"Blaine," Sam called to his friend who was walking down the hall at a fast pace. "Hold up."
"I'm in a rush, Sam, so keep up," he told the taller blonde.
"Where are you off to?" Sam asked as the duo sped through the hallway and past the cafeteria and out into the quad. "Blaine!"
"I have a plan," he abruptly stopped. "Tina told me that Mr. Schue gathered all the original members of New Directions to say goodbye."
"What!" Sam exclaimed and smiled at the students who just looked at him oddly. "What about the rest of us?"
"That's what I'm working on," Blaine reassured him. "Let everyone know to meet me in the choir room after school."
The final bell of the day rang out as Blaine stood in the now empty choir room. He hoped Sam was able to spread the world to their friends about the meeting. He smiled as Jake rode into the room on his scooter. A minute later he could hear Unique and Marley's laughs before they waltzed into the room. So far so good. They gathered around Blaine confused and curious but he just told them to wait until they were all present. Blaine grew nervous as time ticked by and he was still missing three crucial members of the team.
"Anybody know what class Kitty and Ryder had last?" Blaine finally spoke.
"Gym," Marley answered. "Don't worry, they're coming."
"Where's Sam?" Jake asked as he still rode around the empty room. He jumped off the bleachers and smiled as he safety landed.
"I'm here!" Sam called and looked disappointed when his voice echoed through the room. "That's creepy."
"Sorry we're late," Ryder apologized a minute later as he and Kitty finally walked into the room.
"So why are we here?" Unique asked the obvious question.
Blaine stood on the bleachers and just looked down at his friends, a proud smile on his face. The smile quickly faded into a pout when he realized that this was probably the last time they'd all be standing in the choir room together. He just took in the moment, all of his friends together in one room, the room that brought them together and forced them to be friends.
"We're waiting, Anderson," Kitty told him impatiently, tapping her foot on the floor to accentuate her point.
"Glee club is over," he began somberly. "Sam and I are graduating next week."
"Buzzkill," Jake hissed.
"Just wait," Blaine paused the younger boy with a raise of his hand. "Does it suck? Totally. That's why I asked you all to be here."
"To remind us that we're gonna be stuck in this hell hole for another two years while you conquer New York?" Kitty asked.
"No!" Blaine exclaimed and looked over at Sam for help.
Sam jumped up next to Blaine on the bleachers and clapped his hands. "I think what Blaine is trying to say is that the older members of this club got a proper goodbye and we got shafted."
"Preach," Unique spoke up.
"No one cared about us," Ryder added. "No one took us serious. They wrote us off before we had a chance to prove ourselves."
"Exactly," Sam stressed. "As someone who's been in this club the longest I think it's only fair that we get a proper send off as well."
"What do you suggest?" Marley asked. She could tell that Sam was up to something. He had a gleam in his eye indicating that he had a plan.
"One final number," he answered. He looked over at Blaine. "I know this meeting was your idea."
"No," he quickly interjected. "That sounds like a great idea."
"Sweet," Sam smiled and turned to the people in front of him. "Okay, so we have two days until this ship officially sails away. Let's go out with a bang."
The seven newest members of New Directions spent every free moment they had preparing and rehearsing for their final number. Sam and Blaine acted like the captains everyone knew them to be. When they weren't in class or watching someone else give a goodbye performance they were huddled together and spewing out ideas. They were determined to prove that this club meant just as much to them as it did everyone else that walked through the choir room doors.
"Ok guys," Mr. Schue called everyone to attention. "We have one final performance. And why not end it with the newest members of this club."
All seven people stood in front of the class and smiled at each other. Blaine and Sam gathered the stools for all of them to sit on. Sam picked up his guitar that was lying against the piano and began to tune it.
"This room and club meant a lot of things to all of us," Marley began. "For me, it was the one place in this entire school that I felt comfortable in."
"I could be myself," Kitty added. "I wasn't just a cheerleader, I got to show the real Kitty in here. No judgments."
"I had no past," Jake said and quickly looked at his brother. "No one assumed anything about me. They just accepted me for who I was."
"This place was home," Ryder spoke up. "Whenever I had an issue, someone in this room helped me through it. Yea, we had our fair share of arguments and disagreements but at the end of the day we were a family."
"I wouldn't have been this fabulous without the support of these people sitting here," Unique laughed as she tried to stifle her tears.
"High school is hard enough," Sam added. "But it doesn't matter unless you have someone by your side."
"No one can fully grasp the kind of year we all had," Blaine continued. "We experienced the highest of highs and the lowest of lows this year."
"Well, this is our goodbye," Marley finished.
The group took a deep breathe and waited as Sam began to play the opening chords of the song.
(Sam)
I said remember this moment, in the back of my mind
The time we stood with our shaking hands
The crowds in stands went wild
We were the Kings and the Queens
And they read off our names
(Blaine)
The night you danced like you knew our lives
Would never be the same
You held your head like a hero
On a history book page
It was the end of a decade
But the start of an age
(All)
Long live the walls we crashed through
All the kingdom lights shined just for me and you
I was screaming long live all the magic we made
And bring on all the pretenders
One day, we will be remembered
(Jake)
I said remember this feeling
I passed the pictures around
Of all the years that we stood there
On the side-lines wishing for right now
We are the Kings and the Queens
You traded your baseball cap for a crown
(Ryder)
When they gave us our trophies
And we held them up for our town
And the cynics were outraged
Screaming "this is absurd"
Cause for a moment a band of thieves
In ripped up jeans got to rule the world
(All)
Long live the walls we crashed through
All the kingdom lights shined just for me and you
I was screaming long live all the magic we made
And bring on all the pretenders
I'm not afraid
(Marley)
Long live all the mountains we moved
I had the time of my life fighting dragons with you
I was screaming long live that look on your face
And bring on all the pretenders
One day, we will be remembered
(Unique)
Hold on to spinning around
Confetti falls to the ground
May these memories break our fall
(Kitty)
Will you take a moment, promise me this
That you'll stand by me forever
But if God forbid fate should step in
And force us into a goodbye
If you have children some day
When they point to the pictures
As Kitty sang she grabbed the hands of the girls sitting next to her. All three of them trying desperately to hide the tears that were forming in their eyes.
(Marley/Unique)
Please tell them my name
(Kitty/Jake)
Tell them how the crowds went wild
Tell them how I hope they shine
(All)
Long live the walls we crashed through
I had the time of my life, with you
Long, long live the walls we crashed through
All the kingdom lights shined just for me and you
I was screaming long live all the magic we made
And bring on all the pretenders
I'm not afraid
(Sam/Blaine)
Singing, long live all the mountains we moved
I had the time of my life fighting dragons with you
And long, long live that look on your face
And bring on all the pretenders
One day, we will be remembered
As Sam played the final chord of the song it began to dwell on him that this was officially the last song he'd ever perform in the choir room and with the people he grew to love over the year. He placed the guitar on the floor as the audience that consisted of his old friends began to applaud. He stood up and pulled Blaine into a hug, he felt a hand on his shoulder and pulled Ryder into his hug immediately followed by Jake. He briefly looked behind him and saw the girls hugging as well.
"Is there room for us?" Marley asked and wiped a tear that threatened to fall.
"Always," Blaine weakly smiled at her and pulled the girls in their group hug. "I love you all."
"Promise me that you all will remain friends," Sam told them. "Ryder and Jake have football and Kitty's got cheerleading, put please don't lose touch."
"This school is all about labels," Blaine reminded them. "The five of you have a bond that no one outside these walls can comprehend."
"You two don't be strangers either," Kitty threatened them. "Just because you're moving on to bigger and better things doesn't mean you can get rid of us."
"Never," Blaine scoffed. "Watch out for each other and take care of each other. Sam and I are always a phone call away."
"Whatever you need, we are there," Sam stressed. "I'm sure Artie and Tina wouldn't mind a phone call either from time to time."
"Artie's stuck with me," Kitty laughed.
"Don't stop writing," Blaine looked directly at Marley. "One contest doesn't dictate how awesome your songs are. Share them with the world, shame them with these guys."
"Told you," Unique giggled at Marley who rolled her eyes in response.
"I hate goodbyes," Marley stated.
"Save the tears for graduation," Jake said laying a comforting hand on his ex girlfriends shoulder. "Don't worry about us too much guys, I think Ryder and I have it covered."
"Speak for yourself Puckerman," Kitty rolled her eyes.
"Just let us do one nice thing for you Kitty," Ryder pleaded. "Reign in the bitch for one day, please."
"Fine," she huffed.
"Umm guys?"
The group finally untangled themselves and sheepishly smiled as the rest of the room just looked at them curiously. They didn't even realize that their emotional goodbye huddle was going to go on as long as it did.
"Everything okay?" Mike asked.
"We heard that you had your goodbye already," Jake answered. "This was for us. You all get to leave this place in your rearview mirror but the five of us are back here in the fall."
"Take all the time you need," Mr. Schue told them as he exited the room with the older students.
"Goodbye New Directions," Marley sighed and placed her hand on the piano.
Sam picked up his guitar and swung it over his shoulder with a defeated sigh. "I'll have a lot of good memories of this room."
"We all will," Blaine agreed.
The group slowly made their way out the room. Sam patted the spot that Finn's plaque once hung and sighed. Once everyone was out the room he turned off the light one final time and closed the door behind him.