𝐰𝐢𝐥𝐝𝐞𝐬𝐭 𝐝𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐦𝐬 | s. lopez + b. pierce

Two

"Alright, big week, guys," Mr. Schue announced as he walked into the choir room. "Come on, gather round. I have here in my hand, drumroll please..." The New Directions played a drumroll, either on their thighs or the piano top in which they were gathered around. "...a secret list of the show choirs that we will be in competition with at nationals in six weeks."

"Six weeks?!" Bernadette gasped as she appeared on top of the piano. "We have six weeks?! I'm not ready to grow up yet!"

"Bernadette, let's get real, you never actually grew up," Skye scoffed, rolling her eyes. She turned to Jayden with a smile. "Jade, on the other hand, has grown a lot these last four years, and I couldn't be more proud."

Jayden smiled softly at her guardian angel. As annoying as these two could be sometimes – especially when they'd show up in public when she couldn't respond to them – they made the last year of her life more interesting.

"Okay, let's see what we've got." Mr. Schue opened up the envelope in his hands and took out a sheet of paper. "We've got the Rust Belters from Pittsburgh, the Thunder Show Cats from Gainesville, and finally, from Fort Wayne, Throat Explosion."

"Nooooooooo!" Tina cried. Artie stifled a laugh and covered his mouth with his hand. "Whyyyy, God?"

"Uh, what?" Leilani chuckled and exchanged a look with August.

"Throat Explosion?" Iris frowned, her brows pulling together. "That's a joke, right?"

"Anything but," Blaine scoffed. "They're the new supergroup the show choir underground's been buzzing about. Their budgets for costume, make-up, hair alone, are astronomical. You guys have read that Malcolm Gladwell book Outliers, right?"

Kitty took a selfie of her and Julia. Matti leaned her head tiredly onto Marley's shoulder, and the brunette put an arm around her.

Blaine frowned when he didn't receive an answer from anyone in the club. "So, Gladwell says you can't possibly master anything unless you've spent 10,000 hours practicing it," he stated. "So students can't even join Throat Explosion without proving they've logged in 10,000 hours of show choir rehearsal."

"That seems like a bit much," Jayden frowned.

"Says the girl who spends all her free time in the dance studio," Iris playfully scoffed, chuckling a little when Jayden shrugged with a small smile.

"They don't even go to class," Blaine said. "They just perform every minute of every day. They live their art. They know no boundaries. They're constantly pushing the envelope, living and performing on the edge. They're like mini Lady Gagas."

"We're so screwed," Tina scoffed, shaking her head. "They're not like Vocal Adrenaline, who were unfeeling Borg robots. They're total outsiders and misfits, which used to be our niche. We can't compete with Throat Explosion anymore at that level because we lost our biggest Gaga when Kurt graduated last year. Look around. We're a room full of, like, Katy Perrys now."

"Oh, you best check your spectrum, Queen T, because orange is the new black, and Unique is the new Gaga," Unique declared.

"Tell 'em, girl." Leilani smiled and high-fived Unique.

"Well, not Marley." Tina crossed her arms. "She's a Katy Perry. So is Sam, so is Blaine. Matti, Julia, Jade, Lyla. They're all Katys."

"I'm a Katy Perry, and I'm proud of it," Blaine confirmed.

"I'm more of a Taylor Swift than a Katy Perry," Jayden said. "I relate to Taylor's music more. And I prefer her over Katy, so..."

"The truth is, Tina, we're a potent mix of Katy Perrys and Lady Gagas in here," Mr. Schue stated. "But it's not a liability. It's the way we're gonna beat Throat Explosion. Now, some of us in here are, you know, ambi-edge."