[Disclaimer: I do not own Glee, unfortunately. Nor do I own the lyrics from Simple Plan's Perfect]
Perfect
"I am just so sick of it! Would it kill them to support their son just once? Why am I not good enough for them babe? I mean I know why I am not good enough, but why can't they just accept me for who I am. They can't change me, "a young woman overheard as she walked passed her brother's bedroom. She wanted to be able to stop and comfort him, but she was already late to softball practice. As she rushed down the stairs to grab her bag, she overheard her brother saying, "…not coming to the concert tonight. No one is, as always."
It was a normal routine for the siblings, putting their entire heart into something that they are passionate about, just to have their parents not show up or show their indifference. All they want is for someone to be proud of them, for someone to support them. Unfortunately, that's not the hand that life dealt them.
After grabbing her bag, she ran out to her car and threw the gear into the trunk, pausing from her rushed movements when she noticed her brother watching her from his bedroom. He turned and walked away from the window after he noticed her watching. That small act caused a feeling of guilt to settle into the pit of her stomach. She shook the feeling off knowing that she already in deep trouble for showing up late to practice, so she climbed into her car and started the engine, backed out of the driveway and left.
Meanwhile, back at the house, her brother had finished his conversation on the phone and was getting ready for his concert. He was standing at his closet trying to determine what to wear. He sighed as his fingers brushed against the familiar fabric of what had been his uniform, the blazer that had become a staple to his wardrobe. Things were easier to deal with then, when he lived in the dormitories at school and the fairly lengthy distance between school and home had been a legitimate enough excuse for the lack of support. Now it just hurts, but at least he's certain of his standing with his family. After settling on his outfit for the night and changing, he headed down stairs, grabbed his keys and walked out the door.
"..Yes coach, I understand. Again, I am so sorry," she finished before hanging up her cell phone and dropping it into the cup holder. She leaned forward and placed her forehead against the steering wheel and let out a frustrated groan. After a few minutes, she sat up and turned the key in the ignition before pulling back out onto the road and continuing on her way.
"Alright everyone, top of the show is in ten minutes, and it looks like there is actually a decent crowd out there so I want you all to give it your best and break a leg" the director announced to his students.
"Sir, is there any way that a few of us could add another song that we have been working on to the set list?" a student asked.
"It's kind of late to add a song" the director began, but was interrupted by pleading from the student, who said, "please, sir, I just really need to perform this. Please?"
"Alright, that is fine, I guess" the director conceded before continuing "Alright guys! Get to your places for the top of the show!"
Fifteen minutes later, music could faintly be heard throughout the school building being emitted from the auditorium. The performers were doing a great job and one not in the auditorium could tell from the sound of the applause from the audience. The hallways were filled with the soft sounds of applause coming from the auditorium and the echoing sounds of someone sprinting down the hallway.
As she neared the doors, she heard, "please give it up for our next two performers, who, you will notice singing a song not listed in the program. We hope that you enjoy their performance " She gently pulled the door to the auditorium open, and saw her brother on the stage walking up to the microphone.
"Hi everyone. My name is Blaine Anderson and this is Mike Chang and we are going to sing you a song that really speaks about our lives from some point in the past year. We hope you like it."
The music for the song began to play. Blaine stood at his microphone and turned his head down so he was looking at the floor. Mike began to sing,
"Hey dad look at me
Think back and talk to me
Did I grow up according to plan?
And do you think I'm wasting my time doing things I wanna do?
But it hurts when you disapprove all along"
Blaine then joined in and together they sang
"And now I try hard to make it
I just want to make you proud
I'm never gonna be good enough for you
I can't pretend that
I'm alright"
Blaine sang the final line alone, "And you can't change me"
At this point in the song, Mike walked away from his microphone and walked over to Blaine and whispered something in his ear. Blaine's eyebrows furrowed but slowly he nodded and Mike left the stage.
Blaine moved his microphone to center stage and continued the song on his own,
"'Cuz we lost it all
Nothing lasts forever
I'm sorry
I can't be perfect
Now it's just too late and
We can't go back
I'm sorry
I can't be perfect
Blaine continued with the verse,
"I try not to think
About the pain I feel inside
Did you know you used to be my hero?
All the days you spent with me
Now seem so far away
And it feels like you don't care anymore"
With each line of the verse, it was clear that he was getting more and more emotional. The first tear fell from his eye with the last line of the verse. The song really spoke to him, his dad was once his hero, he wanted to be just like him. His mother thought it was the cutest thing, the little curly haired boy following his father around like a lost puppy and acting just like him. As Blaine aged, he stopped trying to act like his father as often, but he still respected the man. But that all changed, everything changed when Blaine came out to his parents. They made their indifference with him known. It really seemed like they didn't care anymore.
After the first tear fell, Blaine reached up to quickly wipe it away, but he found that he could not stop them from continuing to fall. He tried to continue with the song, and sang
"And now I try hard to make it
I just want to make you proud
I'm never gonna be good enough for you
I can't stand another fight
And nothing's alright"
He made it to the word proud before his voice cracked. It was another soft spot for him. He just wanted someone to be proud of him. He barely made it through the following two lines before finally collapsing into sobs with the final line. Nothing was alright, it had not been for years.
The entire time that Blaine was breaking down in front of the audience, his sister was quietly making her way up to the front of the auditorium and up the stairs onto the stage. As he collapsed to the floor in sobs, she grabbed the microphone that Mike had left out on the stage and began to sing while heading over to comfort her brother,
"'Cuz we lost it all
Nothing lasts forever
I'm sorry
I can't be perfect
Now it's just too late and
We can't go back
I'm sorry
I can't be perfect"
During the instrumental that followed the refrain, she pulled her brother towards her into a hug while whispering into his ear. "I am so sorry bubba. I am sorry that I haven't been there for you more. But right now we can't keep the audience waiting, so let's finish this thing." He nodded.
They began to sing,
"Nothing's gonna change the things that you said
Nothing's gonna make this right again
Please don't turn your back
I can't believe it's hard
Just to talk to you
But you don't understand
'Cuz we lost it all
Nothing lasts forever
I'm sorry
I can't be perfect
Now it's just too late and
We can't go back
I'm sorry
I can't be perfect
'Cuz we lost it all
Nothing lasts forever
I'm sorry
I can't be perfect
Now it's just too late and
We can't go back
I'm sorry
I can't be perfect"
After they finished the song, they glanced at the floor then turned their heads and looked at each other. The sound of the audience's applause went unnoticed by the siblings. They walked toward each other and Blaine threw his arms around his sister.
"I am so proud of you Blaine" she said. He only tightened his arms around her in return.
A/N: This was floating around in my head for a while. I hope you liked it! Remember to review.
