And Here's What You Missed on...GLEE

The right stuff, all six of them started in sync, starting to move around the stage. The music continued before they repeated the lyrics.

Finn had the first solo, belting out the first verse.

First time was a great time
Second time was a blast
Third time, I fell in love
Now I hope it lasts
I can see it in your walk
Tell it when you talk
See it in everything you do
Even in your thoughts.

They all started to sing the chorus, and all of us girls were dancing, laughing a little at how they attempted to reenact the dance moves from the music video. Some of them were succeeding, like Mike and Matt, but Finn…not so much.

When Puck sang his verse, his eyes were on me, his hand extended, just like a guy from New Kids on the Block would do at a concert to a crazed fan or something.

First kiss was a sweet kiss
Second kiss had a twist
Your third and your fourth kiss
I don’t wanna miss
I can see it in your walk
Tell it when you talk
See it in everything you do
Even in your thoughts

Artie took the bridge, belting it out in his deep voice, rolling around in his chair and doing a couple of tricks.

The second they finished, I stood up and started clapping, and the rest of my group followed. They were so great! I loved it.

I was fine. That was, until Mr. Schue turned to us with a grin on his face and announced, “Alright, girls! You’re up!”

Their performance was amazing. And ours was, too. But did it compare? Probably not. But hopefully, it did. I wanted to win so badly that it hurt.

Adrenaline coursed through my veins as Rachel bounded over to the band to explain the way we wanted everything set up and what song we were doing…that sort of thing.

The curtain came down in front of us (Rachel wanted as much drama as possible, and the rest of us agreed), and we set up in our positions, mine standing with my arms crossed in front of my chest, my chin tilted slightly upward. Kind of badass.

As the curtain rose, the adrenaline got stronger, which I didn’t think was possible. The only thought in my mind was that we had to, absolutely had to win.

I started off, doing the first Lil’ Kim part:

Where’s all my soul sistas?
Lemme hear y’all flow sistas

Then, Tina followed up with the first Mya lines, since Quinn started singing right after that, and we figured that Tina deserved a solo, even if it was short, because she was a good singer.

Hey sista, go sista, soul sista, flow sista
Hey sista, go sista, soul sista, flow sista

Quinn sang her part, and the rest of the song seemed to fly by. Soon enough, it was time for my solo, and I grinned, though the butterflies were fluttering in my stomach. I wondered how surprised they were going to be to hear me rap. So. Hardcore.

Yeah, yeah, uh
He come through with the money and the garter bags
I let him know we bout that cake straight out the gate
We independent women, some mistake us for whores
I’m sayin’, why spend mine when I can spend yours?

Taking a second to wink at Puck, I didn’t miss a beat as I kept rapping.

Disagree? Well, that’s you and I’m sorry
Imma keep playing these cats out like Atari
Wear high heel shoes, getting love from the dudes
Seven bad ass chicks from the Moulin Rouge
Hey, sistas, soul sistas, betta get that dough, sistas
We drink wine with diamonds in the glass
By the case, the meaning of expensive taste
If you wanna Giuchie, Giuchie, ya ya
Mocha Chocalate-a what?
Creole Lady Marmalade
One more time, c’mon now

I caught my breath and smiled, realizing that I’d gone through the entire time without screwing up the words or having to pause in the middle of a line. YES! That meant that we had totally nailed that part, putting us ahead of the competition.

At the end, we made a sort of human formation, my foot on Brittany’s back with my elbow resting on my knee, propping my head up.

The guys hooted, hollered, whistled, cheered, everything. It sounded like the whole auditorium was filled instead of just a small group of guys.

Bounding from the stage, I was filled with total ecstasy.

“Alright, guys,” Mr. Schue started, clapping his hands together and smiling widely. “You were both great. Now, Miss Pillsbury and I are going to collaborate and decide on a winner, sound good?”

My eyebrows knit together as I looked over at the two of them, putting their heads together and whispering with a lot of emotion. I hadn’t even noticed her go into the auditorium…showed how observant I was.

Narrowing my eyes, I tried to figure out what they were saying by reading their lips, but they were moving too quickly. Before I could get up to speed, someone came up behind me and scooped me into their arms.

I looked up at Puck and smiled. He leaned down and kissed me deeply for a second until I pushed him away, blushing fiercely. “Puck! C’mon, we’re in public.”

“Sorry,” he laughed, his arms still wrapped tightly around my waist. “You just looked really hot in the performance.”

“Oh, you liked it?” I asked, pretending to be totally innocent, wide eyes and everything.

“You could say that,” he muttered, pulling me even closer to him. Again, I put my hand against his chest and shoved him back a little.

“Later,” I mouthed before turning back to the two still-whispering teachers. “Ugh, how long are they going to be? The wait is killing me.”

“We won,” Rachel said confidently. Smirking a little, I raised an eyebrow at her, and she elaborated. “Well, let’s face it. Our dancing was more coordinated, despite the fact that Mike and Matt are talented dancers, and our singing was more harmonious. There’s no way that the boys would win over us.”

Puck shot her a disgusted look. “Berry, who asked you?”

“Ellie did,” she responded smugly before going off somewhere else. She was definitely a strange one.

Puck opened his mouth to say something, but I warned him with my eyes, and he shut it again.

“Alright, guys!” Mr. Schue cut through the conversation, rubbing his hands together. “After some deliberation, Miss Pillsbury and I have come up with the winners.”

Everyone was holding their breath, just for the glory of winning. Of who had the better performance without the help of Mr. Schue.

“And we decided on…”

OH MY GOD, MR. SCHUE! I screamed inside my head. WILL YOU JUST ANNOUNCE THE FRIGGIN’ WINNER ALREADY?! MY HEART IS GOING TO BURST OUT OF MY CHEST!

“The girls.”

“YES!” I screamed, running over to Mercedes and hugging her. “WE DID IT!”

The guys were all congratulating us, and we celebrated a little. My face was flushed with excitement.

Later, as Puck and I were leaving the school, I poked him in the stomach. “I won,” I teased.

“You deserved it. God, I wish you could have seen yourself up there…you can rap, Red.”

Smiling with elation, I went right up to his ear and whispered, “I think it’s time for celebratory ice cream.”

He rolled his eyes, sighing, but agreeing. Darting to the car, I didn’t think that things could get any better.