Glee Club // Hunter Clarington

{Chapter 10} 4 : 08

Rose's POV

I walk out to the hallway and to my locker. The Warblers are leaned up against the lockers surrounding mine. "What are you stalking me or something?" I ask. "What do mean?" Hunter asks. "You know where my locker is." I state turning to face him. "So does everyone else that goes here." He replies. "Exactly. You don't go to school here." I fire back.

"Whatever." He responds. I open my locker and grab my history, science, and literature textbooks. "So you're headed to literature now, right?" Sebastian asks. "How did you know?" I question suspiciously. "I have a copy of your schedule." He answers, holding up a piece of paper identical to the one hung in my locker.

"How did you get in my locker? And, Sebastian, answer wisely. You know damm well what happens when I get pissed off." I raise an eyebrow at him, close my locker, and lean back in it to look at him. "I saw you opening your locker one day and couldn't help but see the combination." He replies. "Oh my god, you people are actually insane." I almost yell. I take a deep breath. "So you were stalking me?" I inquire. "More or less." I roll my eyes.

"What do you want?" I turn and face Hunter. "We still want you to pick our songs for competitions." He tells me. "I thought my answer was clear." I state. "Blaine's was. You, however, never answered." Nick cuts in. "Well, let me spell it out for you. N. O." I begin to walk away.

The Warblers follow me. I stop abruptly. "You can go back to your little prep school. We have no need for you here." I spit out, before continuing to walk.

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I wait outside the bathroom for Marley to come out. I was on my phone so I didn't notice anything other than the bathroom door opening. "Ready?" I ask. She nods.

"Wade- I mean, Unique, you're back!" Marley says as we run over and hug Unique. "Yes, in all her glory. And as you can see, Miss Marley and Miss Rose, she is ready for her close-up." Unique responds as we smile at her. "I thought your parents didn't want you wearing..." I start but get interrupted.

"They don't. They're trying to protect me. But what they need to understand is if I'm not being true to myself, at least when I'm performing, then there won't be anything left inside me to protect." Unique sighs. "So they can keep talking about sending me to a camp for little boys who like to wear dresses, but I will not and cannot be ashamed of who I am or how I look." She finishes.

"You look beautiful." I smile. "And I think it's inspiring how brave and proud you are. I wish I was more like that." Marley continues. "Stop." Unique says shooing her away.

"Hustle up, you three. Your gonna miss show circle." Mercedes tells us. "And welcome back, girl." She mentions to Unique. "What's show circle?" Marley asks. "Come on." I answer. "It's a tradition before every competition." Tina reveals. "It's something Mr. Shue made up." Finn announces. "And today I want to add to it." I raise an eyebrow.

"Joe, how about you lead us in prayer?" Finn suggests. "Whoa, dude, Old Testament. There's Hebrews here." Puck cuts in and Jake elbows him. "Yeah, okay. This is one of my favorite Bible verses from Isaiah. Considering that the Warblers are so good, and that it's the first competition for a lot of you, I think it's appropriate." Joe stops before beginning the prayer.

"So do not fear because I am with you. Do not be dismayed. I will strengthen you, I will uphold you with my righteous hand."

"And our righteous dance moves, amen." Artie remarks and everyone breaks into applause. "Ugh! Man, I-I remember our first Sectionals like it was yesterday. We came together as a team because we had to. Because no one outside our circle knew how much we'd been through, and how much it meant to us to win it. This is our house. Look into the faces of these graduates." Finn speaks. And I jokingly look into Santana's eyes as she is right next to me. She playfully nudges me while smiling.

"They've been to the mountaintop. This is just the first step in your climb to meet them there." Finn finishes. "On three?" Santana questions. "One, two, three! Amazing!" We all yell.

"Now please put your hands together for our distinguished panel of judges! Lima New Obituary Editor, Stan Cook!" Applause. "Chief Historian of the Lima Locomotive Museum, Harrison Paolucci!" Applause. "And the 2012 Defiance County Catfish Queen, Allison Metcalf!" Applause.

We walk into the auditorium. As we walk to our seats I see my family. I go down the line giving them kisses on the cheek. Josh, Sophie, Mom, and Dad. All here.

The lights dim and a spotlight appears on the stage. "I'm Hunter Clarington, and we're the Dalton Academy Warblers. Hope you enjoy the show."

"Oh, trust me. I will."