flirt - noah puckerman

Chapter 9

chapter 9 - sectionals

--lil warning: this chapter includes alcohol consumption--

Erin's POV

We all sit in the lobby of the Buckeye Civic Auditorium, waiting for Ms. Pillsbury to finish checking us in.  I watch as everyone nervously shifts in their seats. 

"Okay," Ms. Pillsbury sighs, giving us all a soft smile as she walks over to us. "According to the program, you have drawn performance slot number three."

"We're going last?" Tina furrows her eyebrows. "Isn't that bad?"

"Hardly," Rachel quickly jumps out of her seat and walks up to stand beside Ms. Pillsbury.  "My extensive auditioning for community theater has taught me that we either want to go first or last.  If we're last, we're the freshest in the judges minds."

"And did you ever get any of those parts?" Kurt retorts.

"Guys, we're here now, right?" Mercedes smiles. "No reason not to go in with some positive mojo." 

We all head into the large auditorium and sit in a row.  Noah grins and takes a seat beside me, as we prepare to watch the first school perform: Jane Addams Reform School.  The lights dim, and I watch as Mercedes' eyes widen in shock as they begin to perform "And I Am Telling You I'm Not Going".  

"It's a really popular song," Rachel whispers, attempting to reassure the group.  The song slowly transitions into "Proud Mary"... in wheelchairs.  

We all funnel back into the lobby and stare aimlessly at each other.  Rachel and Finn had disappeared, leaving Quinn even more uneasy than before. 

"I swear to God, if he leaves me for the hobbit, I will lose my mind," she frowns.  We hear the crown cheering on the Haverbrook School for the Deaf who were about the go on.  Noah groans, hearing the instrumental to "Don't Stop Believing" begin to play. 

"You've got to be fucking kidding me," he frowns, as I let out a defeated sigh. 

"Guys, we need a game plan," Mercedes frowns.  I see Rachel and Finn quickly hurrying towards us, a stack of papers in hand. 

"Greenroom. Now." Rachel says, widening her eyes at us.  We all sigh and quickly hurry to the greenroom.  I take a seat on one of the couches and rest my head in my hands before feeling an arm wrap tightly around my waist. I look up and see Noah giving me a soft smile. 

"You leaked the setlist," Kurt frowns at Brittany and Santana. "You don't want to be here.  You were just Sue Sylvester's little moles." 

"I know for a fact that's true," Quinn states, taking a seat on the other side of me. "Sue asked us to spy for her."

"Neither of us ever gave Sue the setlist," Santana defends. 

"Well, I did, but I didn't know what she was going to do with it," Brittany mumbles.

"Guys, stop," Rachel frowns. "We have a plan." She smiles over at Finn who began passing out the sheet music for two different songs.  

"I had to break into one of the offices but I found a printer," Finn laughs.  I look down at the sheet music for "Somebody to Love" and "You Can't Always Get What You Want". 

"What about the ballad?" Tina frowns.  Rachel and Finn both turn to me, and I raise my eyebrows at them. 

"No way," I laugh.  "Mercedes got the ballad.  Do you have anything else you could sing?" I ask her.