𝗚𝗟𝗘𝗘 | 𝗕𝗹𝗮𝗶𝗻𝗲 𝗔𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗼𝗻

𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐍𝐞𝐰 𝐑𝐚𝐜𝐡𝐞𝐥

CHAPTER XX : THE NEW RACHEL

"Oh my, God. Is that JBI? Where's his afro?" I whispered to Blaine as we walked into McKinley, ready for our Senior Year "Yeah, I think that's him. Oh, jeez. He's on the hunt for Glee Clubbers, come here" Blaine said, quickly grabbing my hand and pulling us into the nearest classroom. But he wasn't quick enough, just before we could run into the classroom, someone caught my other wrist and unfortunately it was Jacob, I tugged Blaine back to my side so I wouldn't endure this alone "Jacob! Hi" I said, trying to fake being cheerful "Natalia Vasquez, Glee Club's resident photographer, rumor has it you have accepted an internship with Lima's Sensational Singing For Weddings" Jacob stated, shoving the microphone in my face "Uh, yes, I have," I said, pushing the microphone away slightly "Does this mean you're quitting the Glee Club?" "No! No, of course not. It just means that I won't be the female lead, so I'll have a bit more spare time" "I totally believe you. Blaine Anderson, yours and Naya's relationship is one of the only ones that has survived graduation, do I hear wedding bells?" My eyes widened and I squeezed Blaine's hand tightly "I—uh, no, not yet. Maybe someday in the future, but not yet—we're only 17. And I want to wait until gay marriage is legal" "Why is Naya secretly a boy?" "The hell?" "No, Naya is not secretly a boy, I just want to wait because you know, I'm bisexual—part of the LGBT+ Community and it doesn't feel right, me getting married to Naya if, you know, if she wasn't a girl then we wouldn't be able too" "Okay, you're boring me now. Oh, look there's Sam!" I sighed with relief as JBI ran away to harass Sam, Blaine, and I headed to the choir room, joining Tina, Artie, and Tina's assistant on the way.
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"Glee!" Mr. Schue shouted as he walked into the choir room the next day. Everyone cheered and clapped loudly, but it just wasn't the same without the others there "We are coming off of a National Championship, but it's time to look forward, And thanks to Glee now being the coolest club in the school. This shouldn't be a problem. Alright. Yes, we've lost some big voices. But we still have some huge ones in here. And I promise to do everything I can to replace the ones that we lost. And on that note, I'd like to introduce you to our newest member: The MVP of last year's nationals, Wade 'Unique' Adams" I waved at Unique happily, trying to make her feel as welcome as I was when I joined "That's a great haircut, Mercedes. I thought you graduated" I turned to face Brittany and patted her knee, shaking my head "Britt, no" "I wanted to be somewhere where different was celebrated," Unique said, smiling happily "We are so excited to have you!" I said, jumping out of my seat and hugging Unique. She started slightly and hugged me back "Guys where's the love?" Mr. Schue asked, disappointingly "I think Wade is great, but the competition to be the new Rachel is already so intense, the last thing that we need is one more contender," Blaine said, I narrowed my eyes at him, shaking my head "That's insanely stupid" I mumbled bitterly "The new Rachel?" Mr. Schue asked confusedly "Every glee club needs a star performer. Rachel was that, and now that she's gone, many of us want the job" Tina explained as if it justified why they were being so cold "We win as a team. One that supports members. Now, I don't want to hear more of this 'New Rachel' stuff, Have a seat, Wade" Mr. Schoe said. I took Unique's hand and guided her to the seat beside me "Make no mistake. Unique will be the new Rachel" Unique said sassily, making my eyes widen "We decide this on our own, then Thunderdome style" Blaine said, not even glancing in Unique's direction "My God, you guys are dramatic" I mumbled under my breath "5:00 in the auditorium" Blaine said and I rolled my eyes "Am I expected to come to this?" I asked Blaine quietly "Yes, you're my moral support, babe" He answered and I rolled my eyes "Fine," I said, dragging out the 'I'.
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"So, here are the rules. We perform the song for Artie and Naya, they make their choice, we go to Mr. Schue as a group, and we tell him who the new lead soloist is Hopefully, it'll be me, 'cause that's what Rachel wanted" Tina said as everyone grouped up on the stage "Though I am uncomfortable doing this behind Mr. Schue's back. I am a director. Therefore, I never pass up on an opportunity to judge people" Artie said, crossing his arms "Uh, I'm only here because Blaine asked me to be, and then Artie kind of bombarded me and begged me to help him decide, but you know, I'm happy to be here" I said, doing a small little thumbs up "What song are we singing?" Unique asked "What Rachel would sing if she were here?
The song of the summer, 'Call Me Maybe'" Tina said, placing her hands on her hips "Yes" Brittany said excitedly as Blaine sighed. I nudged him gently with my elbow and smiled when he turned to look at me "You'll do great" I whispered and he pressed a quick kiss to my cheek "Do you need time to prepare?" Tina asked, faking concern and care "I can sing any song, any time. Just press play, and get back" I quickly crossed over to Artie and wheeled him off the stage as they started singing.
Call Me Maybe — Carly Rae Jepson (Sung By Unique, Blaine, Brittany & Tina)
At the end of the song, they all did weird little poses—something Rachel would never do and I furrowed my eyebrows—although I do have to admit that Blaine did look pretty cute "So, Artie, Naya...who's the new Rachel?" Blaine asked expectantly. I exchanged a look with Artie and shrugged my shoulders.
Artie simply didn't reply to them and gestured for me to help him out of the auditorium.
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"So, how's Santana?" Blaine asked as we sat down with Brittany in the Lima Bean "She's good, she's just really busy with cheerleading practice and it's hard making out over Skype. You can't really scissor a webcam" Britt answered, smiling sadly as Kurt came over to our table with our drinks "Here's an extra hot soy latte for him, a no-chocolate for her, and an extra strong cappuccino with two sugars for the other her" Kurt said, placing down the drinks and sitting in between Britt and Blaine "Merci" Brittany said, taking a sip of her coffee "I can't wait until Friday" Kurt said excitedly "Why?" Blaine asked confusedly "Glee Club auditions," Kurt said and I nodded along enthusiastically "That sounds like fun," Brittany said "It'll be nice," Blaine said, running his finger around the rim of his cup "Is it depressing that I'm more excited about it than the three of you?" Kurt asked, frowning slightly "I'm excited! I can't wait to meet the new kids and make them feel just as welcome as you guys made me feel, we're meeting our new family members!" I exclaimed happily "That's the spirit!" Kurt said, reaching across the table to grab my hand "Okay, what is up with these two?" "I have no idea," I said, shrugging my shoulders "Excuse me, Garcon?" A voice—that I recognized to be Kitty—called out from across the Lima Bean. Kurt to up and went over to them. I looked down at my watch and gasped when I realized the time "Guys, I have to go. My first shift starts in 20 minutes" I said, getting out of my seat and grabbing my bag and my coffee, which luckily Kurt had put in a to-go cup "Tell Kurt where I went, and uh, wish me luck" "Good luck, love" Blaine said as I leaned down to give him a quick kiss. I smiled as I pulled away and ran out the door.
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In the cafeteria, the Glee Club sat in silence as we ate—all wanting to avoid the topic of the 'New Rachel' but of course, Tina wasn't going to let it go "You've had enough time, so who is it?" Tina asked frustratedly "You can't rush the casting process. Our genius needs time" Artie said defensively "Well, it's more your genius, but I appreciate you including me" I said, patting Artie's shoulder from in between him and Sam "You guys are the Glee Club, right?" A brown-haired girl asked, rushing up to our table. I smiled warmly at her and nodded my head "Yeah, we are" I said, waving happily "Hi. I'm gonna try out. I'm a sophomore. My name is Marley" She said, smiling excitedly at the group "Great. Well, lots of competition, so good luck to you" Tina said snidely. I frowned slightly as Marley walked away "Okay, what the hell was that?" I asked, putting down my knife and fork "What do you mean?" Tina asked innocently "That whole thing with Marley. That was really rude. This club is all about acceptance and being welcoming, but that was not it. Where's the loving, caring Tina that I met when I joined Glee Club, who took me with her to play piano and welcome me, the one that I stood up to a teacher for? To be quite honest, since we've come back, you guys have all, like, changed and it's not okay. You need to really fix up your attitudes" I said, standing up. I crossed the cafeteria, spotting Marley at a table by herself "Can I sit here?" I asked, smiling hopefully at her "Sure!" She said happily, moving her bag off the seat beside her "I'm Naya Vasquez" I said, extending my hand out to her as I sat down "Marley Rose" She replied, shaking my outstretched hand "I'm really sorry about them, they're not usually like that" "What do you mean? They were...nice" No, they weren't. I just came over here to wish you good luck properly and to tell you that I'll be cheering you on from in the crowd. I would stay and chat longer but I have to get some work done for my job" "Oh! Thank you, and that's fine" She said smiling softly at me "It was nice meeting you, Marley. I hope when you officially join Glee Club, we can be friends" "We can absolutely be friends, with or without Glee Club" I chuckled softly and nodded my head "Definitely, I'll see you around" "Yeah, it was nice meeting you too," She said, waving me goodbye as I quickly rushed to my locker to grab, my camera. As I walked past the girls' bathroom, I heard the water running and someone groaning in frustration. I hesitantly pushed open the door, unsure of what I was walking into. I breathed a sigh of relief when I saw it was Unique, washing her face "Unique? What are you doing?" I asked, pulling some paper towels out of the dispenser and drying her face "They said that?" She nodded her head sadly, throwing the paper towels in the bin "Well, don't listen to them, for some reason they're not being their usual, loving, accepting selves and I apologize for their behalves. I think you look fabulous with your makeup on, it's who you are. If they tell you to ever wash it off again, just say no" "Thank you, Naya, your the only one here who's really made me feel welcome" I tilted my head and smiled sympathetically "That's what I'm here for. You can come to me anytime" I said, pulling Unique in for a hug, before hurrying off to where I was originally going too.
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"Okay, Let's get started!" Mr. Schue said, clapping his hands. We sat in the auditorium seats, ready for auditions. Kurt leaned forward, pressing play on the recording camera, and leaned back in his seat, nudging me excitedly. I smiled fondly at him as Blaine put his arm around my shoulders "Hey, look I'm sorry about yesterday, just the stress of this whole 'New Rachel' stuff is getting to me" He whispered, "Did you tell Unique that she should keep 'Unique' for performances?" "Well, yeah but only because-" "Because what? Because you don't want to be a loser again? I didn't like being a loser either last year—getting food and slushies thrown at us, it wasn't fun. But you should never make anyone feel unaccepted or bad about who they are just for your sake. You of all people should know that" I said, picking up Blaine's arm from around me and dropping it into his lap "Naya. I said I was sorry, what more do you want?" "I want the kind, caring, sweet, accepting Blaine that I fell in love with back. Not this new, popular, obsessed-with-status, and frankly a little arrogant Blaine. I've never been so disappointed in you. Now be quiet it's starting" "Hi I'm Stoner Brett and this is Buster's 'Get Poppin'"
Get Poppin' — Buster (Sung By Stoner Brett)
"De'wanda Umber" This girl didn't even sing, she just danced—terribly "Are there words to this song?" Blaine asked me quietly, I just shrugged my shoulders. I wasn't mad at him—I don't think I could ever be mad at him, just disappointed really "Oh no, she gotta go" Unique muttered "Hello, sir. What's your name?" Mr. Schue asked as a mixed-race boy with short black hair walked onto the stage "Jake" He said gruffly, shoving his hands in his pockets "Got a last name, Jake?" Mr. Schue asked, writing his name down "Uh, just Jake" "Okay, well, show us what you got 'Just Jake'" Mr. Schue with a small chuckle.
Never Say Never — The Fray (Sung By Jake)
"Oh, he's good" I mumbled to Kurt, during the song "He is so sexy," Sugar said in awe "No, he's not," Sam said, crossing his arms "Yes, he is" Unique said, making us girls laugh "Okay, Jake, thank you," Mr. Schue said, putting his hand up and stopping the song "I don't get to finish?" Jake asked confusedly "We've got a lot of people to see," Mr. Schue said dismissively "But I've been practicing," Jake said frustratedly "We've seen enough. Thank you" Jake looked as though he was going to leave peacefully but he stopped by the band. He grabbed one of the violinists' music stands and chucked it across the stage angrily "That's rude and unacceptable" Kurt said, leaning forward in his seat "I'll handle this" Mr. Schue said, stopping Kurt "Jake, come on, man. Why don't you pick up the music stand?" Jake scoffed and didn't answer, simply bowing before making his exit "Next!" Kurt called out, tiredly. Marley walked onto the stage, wringing her hands nervously "Whoo! Go, Marley!" I shouted from my seat. She scanned the auditorium looking for me and when she did she waved shyly. I threw her a big thumbs up "What's your name?" Mr. Schue asked smiling warmly at Marley "Oh, uh, my name is Marley Rose and I'll be singing 'New York State Of Mind' written by Billy Joel" She said, her voice quivering slightly from anxiety "Popularized by one Miss. Barbra Streisand" Unique pointed out.
New York State Of Mind — Billy Joel (Sung By Marley & Rachel)
When the song ended, I stood up in my seat, clapping and cheering as loudly as I could for Marley "Thank you. Thank you" Mr. Schue said and Marley walked off stage, with a bright smile on her face "Wow. Now that's what I call star quality. What do you guys think?" "I think she's amazing. She's really sweet too, she'd be perfect for Glee Club" I said excitedly "Ten" Sugar said, rating her on a scale from 1-10 "She was good. She was good" Blaine muttered and I rolled my eyes "Good? What is up with you guys? She was fantastic!"
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Walking into Glee Club with Artie, we stopped in our tracks when we saw the paper that was covering the floor neatly, and of course, Kurt was standing over it "Um, what's this?" Blaine asked, walking in with Tina "I'm organizing all the sheet music. Artie, go around it, not over it" Kurt said sternly "Thanks, Dottie. You're dismissed for the day" Tina said, accepting two plates with massive cupcakes, covered with chocolate whipped cream and a cherry on them. She handed one of them to me and the other to Artie "This is for you, and this is for you. And no, it's not a bribe, because we all know Rachel told me herself that I'm new Rachel. Besides, if we were doing this through bribery, we already know Blaine would've won because he would've bribed Naya with, I don't know, sex or something" "Miss. Cohen-Chang, you make me sound like a prostitute" I said, placing the plate on the piano "Well if the shoe fits" "Hey!" I said outraged, slapping her arm "MVP in the house!" Unique announced walking in, dressed head to toe in a dress, wig, makeup, heels, the whole shebang "Bro, I thought we agreed you'd only wear that stuff onstage" Joe said and I scoffed as Unique came over to me. I smiled happily at her and linked my arm through hers "I think you look great" I whispered to her and she smiled gratefully "What's wrong with you guys?" Kurt asked, almost as disappointed as me "This club is about diversity and acceptance. Or at least it used to be. And another thing—since when did everyone become so obsessed about who's the biggest star?" "Since day one—you and Rachel fought over solos for three years," Tina said, placing her hands on her hips. Blaine left Kurt's side and joined Tina. The two stood menacingly in front of Artie and Artie reached out to me, pulling me in front of him as if using me as a shield "No more stalling, Artie, Naya. Who's the new Rachel?" "Yeah, who is it?" Sugar asked, becoming interested in the conversation "Tell us" Brittany said firmly, joining forces with Tina, Blaine, and Unique "After meticulous deliberation-" "And an online poll" I added in "Yes, and an online poll, the new Rachel is...Blaine" Artie announced and I saw the relief flush into Blaine's face. Even though I was annoyed at him at the moment, I couldn't deny how adorable he looked "How?" Brittany asked in shock "Brittany, you were a close second" Artie said "I came in third?" Tina asked incredulously "Let's not worry about third or fourth place," I said, patting Artie's shoulder "Look, let's be real. The only reason Blaine beat me, is because he's Naya's boyfriend" Brittany said, flicking her ponytail "You really think Artie would let me compromise his artistic integrity like that?" I asked, cocking my head to the side and placing my hand on my hip "Hell no" Tina stepped closer to us and took the cupcake from Artie's hands, snatching mine off the piano "What do you hate strong black women for?" Unique asked, flicking her fan in his face. "Guys, this young lady gave hands down one of the best auditions I have ever seen.
Let's give it up for our newest member, Marley Rose" Mr. Schue announced, walking in with Marley. The club cheered for her, warmer this time than they were earlier in the week. I ran forward, pulling Marley into a tight hug "I'm so glad you're here!" I said, squeezing her. She squeezed me back, chuckling until Blaine reached out to me and pulled me back to him. He tried to wrap an arm around me and I allowed him but didn't let him pull me as close to him as usual "Marley, on behalf of all of the New Directions, welcome" Blaine said smiling warmly. I breathed a quiet sigh of relief as I heard the usual happy Blaine, not the weird one that had been at McKinley with us earlier this week "Thank you" She said, smiling brightly "I'm really excited to be here" "I really like your sweater. Where'd you get it?" Sugar asked, sitting on top of the piano "Oh, thanks. Uh, J. Crew" She said unbelievably. No one was convinced that her jumper was from there and there was an awkward silence until we all collectively, subconsciously decided to let it go and not question it further. The school bell rang and we all went our separate ways, except Blaine and I. He held onto my hand pulling me back "Is everything okay?" I asked as he pulled me to sit down on the chairs "I just wanted to apologize, properly. You were right, this week I haven't been me. I don't know why exactly but that doesn't change the fact that I was a douchebag. And, you know, usually, I pride myself on not being a douchebag. Your opinion and your thoughts matter the most to me and hearing you say how disappointed you were in me, it brought me back to reality and knocked some sense into me" I smiled softly and reached forward, cupping his face with my hands "It's okay, I forgive you. Just promise me one thing, don't turn into that douchebag ever again?" He chuckled and nodded his head "I promise" "Good" I said, pulling him in for a kiss.
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Blaine, Kurt, and I sat in the courtyard, drinking our coffees and talking about Blaine being the new 'Rachel' "Babe, come on. You definitely deserve to be the lead soloist" I said, taking a sip of my coffee "Yeah, you're an amazing singer" Kurt said, nodding along "But, can I give you some advice? Even when Rachel was her most controlling, she still made sure everyone felt included" "Okay. You have a point" Blaine said, nodding his head "Kurt—um—can we give you some advice?" I asked, running my finger around the rim of my cup "Shoot" "You can't be here anymore, Kurt" Blaine said gently "I get it's I know, I'm pathetic" "No, no, no, no, no" Blaine and I said at the same time, waving our hands frantically "You're not pathetic, that's not what we're trying to say" I said, reaching across the table to take on of Kurt's hands "It's just that you're—you're stuck. You don't belong here anymore. You belong in New York" Blaine said, also reaching out and taking Kurt's other hand "And I'm reapplying for NYA DA. But I can't just go to New York" "You don't need NYADA" Blaine said, squeezing Kurt's hand "Believe us, we don't want to see you go, but, we just can't stand to see you stay here" I said, rubbing the back of his hand comfortingly "It's killing you, and that's killing us" "Yeah, dude. You don't want to be responsible for our deaths do you?" "What about you guys? I'm going to miss you so much" "I'm a year, I'll be there, too," Blaine said "Yeah, and I'm thinking about applying to NYU for a Performing Arts Degree" "Right now is your time. You're ready"
It's Time — Imagine Dragons (Sung By Blaine)
"I'll miss you both so much"
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"Brittany, I'm sorry, but I won fair and square. You can't just decide not to sing anymore. We all need your voice" Blaine said frustratedly. The Glee Club, Kitty, and a few other Cheerios and jocks all sat together in the cafeteria, eating our lunches "I had a song in my heart, Blaine Warbler, and you killed it. Now I have a dead song in my heart, and pretty soon, the corpse of my dead heart song is going to start to smell" Brittany said sadly. I tried my hardest not to laugh but ultimately failed, which resulted in Blaine slapping his hand over my mouth so I wouldn't upset Brittany further "Okay, guys. Since we can't do a popular homecoming float with all white people, I say I think we should do one with all white chrysanthemums" Kitty said as if it was the best idea ever. I pulled Blaine's hand off my mouth and leaned in closer to him, so I could whisper to him "Oh, so she's not lowkey racist. She's like a proper proud racist" I whispered "Seems like it" "We need a float, why don't we all just ride her?" One of the football guys that sat with us said, gesturing to the new dinner lady "Um, that's rude" I mumbled but Sugar kicked my leg under the table shutting me up "Look at her boobs. It's like two grocery bags full of soup" Sugar said, as if it was funny "That's really mean" Marley said suddenly and loudly "Excuse me?" Kitty said incredulously "You don't know her. You don't know what her life is like" Marley said frustratedly "So? Why do you care?" "Because she's my mom" Marley said, stunning everyone into silence "I thought you guys were different," Marley said, on the verge of tears and standing up. She grabbed her tray and walked out. Sam stood up as well and walked around the table to me "We should talk to her, she's more likely to listen to me if you're there considering you her friend" Sam said, I nodded my head and grabbed my bag and tray before we went off to find Marley. Eventually, we found her by her locker, and she was angrily throwing books into it "Hey, Marley, um, we just wanted to apologize for all of us and beg you not to quit" I said when we approached Marley at her locker "Look, I get you. Like, for instance, I know that sweater is from Walmart and your mom sewed the J. Crew Label into it" Sam said, smiling softly "How do you know that?" Marley asked confusedly "Because my mom used to do the same thing for me" Sam revealed, his smile growing brighter "The best thing about Glee Club is it's not about labels. If you can sing, or if you can dance, you belong" I said, reaching out to take her hand "And, dude, you can sing" Sam added, chuckling slightly "I don't know. You both say that, but the way you were making fun of my mom, something doesn't feel right" Marley said, closing her locker and I sighed. I looked behind her and saw the rest of the Glee Club walking up and smiled softly "We came to apologize" Artie said regretfully "I think being popular felt a little too good, and we forgot ourselves" Tina said with a sheepish smile "Well, I didn't. I was always popular, but I do forget to wear underwear sometimes, though" "The best part about Glee Club is that everyone gets to be a star. Which is why we're all hoping that you could come to rehearsal with us this afternoon and maybe sing lead vocal on one of the songs we're working on" Blaine said hopefully "And if words don't convince you, let the majesty and mystery of Unique's fabulousness be enough!" Unique said, tossing her hair back and making everyone chuckle. She stepped over to Marley's side and I moved out of the way so the two could talk properly "I mean it. Glee Club's a special place. I mean, where else could I dress like this and be welcomed with open arms?" "Okay, one last thing. I don't think I'm comfortable sitting with that cheerleader and those guys at lunch" Marley said shyly "Oh, don't worry about that neither am-" "That won't be a problem" Kitty said, interrupting me as she arrived with a cocky smirk "We could handle Gimpy and the Tarantula Head and Richie Poor and Loopy Liberty-" Stepping over to Blaine, I self-consciously tossed my hair over my shoulders, Blaine noticing this wrapped his arm around my waist reassuringly "-because you guys were national champs like us, but our invitation was not extended to pre-op Precious based on the novel Barf by Sapphire and Mike and Molly's daughter as part of our crew" "Well, I guess then we're not in your crew anymore" Blaine said, pulling me even closer to him "You know, I was kind of hoping you'd say that" Kitty said and suddenly the two footballer guys chucked slushes at Unique and Marley "And with at, the order is restored" One of the footballers said before he, Kitty and the other guy walked away. I quickly went over to Marley and put my arm around her shoulders "Well, looks like you guys have been officially welcomed to the Glee Club" Artie said, trying to make light out of the situation "Unique's eyes—they are on fire!" "Let's get you guys cleaned up and go to rehearsal," Blaine said, joining me at Marley's side and guiding us toward the girls' bathroom.
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Chasing Pavements — Adele (Sung By Marley & The New Directions)