Changing Directions Chapter 21: New York, a glee fanfic

We had arrived in New York: the cities of the Yankees, Broadway, and Gossip Girl. I looked around Times Square, and to be honest, I really wasn't all that impressed. It seemed likely that I would be more of West Coast girl than East Coast. Whether I join the show or not, I would probably mostly be working in Los Angeles.

We were all having lunch together.

"A year and a half ago The New Directions were nothing but a group of six misfits, stumbling across the stage." Kurt declared. "Now here we are at the top of the show choir heap: Nationals!"

Everyone then began to talk about what they wanted to do here. I didn't really wanted to do a lot. Quinn looked kind of lonely. Our family wouldn't be arriving until tomorrow and I could tell that she missed her baby.

"There you guys are." A familiar voice declared. I noticed a head of pink hair. I didn't know that she was out already.

"Dani?" I asked in disbelief. "What are you doing here?"

"I'm all better now and I wanted to see if you would let me back into the group." She explained. "I have my psych evaluation results to prove it. I'm really sorry for what I did and said to you, Faith. It took some time but I am over you."

"We need to talk to Mr. Schue about letting you back in." I told her. "We also need to write two songs."

"I don't know if this helps, but I did write something during my treatment." Dani stated. Well that was convenient. Rachel then said that she got us tickets for Cats.

"You do know that Cats closed 11 years ago, don't you?" Quinn asked the tiny brunette. I'm really surprised that a theatre nerd like her didn't know that.

We then went to the hotel. Quinn and I had our room paid out of pocket, and there were two other rooms.

"Mr. Schue, look who we found." I told him as I showed him Dani. "She says that she's all better now and she has a song we can perform."

"Do you have proof that you're no longer insane?" Mr. Schue questioned. That didn't seem like the most tactful way for him to ask that. Dani reached into her bag and pulled out a form that was signed and notarized with a number to call on it. I think that would have been very hard to fake.

We headed to our main room to have a meeting.

"Okay, so we need to write some songs. We don't have a lot of time for this." Mr. Schue explained. "We also need to figure out if Dani's song is any good."

"I promise it's good." Dani replied.

"Why don't we just try to write them separately again?" I suggested. "That worked pretty well before."

"Sure, but write some awesome songs. I have to go to the theater and fill out some paperwork." He remarked before he hastily exited. Something was definitely up there.

Quinn and I went to our room together as we took out some pens. Well she took out a pen and I looked out the window.

"You know I'm really considering leaving." I told her. "Maybe we should look into getting a place in LA.

So sick of hearing your words all I can hear you say
Is how you want me to live my life a different way
I'm gonna pack up all my things I'm do it, just watch me just watch me
I'm like a rat in a cage about to lose it all
And I'm not give up until I'm standing tall
I'm gonna throw it all in just get it over with watch me, watch me

Cause life is way too short
And I can't wait no more

Here I go I'm gone, I'm going
I'm so over you and I don't care
And I won't look back cause I know if I do I won't make it
Forgive I can't take it anymore

I won't look back I won't look back no more hey
I won't look back I won't look back no more hey

So here I go I'm gone, I'm going
I'm so over you and I don't care
And I won't look back cause I know if I do I won't make it
Forgive I can't take it anymore

"You should probably start thinking of how you're going to tell everyone." Quinn opined. "I still think that you should wait until after the competition to tell Gary in case you change your mind."

"Maybe we should go downstairs to the restaurant to help get the creative juices flowing." I suggested as we got out of the room. "We also can't write on an empty stomach."

We went downstairs and found that the waiter knew who I was. He said it was more common for the Gossip Girl stars to be there, and they had filmed in this very hotel before. It's too bad I wouldn't be able to meet Taylor Momsen. I heard she's not even gonna be on the show anymore. There goes my theory of Jenny being Gossip Girl.

"So do you think I have a good voice?" Quinn asked me.

"Yes." I answered.

"Do you think I could possibly be on the radio someday or win a singing competition?" She asked me.

"I don't know about any of that, but you definitely sound good to me." I remarked. "It was then that I was hit with a moment of realization. "That's what we need to title our song. This is what I was talking about getting the creative juices flowing."

"Well now that we've got a title down, let's go do some sightseeing." Quinn suggested. "I am interested in checking out Broadway."

"Okay, we'll go and see a theater." I declared as we called for a taxi. We headed to one of the theaters that happened to be the place that the life story of April Rhodes was opening soon. As we walked in, we noticed Mr. Schue on the stage, singing. Then a man who looked like an organizer came out. We stayed hidden, but I think the guy wanted him to be on Broadway.

"So were you just not going to tell us?" I asked as he walked out. He looked shocked to see us.

"Wh…what are you doing here?" He stammered. "You two are supposed to be writing."

"You know you got mad at me when I did the show without telling you." I reminded him. "I don't need to say anything about the hypocrisy here and I would even support you leaving if that's what you want, because it's your dream because I might be doing it too."

"What do you mean?" He asked me in surprise.

"I got offered a fulltime role on the show." I explained. "I'm thinking about taking it, even though it means moving to California."

"I take it you wouldn't be going alone." He assumed as he looked at Quinn.

"This summer we'll both be eighteen." She replied. "Either my mom will come with or we'll get a nanny, and maybe in a few years, I'll get my chance. Though, right now her love is enough for me."

"I understand why you're doing this and I hope you can understand why I want to do this." He explained.

"I understand it, but I think you need to come clean." I suggested. "Maybe it will affect our performance, but lying to everyone isn't a good thing. You deserve this chance because you probably won't get many more, if any at all. We won't tell anyone, but we'd really like it if you did. We'd all be proud of you and learn to let you go."

The next morning before we went to the theater, Mr. Schue called us all into the room. It looked like news had spread before he could tell us. He brought in some pizzas.

"We heard." Mercedes declared. "We heard about you leaving to be on Broadway."

"Look nothing is set in stone yet." Mr. Schue replied. "I know this is a great opportunity for not only me, but also for me to provide for my son."

"We're happy for you." Kurt told him.

"You've inspired us in so many ways." Rachel added. "This is just another."

"Who told you guys?" He asked, looking at Quinn and I.

"It's on the Broadway blogs." Kurt explained.

"Are you okay Mr. Schue?" Mike questioned. He looked like he was about to cry.

"I'm not going." He remarked. "I'm staying with you guys."

Well that made me feel kind of bad. I guess I would wait until after the competition to tell them.

"I had my moment on that stage and it was glorious." He added. "But we have some unfinished business to attend to."

At the end of the night, we had the song done. Well almost done at least.

"We need a title." Mr. Schue declared.

"How about we call it 'Unity' since we all wrote it together?" I suggested before Mr. Schue wrote down 'Unity' on the paper.

Once we got to Nationals, we noticed an all-female group singing Usher's "Yeah", which is about picking up chicks.

When it came time for our set, I was wearing a bedazzled black dress. We decided to lead off with Dani's song with her on vocals since she wrote it.

Baby when they look up at the sky, we'll be shooting stars just passing by
You'll be coming home with me tonight, we'll be burning up like neon lights

Be still my heart cause it's freaking out, it's freaking out right now
Shining like stars cause we're beautiful, you're beautiful right now
You're all I see in all these places, you're all I see in all these spaces
So let's pretend we're running out of time of time

Baby when they look up at the sky, we'll be shooting stars just passing by
You'll be coming home with me tonight, we'll be burning up like neon lights
Baby when they look up at the sky, we'll be shooting stars just passing by
You'll be coming home with me tonight, we'll be burning up like neon lights
Neon lights, neon lights like neon lights, like neon lights

Shining like stars cause we're beautiful
You're all I see in all these places, you're all I see in all these spaces
So let's pretend we're running out of time of time

Be still my heart cause it's freaking out

Next Quinn and I took the stage. She started the song off. I didn't think of it before but it sounded kind of country.

Full moon shining like a spotlight
Yeah I could just sit and listen to talking all night
When you whisper, yeah baby when you lean in
I get a crazy, crazy good kind of feeling

It's like Amen from the back of the choir sweet hum of freedom underneath the tires
Kick by sitting by the crack of fire, strumming little guitar strings
Like an old song on the radio that you grew up to and everybody knows
Rushing underwater while the river rolls, wild and wild and free
Baby you sound good to me, baby you sound so good to me
Mm-mm like a melody baby you sound good to me

Baby you sound good to me, baby you sound so good to me
Mm-mm-mm like a melody baby

At the end of the song, we pressed our lips together like we forget where we were. The crowd gasped. We opened our eyes before the group came out we went into our final song.

I found a note with your name and a picture of us
Even though it was framed and covered in dust
It's the map in my mind that sends me on my way
They say it's never too late to start being afraid
And there is no one else here so why should I wait
And in the blink of an eye, the past begins to fade

So have you been caught in the sea of despair
And the moment of truth is the day you say I'm not scared
Put your hands in the air if you hear me out there
I've been looking for you day and night
Shine in the dark let me see where you are
Cause I'm not gonna leave you behind
If I told you that you're not alone and I show you this is where you belong
Put your hands in the air one more time

We didn't win. We didn't even finish in the top 10. We finished 12th. There was some speculation that some points were deducted because of the kiss. I blushed at that. If that was what cost us, I was sorry. I also noticed that Vocal Adrenaline ended up finishing 2nd. That was surprising.

When we got back to Lima, I didn't know what I wanted to do. I was hoping we would win to make my decision easier, but now I didn't know. I stood with Quinn as we walked around the park, pushing Avvie around in her stroller.

"I thought this would be easier." I stated. "I don't know if I'm ready to leave yet."

"How about we sing this song?" Quinn suggested. "Maybe it'll help you choose."

There's still black marks on that county road
Where we drag raced our pickups and Mustangs and weathered all the sun and rain
And to this day underneath that overpass underneath the new paint
You can still see "Ali will you marry me?"

Take a ride look around
There aint no doubt

It sure left its mark on us, we sure left our mark on it
We let the world know we were here with everything we did
We laid a lot of memories down
Like tattoos on this town like tattoos on this town

Everywhere there we are
It hits me right in my heart

It sure left its mark on us, we sure left our mark on it
We let the world know we were here with everything we did
We laid a lot of memories down and we'll always be hanging round
Like tattoos on this town like tattoos on this town

After that I took out my phone.

"Gary, I want you to tell them that I want a recurring role. I'll shoot over the summer and whenever I can, but I want to stay here right now." I told my agent.

No POV

At a bar in Lawrence, Kansas, the news was on.

"The National Show Choir competition made headlines today when one of the groups, Lima, Ohio's New Directions featured a lesbian kiss in its performance. We can confirm one of the two was up-and-coming actress Faith Hudson." The anchor said.

Upon hearing that, a man with curly brown hair stood up and looked at the screen.

End of Season 2

So for starters, Dani is back and Faith decided to stay in Lima. Who's the mystery man and what role will he play? The songs in this chapter are "I'm Gone, I'm Going" by Lesley Roy, "Neon Lights" by Demi Lovato, "You Sound Good to Me" by Lucy Hale, "Unity" by Shinedown, and "Tattoos on This Town" by Jason Aldean. The final part of the trilogy, Good Directions will be out soon. Thank you for reading and please don't forget to review.