and then back up at me and Kurt "Thank you" He said, squeezing my hand and then taking that hand away from me to clap Kurt on the shoulder.
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Tina and I were stretching by the ballet bar as Quinn did pirouettes in front of us. Booty Camp was slowly becoming one of my favorite things, as I got to spend time with Tina and Kurt—my best friends—and Quinn who I was becoming closer "Okay, so, before we dive into today's Booty Camp, I just want to say how impressed Mike and I have been with everyone's progress. Uh—Brittany, why are you here?" Mr. Schue said, being slightly thrown off by Brittany's presence "Cause I intend on, you know, dancing my way into the voters' hearts" Brittany said, making Quinn, Tina, and I chuckle "Okay" Mr. Schue said slowly before continuing "All right, Everyone up! Now, your homework assignment was 'The Widow Maker' perhaps the hardest show choir dance move ever. Now, when you get it right, one of us is gonna tap you out, then you can have a seat" Everyone lined up and got into their stances for the dance move "Uh, five, six, seven, eight!" The music began to play and I tried my hardest to do the dance move, I jumped up and landed, sticking my legs out to the side like we had been taught with my hand up in the air. I slipped slightly but got up and tried again and again until Mike came over and tapped me out. I moved to the side, Puck, Quinn, Santana, Brittany, and Tina had already been tapped out. I watched as Mr. Schue approached Finn, who had been struggling to get the dance move "Come on, Finn, you can do it!" Mr. Schue encouraged "No, he can't," Puck said bluntly and I reached across Tina to smack his arm "Don't be so negative, Puck," I said, narrowing my eyes at him in a joking way. He did it back and left Finn alone. Finn, not responding to Puck, then did the dance move—probably just to prove Puck wrong. Mr. Schue tapped him out and he came over to the side, high-fiving me and Quinn. Mr. Schue and Mike were now working with Mercedes, but she was just not getting it "My ankle hurts" "Push through it" "I don't feel good" "You're fine" "No I'm not!" She suddenly shouted and the music ceased "Look, Mercedes, I want you to be the best you can be, okay? Did you even practice this?" Mr. Schue asked frustratedly "Stop picking on me! You're always singling me out, making me look bad!" "That's crazy" "No, you're crazy for not letting me shine! Where's Rachel, huh? I don't see her here, being a part of the 'team'" "Rachel practiced every night" Finn defended "No one asked you Finn" "As much as I hate Rachel, she is a good dancer" I pointed out, shrugging my shoulders but no-one listened "Everyone knows that Rachel is your favorite" Mercedes said, wiggling her finger in Mr. Schue's face "That's not true" "No, it's true—you give that skinny, Geranial-wearing, ass-kisser everything! And, you know, for two years, you know, I took it. But not anymore! I'm done!" Mercedes shouted, before turning to walk out. She pushed over a music stand, sending it clattering to the ground, spinning back around to face Mr. Schue "You know, I've outgrown you. I've outgrown all of you" She said, pointing at all of us "She's only known me for like three weeks but go off I guess" I mumbled under my breath so no one could hear me "Mercedes! You walk out that door, you're out of Glee Club" Mr. Schue said. Mercedes stopped in her tracks thinking for a second. She suddenly started singing.
It's All Over — Dreamgirls (Sung By Mercedes, Mr. Schue, Santana, Finn, Kurt, Brittany, Naya, Quinn, Puck, Mike & Tina)
"It's over," She said quietly before she walked out of the room.
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Thursday finally arrived and I stood backstage with Blaine. In my black dress, I looked more confident than I felt. I had no confidence at all "Blaine, I can't do this. Rachel and Mercedes—they have so much more experience than me, how the hell am I supposed to win?" I said, my breathing getting heavier, the more anxious I got. Blaine placed both of his hands on my shoulders and looked at me, staring deeply into my eyes "Naya, you listen to me. You are fabulous. You're the most talented person I know and you are going to rock this. You may not have as much experience but you have more talent in you than both of them combined. You can do this. I believe in you, you just need to believe in yourself" I lifted both of my hands and cupped his face, I pushed myself up onto my tiptoes and pressed my lips to his. He kissed my back and I could've stayed there all day but I heard my name being called. I broke apart from him quickly and turned to face the stage "Rachel Berry? Mercedes Jones? Natalia Vasquez?" "Okay, this it" I whispered to myself wringing my hands nervously. I walked onto the stage with Mercedes and Rachel, who both looked amazing in their dresses. We met each other at center stage, with Ms. P as well "Ladies, you're all wonderful. Mercedes you're up first" Rachel and I walked off stage leaving Mercedes alone.
Out Here On My Own — Fame (Sung By Mercedes, Rachel & Naya)
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The next day, once again, Rachel, Mercedes, and I sat in Ms. P's office "Please don't tell us that we have to try out again" Mercedes desperately said "No, we've come to a decision" Artie said "It was one of the hardest decisions of my life, and that includes when I had to sell one of my two prize donkeys to pay my gas bill. I sold Kim, but I kept Khloe" Beiste said, making me give her a weird look "So, um, in the grand tradition of the Special Olympics, everybody wins. We're triple-casting Maria" My eyes widened in disbelief, was this possible? "What the hell is 'triple-casting'?" Mercedes asked in confusion "It means that all three of us get to play Maria. You two will get your well-deserved standing ovations on Saturday matinees and Sunday mornings for the Retired Lima War Veterans, and I'll do all the evening performances" "Actually, Rachel we're adding two weeks. You'll each get four nights and two matinees" Artie corrected "Fair enough. Mercedes, Naya, I'll be a pleasure sharing the spotlight with the both of you" Rachel said and I offered her a small smile—which is something I never thought I would do "Are you triple-casting any other roles?" Mercedes asked "No," They all said together. Mercedes sighed and stood up out of her seat "Thank you for your time" "Where are you going?" Beiste demanded. Mercedes turned back around to face Rachel "Tell me, you were better than me. Tell me" She said solely to Rachel "Why is it no one ever wants to hurt her feelings? I would be fine if it was just me and Naya since we were both better than her but it's not. It's me, Naya, and Rachel. You know, it's always been 'The Rachel Berry Show' around here. But it's not gonna be for me. No, not my senior year" "Mercedes, don't make this a stupid pride thing" Artie said, regretting saying it the second he did "Oh, it's a pride thing. But it's not stupid.
Congratulations, you and Naya got the part. I don't want it" Mercedes said before walking out. Everyone was silent before Ms. P spoke up "Well, I suppose you each have six evening shows and three matinees now" She said sheepishly. I nodded my head and stood up "Thank you. It means a lot" I said before walking out as I left the room, I felt the excitement swell up in me and had only one thought 'Blaine, I have to tell Blaine'. I started running down the halls, searching for him everywhere and when I finally found him in the courtyard, I flung my arms around his neck, taking him by surprise. He stumbled back a little bit, chuckling at the force of the hug "Woah! Is everything okay, Naya?" He asked, pulling back from the hug slightly "I did it, I got the part. I'm Maria" Blaine's eyes widened and he pulled away from me completely. He gripped onto my forearms as I gripped onto his "Really?" I nodded my head and he pulled me back in for another hug "I knew you could do it!" "Well, see the thing is, I was actually triple-casted with Rachel and Mercedes, so they added two more weeks, but Mercedes dropped out so now it's double-casted. So I get to do six evening shows and three matinees, as does Rachel so if your Tony, which I'm sure you will be, that does mean you will have to play opposite Rachel for a few shows" I said quickly, hoping I wouldn't disappoint him "That's fine, as long as I get to play opposite you at least once, that's enough for me" I smiled softly at him, but he pulled away from me. He took my hand and pulled me down to a table. We sat down and he looked down at our joined hands "Look, Naya, I just wanted to tell you something" He said shyly. I reached out to him and tilted his head up to look at me "You can tell me anything" I said reassuringly "I like you, like as in more than a friend. I always knew I like you from the second Kurt introduced us in the Lima Bean, but I didn't realize how much I like you until we sang 'Sun and Moon' together in the auditorium. And I know we've only known each other for a little, but your just—just perfect to me and it feels like we've known each other our whole lives and now just seems like the right time. This whole thing has been quite confusing for me, I've never really had such strong feelings for a girl before. Anyway, I just, I just really like you" I felt my cheeks redden and a smile played on my lips "I like you too, Blaine. You have no idea how much" As soon as I said those words he pulled me closer to him and kissed me passionately. We broke apart but didn't move away from each other, our foreheads leaning against each other "So, be my girlfriend?" He asked, blushing slightly. I pulled away from him. His eyebrows furrowed in confusion and disappointment but that all fled from his features when I pressed a kiss to his cheek "Of course, I will" He smiled happily and pulled me in for another kiss "I think the cast list should be up now do you want to check it?" He nodded his head and stood up, our hands still interlocked. I took off into a run, dragging Blaine behind me, and saw Artie putting up the list. We dashed straight over to it, Kurt, meeting us there and we looked at the list.
WEST SIDE STORY
THANK YOU TO ALL THOSE WHO AUDITIONED. WE ARE PLEASED TO ANNOUNCE THE FOLLOWING ROLES HAVE BEEN CAST:
MARIA... Rachel Berry & Natalia Vasquez (double-casted)
TONY... Blaine Anderson.
ANITA... Santana Lopez
RIFF... Mike Chang.
OFFICER KRUPKE... Kurt Hummel.
Once we read the list and I read Blaine's name beside Tony, I pulled him into a tight hug. He laughed in shock and hugged me back. This was one of the best moments I had experienced. It
Fix You — Coldplay (Sung By Will Schuester & The New Directions)