Jackie Puckerman Williams | 23 | October 17 | Hoboken, NJ | Dancer/Back-Up Singer | Riley Lynn
♫ I don’t look for trouble, but trouble looks for me ♫
Tanisha Williams was a promising, young real-estate agent who found herself fooling around with a young man. A young married man named Elijah Puckerman. She knew it was wrong and she knew it needed to stop, but, well, he was charming. And sweet. And he made endless promises to leave his wife, and she was foolish and in love and fell for it, only for him to back up those promises when Tanisha got pregnant. Tanisha decided to keep her baby and ultimately gave birth to Jacqueline on a cold October day in New Jersey. Since Tanisha still put Elijah down as the father, little Jacqueline ended up with the last name “Puckerman”.
This proved to be rather unpleasant for young Jackie -- she was never going to go by “Jacqueline”, come on now. See, Jackie never knew her dad by face, only by name. Every now and then she’d hear snippets of phone calls where her mom talked in a snappy whisper and she knew her “father” was on the other end, but who really cared? While Jackie had a small part of her that wanted to know him, she figured she didn’t need him if he didn’t want her.
Tanisha was a great role model anyways. She was super successful in real estate, like the kind of real estate agent with her face on benches around town. Being a single mother never seemed to slow her down. Jackie loved her mom with her whole heart and was more than okay with their little two person family.
Tanisha was also the one who got her to dance. It was typical to sign girls up for it, and when Jackie was just four years old, Jackie walked into a ballet class with a big tutu on and fell in love with it. She kept taking lessons, soon expanding to tap, jazz, and hip hop along with ballet. It just came naturally to her and she loved every moment of it. And Tanisha made sure her daughter could keep pursuing it, even when money got tight.
So, yeah, the money thing. Remember how Tanisha worked in real estate? Yeah, and remember how the recession hit that particular market hard? Despite Tanisha’s skills and past success, she ended up losing her job. To make ends meet, she moved her and her daughter to a cheap neighborhood in Jersey City and took on a waitressing job, primarily working double shifts. Jackie would walk to the restaurant after school and work on her homework there, and sometimes a family friend would take her to her dance classes so her mom could keep working.
After that, those snappy-voiced phone calls became more frequent and a lot louder. Jackie’s mom didn’t want to have to beg for money, but she needed help -- her daughter needed help. So she constantly called Elijah to get child support, often getting yelled at by his wife who referred to her as “the slutty waitress”. One day she called to find out Elijah had left. She never heard from him again.
Stuff like that made Jackie a bit of a cold and abrasive person. She figured she didn’t need anyone but her mom, because no one ever wanted her but her mom. Jackie just wanted to spend time with her mom and dance, not that she would tell anyone that, of course. She sort of put on this persona of being a “bad girl” despite the fact that she really wasn’t that rebellious at all. It was easier than trying to make friends. It was already hard for her to make friends seeing as she was one of the few black people at her school. Well, half-black. Some of the black kids thought she wasn’t black enough. And she had no interest in embracing her Jewish heritage past getting out of dissecting a pig’s heart because it wasn’t Kosher, so she wasn’t really befriending the Jewish kids, either.
So Jackie was more or less a loner, spending most of her free time improving her dance skills or riding her scooter versus making friends. It wasn’t until high school when she finally managed to find people who appreciated her for who she was. All of her. She tried out for her school’s show choir at her mom’s insistence and ended up getting a spot. And she befriended those geeks who loved her dancing and singing abilities more than she ever thought possible. She slowly started to ditch that obviously fake persona and started to work harder in her classes and have an actual social life.
Even better, her mom got a well paying receptionist job and they were finally starting to get financially stable. In fact, they were financially stable enough that Jackie’s mom got very particular about Jackie going to college. Now Jackie knew she wanted to dance and didn’t think college was necessary, but she still applied to some schools to appease her mom and, amazingly, made it into all of them. Even Juilliard. And with the financial aid packet they gave her, it was an easy decision to make. She couldn’t shoot down freaking Juilliard, now could she?
♫ And it's been waiting around corners since I was seventeen ♫
Jackie loved studying dance at college more than she could say. It felt like she was finally doing things right. It was refreshing not having to worry about science or math or English. Sure, she had to take some basic liberal arts classes, but that was it. Most of her time was devoted to dancing, and that was all that mattered to her.
She was required to live at the dorms her first year, which turned out to be a bit of a blessing. Jackie loved her mom, but being able to spend her weeks in New York City was a pretty sweet deal...especially since her friends got her a fake ID. It wasn’t like she went out and partied every night, but Jackie did have a lot of fun.
Jackie continued to live in the city after her first year, even though money was a bit tight. She was used to growing up without much, so it wasn’t a huge deal, but work studies could only get her so far. But another blessing seemed to come to her when she was “discovered” in Macy’s. Some modeling agent handed her a card and Jackie was almost positive it was a scam, but it turned out to actually be pretty legit. She got to appear in a few local ads and the extra money was definitely helpful.
Though the checks were made out to “Jacqueline Puckerman”, she basically had changed her name by that point. Her Facebook profile listed her with her mom’s last name, “Jackie Williams”, as did her portfolio and résumé, and she never brought up her real last name to her friends. The only people who knew it were the faculty, and that was fine with her. She was officially “Jackie Williams” and that was the name she told everyone. Jackie knew she had to get it changed at some point, but it wasn’t something she was in a rush to do. There wasn’t a reason to ever acknowledge the “Puckerman” side of her again.
In her junior year, that changed.
The year was 2015, and she had spent a whole summer hearing songs from this new girl band on the radio. She never really looked into them, but she thought their music was fairly decent. But one day she fell down a YouTube hole while bandaging up her feet after a long day of pointe. She watched several videos on autoplay until eventually one of The Sirens’ music videos came up: “Desire”. Jackie watched and felt an eerie feeling about the singer of that song. Something about her seemed familiar.
So Jackie turned to google. Her mind told her it was ridiculous to look her up, but something was telling her to go ahead and do it. The Sirens’ Wikipedia page came up quickly and soon Jackie found the girl’s name: Norah Puckerman.
Her blood ran cold as she looked at the computer screen and a million emotions ran through her. Before she understood what was happening, Jackie was clicking on every link she could about Norah, finding out that she was from Hoboken, too. She was a bit of a bad girl. She was Jewish. Her father had left her at a young age. Oh, and she had a brother. They had a brother.
So there Jackie was, 21 years old and just finding out about a half-sister and half-brother, and the half-sister was quickly gaining fame and followers along the way.
She honestly didn’t know what to do with this information. Jackie did her best to try to forget it, but she found herself curiously watching every interview that popped up and every video they put out. She even saw some fan videos and art and shit about “Puckerose” which confused her. Was her sister dating the other singer?
After her junior year ended, Jackie finally broached the subject with her mom by casually asking if she had heard of The Sirens. Of course she had. When Jackie asked if she knew the name “Norah Puckerman”, her mom froze. For a brief moment, Tanisha tried to say she didn’t know the name, and Jackie would’ve accepted that. She really would’ve. But her mom soon confessed that she knew that name as well as the name Jonah Puckerman. It turned out that her mom had known the whole time that Jackie had two siblings and never told her.
It was only then that Jackie realized how much she had wanted to know her sister, and her brother for that matter. Hearing that her mom had kept them a secret broke her heart. She felt hurt and betrayed and upset beyond all belief that her mom had hidden such an important thing. Her mom explained how she thought she was doing the right thing because Naomi, Elijah’s wife, never would’ve let them meet anyways. She didn’t want Jackie growing up knowing she had siblings that she couldn’t have a relationship with. She wanted Jackie to understand that and try to forgive her.
And Jackie did forgive her, but she didn’t forget.
Jackie’s senior year started to have more questions than most did. While she also constantly wondered what she was going to do with her life once she graduated, she also wondered a lot about her half-siblings. She knew she wanted to meet them, but how? She figured contacting their mom wouldn’t work well -- Jackie remembered the screaming phone calls. Jackie also figured going to the paparazzi with some news wouldn’t really help build a positive relationship.
But, thankfully, some things fell into her lap.
First of all, after some particularly high profile modeling gigs after her graduation, Jackie got an audition for a spot in the music video for a newer band, Divine Influence. Her looks and dance abilities got her the part in “Hey Beautiful Angel”, and it also got her in contact with Sabrina Smythe, the woman who also managed her sister’s band.
Second of all, she overheard a pretty important conversation. She was flown out to LA for the filming of the video, which was pretty sweet, since she figured she could go hit up some auditions and find more work while she was there. But after the filming, Jackie was trying to find a restroom on set, and she accidentally overheard a conversation between Sabrina and Sam Evans. That conversation told her a big secret about their past - you know, that whole Sam was a stripper and Sabrina was a pretty constant client of hers thing? Before she could try to sneak away and pretend she never heard it, Sabrina and Sam caught her.
Before Jackie could even apologize, Sabrina was throwing offers of money and contacts with big names at her in return for her silence, all while Sam was still in the room. After a few minutes, Jackie came up with a better offer. She told Sabrina if she gave her a job on Persephone’s Tour, plus a little bit of cash to hold her over until the work started, she wouldn’t say anything. Sabrina was confused at first, but when Jackie said her full name so she could write the check, Sabrina and Sam instantly knew why she wanted to be on the tour so badly. Despite their better judgment, Sabrina and Sam both agreed to keep it a secret at Jackie’s insistence.
And that’s how a need for dancers and back-up singers on the tour came about.
So now Jackie is touring with the girls under her stage name of “Jackie Williams” along with fellow dancer and back-up singer Blair Anderson. The two of them made their own choreography and have spent hours learning harmonies for the more intense songs that the bands sing - hey, it’s hard to do back up vocals and play an instrument live, so sometimes they need a little help. She thinks it’s a pretty sweet gig since now she gets to see the whole world, do what she loves, and get paid for it.
And, of course, she’s doing her best to get to know her sister, even if Norah doesn’t know who she is.
♫ They say "Here comes a hurricane! Trouble is her middle name!" ♫
Norah Puckerman: Okay, look, Jackie feels bad for deceiving Norah, she really does, but she wasn’t sure how much Norah would want to get to know her if she knew who she was. She’s still not sure if Norah would want to know her if she knew. It’s not too hard to realize that her mom asking for money was what drove Elijah away from Norah and her family. And Jackie thought maybe they wouldn’t get along anyways, and there would be no need for Norah to even know she had a sister. Jackie had planned on telling her by now, but the two of them have been getting along so well, better than she had ever imagined. Now she’s worried that when she tells her, Norah will freak out and not just on her, but on Sabrina and Sam and Santana, too, and, knowing her own Puckerman tendencies, Jackie wouldn’t be surprised if she freaked out on, like, everyone, even people not involved. Which would make her feel even worse. But every time she hangs out with her sister and they laugh and talk and gossip and find out more similarities, a small voice tells her that the longer she waits, the bigger the blowout will be. She’s good at ignoring that voice, but she’s not sure she’ll be good about it forever.
Sabrina Smythe: Jackie feels bad about putting Sabrina in the position she’s in. She really hadn’t planned on blackmailing someone, and she really has no plans of telling anyone anything about what she heard. She probably wouldn’t have said anything even if Sabrina hadn’t started throwing things at her desperately. But Sabrina did just that and Jackie didn’t want to get paid for not doing anything anyways. Sabrina’s been mostly chill about it, but Jackie can tell she’s stressed out, and probably for more reasons than what Jackie caused. But, hey, at least the semi-blackmail thing led to a job that got their tour great reviews.
Sam Evans: Again, Jackie is pretty torn up about making Sam keep a secret like this. It’s especially bad since both Sabrina and Sam are the closest to Norah out of the girls not in The Sirens. Sam doesn’t really understand why Jackie’s keeping her identity a secret, but she understands wanting to get close to her sibling. So while Sam has been keeping that secret, she’s been trying to persuade Jackie to tell Norah the truth. And despite Sam’s promise, Jackie’s not sure she’ll keep it. So when she sees the trio of Norah, Fiona, and Jackie together, she gets a little concerned.
Blair Anderson: Even though Jackie did a bad thing, at least it led to someone else getting a job, right? After some auditions, Blair Anderson was hired as an additional dancer and back-up singer on tour. While both bands do their own back-up vocals whenever possible, Jackie and Blair help provide more sound on some of the more difficult songs. Hey, live music is hard. Jackie and Blair spent a lot of time together and created the dances and some of their own harmonies themselves, all while learning a lot about each other. Blair even played some of her demo for Jackie, and Jackie honestly thinks she has one of the best voices she’s heard. But maybe she’s biased from all the times she’s danced so close to her.
Fiona Hudson: It’s kind of nice to have someone else on tour in a little bit of a similar situation as Jackie. Fiona also has some sibling drama, but this time it’s step-siblings drama -- or, well, technically step-sibling and step-cousin drama, but Kat and Marley are basically sisters anyways. And, okay, Fiona’s isn’t a secret, but it’s been interesting watching her interact with these sisters she doesn’t really know that well. But it sucks to see them not get along, since it really makes Jackie even more nervous about eventually telling Norah. Obviously suddenly becoming sisters doesn’t work out too well.
Marley Rose: It was a huge relief when Jackie realized that Puckerose wasn’t a real thing because wow. Marley is stunning. Really stunning. And sweet. And talented. And easy to talk to. So easy to talk to in fact that Jackie has almost revealed her secret to her. With how close Marley is to Norah, that’s something she really has to stay quiet about around her. But whenever her secret does come out, she hopes Marley will understand why she hid it, since Jackie would hate for her to be mad at her, too.
Rachel Berry: Jackie didn’t get to interact with Rachel too much on set of the music video, but all of their passing interactions were nice - especially when she seemed to hold Kitty back from saying some rude things. When Jackie started joining rehearsals for the tour and working on harmonies with the bands, Rachel even provided some tips. Since Jackie never considered herself an amazing singer, she appreciated the help (even if Blair didn’t seem to), and she’s really excited to join the tour.
Santana Lopez: Santana, due to Sabrina’s interfering, knows about Jackie’s true last name and her real relationship to Norah. Santana is now ready to spin the news when it leaks...if it leaks. She’s also trying harder than anyone to get Jackie to tell her the truth since it’s better to have it happen now than for her to keep lying forever. Santana is all about honesty, after all, and she has warned Jackie that there are people out there who know her last name and could easily spill the beans, which does concern her. She’s just not sure she’s willing to tell Norah just yet, especially not with how it could effect the tour in a real bad way. Funny enough, Santana does seem to understand and has even bit a been sympathetic. Part of Jackie wonders if it’s because all of her fighting with Norah could be a cover-up for actual feelings, even the sexual kind, for her sister. And, no, Jackie doesn’t know why the thought of that bothers her.
Kat Hummel: Jackie’s always been good at telling when people wanna hook up. It’s a Puckerman thing. Or, well, she assumes so. What also seems to be a Puckerman thing is having feelings for Kat - but in this case, it’s solely a Norah Puckerman thing. She doesn’t know if everyone else is just blind or if she just has some sisterly connection with Norah, but regardless, Jackie’s older sister totally wants to get with Kat. And, for once, she actually seems awkward and weird about flirting. That’s something Jackie hasn’t seen from her and it’s kind of funny. She thinks Kat may have some interest back, too. So maybe Jackie can help her out some day...and maybe that’ll help smooth things over when Norah finds out about her true parentage.
Quinn Fabray: Jackie normally doesn’t just like stalk people or anything, okay. Let’s get that out of the way. But she’s been watching Norah over time to try to figure out who she is and what she’s like. And most of it has just been finding out they have a lot of things in common, like movies and music and their tendency to flirt. But one things she’s noticed is a few cases of Norah sneaking off with Quinn. And that’s a little confusing given how Norah’s totally into Kat. Like, so into Kat that she’s ridiculously tongue-tied around her. So Jackie’s a little wary of her for stopping the whole Puckat train that she’s on. Plus she’s related to Kitty, and seeing how similar she is to Norah without even growing up with her, she’s not sure the apple ever falls far from the tree. Or maybe it’s more like the apples from the same tree never fall far from each other. Either way, it’s enough to make Jackie a little bit concerned about her. Add in the weird energy Quinn has with Santana, and Jackie’s not sure how to feel about her at all.
Kitty Wilde: While working on the video for “Hey Beautiful Angel”, both Sam and Rachel were fairly welcoming to her. Kitty, however, seemed pissed off and definitely played up some Diva with a capital D cards. Jackie eventually found out that Kitty, who nearly pursued dance herself, was pissed that someone else took her spotlight. Kitty thought if Rachel wasn’t doing something dance-wise, it should’ve been her. Thankfully Kitty got to dance in the next video and she seems to have forgotten her rudeness towards Jackie, or at least she’s being extra nice for whatever reason. Jackie, however, hasn’t, and as a Puckerman, Jackie’s not the best at forgiving and forgetting.
♫ But I don't look for trouble, yeah trouble looks for me ♫
How do you plan on telling Norah about being her sister?
Have you talked to your mom at all recently?
JBI asks: What’s it like dancing for a band after years of classical dance training?