The auditorium was filled to the brim with people of all ages from all over Lima. Kurt scanned the crowd for someone—anyone that he knew. He saw Mr. Schuester sitting down in the front row, wearing his typical boot-cut jeans and vest with a scarf. Coach Sylvester was terrorizing the crowd dressed as an usher, and Santana and Brittany walked down the aisle with their pinkies hooked together. The person Kurt was really looking for hadn't shown up yet, and he was becoming a bit antsy.
"There you are!" The familiar voice behind Kurt startled him, but he was glad to hear.
"Blaine!" The two Warblers took their seats as they greeted each other, talking about how their week at school had been. Even though they saw each other every day, there were always things that they missed out on and liked to hear about. This, however, was what they looked forward to the most—being able to go out together, have a good time, and enjoy at least a mediocre show.
"Welcome to the annual Lima talent show, featuring the talents of every member of our community from all age groups!" The announcer raised his hands and motioned towards the large group of people standing on the large stage. They all looked excited, nervous, stony-faced, or they were a strange shade of green.
Kurt scanned the sea of bodies on stage, looking for people that he knew. Rachel Berry was standing right next to the announcer, which came as no surprise to him. She had an almost fake smile on her face, and Kurt assumed that someone had upset her backstage, or she was trying to win the crowd's approval. He rolled his eyes and looked over to Blaine, who was just smiling over at him.
"This seems like it's going to be a good show." Blaine said.
"This seems like it's going to be a long show…" Kurt replied, sinking into his chair.
"It can't be that bad, can it?" Blaine raised an eyebrow, and Kurt just shook his head.
"You honestly have no idea. I come to this thing every year, and it's full of people who think they're more talented than they actually are." He said fiercely.
"You didn't win, did you?" Blaine gave him a knowing look, and Kurt brought his hand to the side of his face.
"No, I didn't." He sighed. Blaine chuckled and then turned his attention back to the stage. It had been cleared of all participants, who had all been shuffled back into the green room where they warmed up and pumped up for their performances.
"Please welcome our first talent, Miss Rachel Berry!"
Rachel practically flew onstage; no one had even seen her feet touch the ground. She took her place at the microphone and coughed into it once, just in case no one had seen her.
"My name is Rachel Berry, and I'll be singing 'Walking on Sunshine,' the 80's classic by Katrina and the Waves. Please sit back, relax, and enjoy the show." She ended her unnecessary speech with a huge stage grin, then grabbed the microphone and took her place in the middle of the stage. As the music began to play, she danced around, looking more like a drunken bird than a performer.
"I can understand why she bugs you." Blaine whispered. Kurt smiled and turned his head a bit to the side.
"She bugs me, but she's practically like family." They paused to watch a bit more of the performance, and then Kurt spoke up again.
"I never thought anyone could do worse choreography than Mr. Schuester, but I guess I was wrong." The boys laughed quietly and tried to watch the performance, but they couldn't take watching the dancing. It was absolutely horrendous, and every time they'd look to watch again, they would burst out in "stifled" laughter. After a few more times, they got evil glares, and by the time they got themselves together Rachel's act had finished.
"Next up we have Adrienne and the Balloons." The announcer said unenthusiastically.
The show went on without anyone actually talented going on. There were jugglers, bad magicians, terrible stand up comedians, and little kids singing. Kurt wanted to rip out his eyes and ears, everything was so bad. Rachel was the only one who had been good, which annoyed him more than anything. He sat down after intermission with Blaine's hand in his, mostly so he could squeeze something when the "talent" came onstage. When the lights went down and the announcer came out from behind the curtains, Kurt felt like taking a nap more than ever.
"Our first act for the second half would like to introduce herself."
A slender blonde girl walked gracefully onstage, walking up to the microphone. She smiled down at everyone, and Kurt's face turned up in confusion as he looked at her. There was a familiar air to her, and she had a smile that he knew he'd seen before. Her blonde locks curled out and gave her volume, and her brown eyes had the same glow that another member of the glee club had. Her nose looked like the one that Rachel Berry had envied, and Kurt's eyes lit up as he realized who she was. It was…
"My name is Lindsay Fabray, and I'll be performing Demi Lovato's newest single 'Skyscraper.' I hope you all enjoy it." She gave the crowd a warm smile, and Kurt saw others return it. She left the front microphone and made her way to the grand piano stationed to the side of the stage. She sat down at the bench, reaching her fingers out and played the chords to the intro of the song. Then she opened her mouth and let out the words.
Skies are crying, I am watching
Catching teardrops in my hands
Only silence as it's ending like we never had a chance
Do you have to make me feel like there's nothing left of me?
You can take everything I have,
You can break everything I am
Like I'm made of glass
Like I'm made of paper
Go on and try to tear me down
I will be rising from the ground like a skyscraper
Like a skyscraper
Kurt's jaw dropped to the floor, and he looked over to Blaine, who was staring at the stage with a smile on his face.
"She's amazing." Kurt said, stunned. Blaine's smile grew bigger and bigger.
"I've known her since I was four," He said. "We used to sing together."
As the smoke clears, I awaken and untangle you from me
Would it make you feel better to watch me while I bleed?
All my windows still are broken, but I'm standing on my feet
You can take everything I have
You break everything I am
Like I'm made of glass
Like I'm made of paper
Go on and try to tear me down
I will be rising from the ground like a skyscraper
Like a skyscraper
Her voice swelled at the bridge, carrying the beautiful words and tone out to the crowd. Blaine stared in awe of the girl that he had grown up with, wondering what had happened to her to bring her such emotion to her performance. He made a mental note to catch up with her after the show and talk to her.
Go, run, run, run
I'm gonna stay right there
Watch you disappear
Go run, run, run
Yeah it's a long way down but I am closer to the clouds up here
You can take everything I have
You can break everything I am
Like I'm made of glass
Like I'm made of paper
Oh, oh
Go on and try to tear me down
I will be rising from the ground like a skyscraper
Like a skyscraper
Like a skyscraper
Like a skyscraper
Like a skyscraper
The crowd went absolutely wild. The girl stood up and did a little tiny curtsy, smiling at everyone for a split second before retreating behind the curtains. Kurt stared in awe at the tiny girl with the huge voice, who had known Blaine since childhood. He knew immediately that she was going to be someone to hold close to him, to get to know better for help in the future. Plus, being Quinn Fabray's sister had to count for something. Kurt knew that even though Quinn could be a bitch sometimes, she always had the best of intentions. Her sister had to be the same way…
Right?
Lindsay closed her eyes as she reached the top step of the house. She took a deep breath and opened her eyes again, staring ahead of her with fear and yearning. Her hand lifted itself with a mind of its own to the doorbell, where her finger pushed the button and set off the bell. Her whole body tensed as she waited outside, squeezing her eyes shut until she heard the door open. The blonde woman in front of her looked half surprised and half annoyed. Lindsay rocked back on her heels a tiny bit, trying to make things a bit easier for herself.
"What do you want?" The woman asked, raising an eyebrow and jutting out her hip.
Lindsay swallowed hard, a lump forming in her throat that she forced down. This was not how she wanted this to happen.
"…Mom?" Her voice was small compared to how it usually was; loud and controlling and powerful. Now she seemed smaller than she ever had before, her body curling up on itself, hunching over as if it would protect her.
"What. Do you want?" Her mother's voice was harsh and nasty, and Lindsay used all of her might to squeak out the next several words.
"Can… Can I come home?"
"So, Blaine, tell me. How do you know this girl from the talent show?" Kurt asked, his hands shoved inside his coat pockets. Blaine chuckled and looked down at the ground, his hands in a similar position as Kurt's.
"We went to preschool together, and our parents were friends for a while." He said simply.
"You knew the Fabrays?" Kurt sounded surprised.
"Yeah, we did. Lindsay and I were always together. Our parents joked around that we were going to grow up one day and get married…" He trailed off, looking over at Kurt, whose eyes had dropped to the ground. "But that all changed once they found out about me. Lindsay was gone by then, anyway."
Kurt's eyes returned back to Blaine quickly after the last sentence, and his expression was of a puzzled nature.
"What do you mean, she was gone?"
"Her parents shipped her off to boarding school when she was in eighth grade. She got herself in some pretty bad trouble, and her parents thought she would be better off away from them." Blaine's voice turned soft, and Kurt could tell that he was a bit upset by the memory.
"But she's back now," Kurt said. "You two can catch up and see each other more often!" He tried to sound enthusiastic, even though he was forcing the jealousy from showing through him. He didn't want Blaine to see him like that.
"I plan to. You know, I think she's transferring back. She might go to McKinley with you guys." There was a pause, and then Blaine turned to Kurt, eyes excited, and took him by the shoulders. "You can get her to join the glee club! She'd be a great addition. I mean, you can't deny that she's got talent."
"But think about Rachel." Kurt pointed out. "Lindsay just kicked her butt at the talent show, and you think Rachel's not going to try and sabotage her? No. Something's going to go down, and you and I both know it."
"Kurt, Lindsay is one of the most forceful, powerful, amazing girls on the planet. I think she can handle a bit of the Berry." Kurt chuckled and turned back forward, starting up down the street again.
"McKinley, watch out. You're going to get another Fabray."
Lindsay stared at the interior of the house, her eyes widening as she realized how much they had done with it since she left. Everything looked so much more expensive and well furnished, and she almost couldn't believe it.
As she looked around her home for the first time in years, she heard footsteps come down the hallway. She turned her head to look, and an unfamiliar figure slowly walked towards her. She was blonde, like Lindsay, with the same pointy bone structure, nose and warm brown eyes that she had. Lindsay gaped at the girl in front of her, words escaping her almost completely.
"Lucy?" She asked, taking a small step towards her sister.
"I go by Quinn now." Her sister said harshly.
"What did you do?" Lindsay reached out to touch her, for fear that she might not be real. Quinn swatted her hand away with a disgusted look on her face.
"Lost weight and got a nose job." She said plainly. "There's a lot that you don't know about, Lindsay."
"I'm well aware." Lindsay crossed her arms and looked over her sister with approval. "You know, even though I used to be the hot one, I think I can share the spotlight." Quinn stuck her hands on her hips, sticking her hip out to the side.
"Excuse me?" Quinn scoffed. "What exactly do you mean by share?"
Lindsay laughed softly, smiling nastily at her sister. "Well, since I'm transferring to McKinley, I don't want to push you out of the center of attention. That would just be cruel. I was thinking I would just join you."
Quinn's jaw hung loose, and she gaped at her. "Tr…Tr…Transferring?" She shrieked.
"I knew you'd be excited!" Lindsay pulled her sister into a bear hug, snickering as she did so. "Sorry Lucy Caboosey. The bitch is back."