Hey all you awesome people among my Glee story fandom! I hope you haven't given up on me eventually giving you more Glee-ful literature to enjoy, because here's a brand new story! Admittedly, this isn't one of my multi-chapter ideas, but I'm sure that you'll still enjoy it nonetheless (after all, I'm sure that all my oneshot/short story ideas will be likewise awesome for you all ^_^). Well anyway, without further ado, I present to you, my first Glee oneshot to be fully created and posted on this site!
A/N: Just to be quick, I do not own Glee, nor any of the songs used in this story.
First Love Isn't Always Forever
It was a beautiful day in Lima, Ohio on Saturday, September 17, 2037. In spite of how it was starting to get slightly chilly as a result of the recent onset of autumn, the day was otherwise lacking in any elements that would help to contribute to a bad mood in most people. The leaves of the trees had already begun to show signs of developing their seasonal colors that allowed them to make their very own natural fireworks display around this time of year. And of course, the people themselves were likewise showing signs of mostly being perfectly happy at the current time of the year.
However, a particularly large number of happy people was gathered together in a local church this fine September day. And compared to many of the other people in Lima that day, they had a far stronger reason to be happy that day. The reason these people in particular were so happy, not to mention even in the church at all, was the fact that this day just happened to be the scheduled date in which a happy couple was planning to tie the knot and become man and wife.
While the fact that a wedding alone was enough to make people feel in the mood for celebration, this wedding was particularly attention grabbing in how it was a wedding between two local celebrities. The couple in question consisted of the newspaper worthy football star Ryder Lynn and the critically acclaimed recording artist Marley Rose. With that in mind, there were many people who would be very surprised indeed that they had chosen as unmemorable a place as Lima, Ohio to get married in. However, what the majority of fans didn't entirely pay attention long enough to remember was that these two particular celebrities had spent their childhood all the way up to their high school years in this very same town. In fact, they'd both attended the same local high school, William McKinley High School. This factor was what had allowed them to first know each other during their shared sophomore year and onward. And now, at around 38 years or so of age, in spite of how they'd spent the majority of their lives between their high school years and this current day mostly separate from each other, they had reached the point where they were finally marrying each other. And of course, due to the powerful sentimental attachment they had to Lima, they had chosen to get married there in spite of how they were currently already living together in Ryder's house in Cincinnati.
To further add to how special this day would be, quite a large number of people had come to Lima to be present as guests for the wedding, many of them being friends of theirs who also happened to be local celebrities in Lima. What made these particular celebrity guests good friends of the happy couple was how they all shared the status of being members of the same high school glee club at some point or other in their lives. The club in question, was the New Directions, the local show choir club for William McKinley High School. And like all the not quite so famous guests at the wedding, the majority of these celebrities felt very much overjoyed about the occasion. However, there was one person among the celebrities present who wasn't entirely as happy as all the others. This person, ironically enough, just happened to be the best man.
Jake Puckerman sighed as he stood at his post at the altar. Why he sighed, he wasn't entirely sure he could put into words. But for some reason, he just felt as if he were in that kind of mood. As he had that thought, he found himself silently thanking his lucky stars that nobody appeared to have yet noticed how much of an outlier he appeared to be in regard to emotion in the midst of all the happy and cheerful people sitting around and chatting in the church in eager anticipation of the wedding about to unfold that day. Admittedly, a part of him was indeed very happy for the couple, particularly since both the bride and the groom were especially close friends of his. However, he couldn't help but also feel a slight lingering sense of guilt and depression.
Sighing again, the biracial boy closed his eyes and shook his head side to side as he thought about all the events that had happened over all the previous years that had led to him being in his current mood. He had first befriended Ryder and Marley, as well as multiple other future local celebrities now present today at this wedding, during his sophomore year at McKinley High, which had happened to be the same year he'd joined the New Directions glee club. During that year, Marley had developed a crush on him, only to later be pushed away by him, leading to her becoming close friends with and developing a separate crush on the then gleek to be Ryder Lynn. This crush had become stronger when the two had scored the two leading roles in the school's musical production that year. And over the remainder of the year, in spite of a couple incidents of complications between the three of them, Marley had eventually settled into a strong and smooth romantic relationship with Jake that had lasted all the way past graduation, through college years, and all the way up till when they'd both been 37 years old.
However, it had been around that time when their relationship had completely fallen apart. Jake sighed again, and rubbed his fingers through his dark brownish black hair as he thought about the events that had overtime developed into the beginning of the end for his relationship with Marley. Ironically enough, it had begun to deteriorate long before they'd even been a couple for an entire year. How had this happened? Well, to put it simply, if anyone were to ask Jake if there was one major factor that was to blame for the whole mess, he would have said genetics.
A particularly embarrassing flaw of the Puckerman family tree was how the majority of the men and boys in that family tended to develop such a strong sex drive as to be considered an addiction. Jake's own father had developed this trait, his half-brother Noah Puckerman (commonly known as Puck) had developed this trait, and so had a vast number of their male predecessors. Jake, sadly enough, had proven no different in that regard. This would prove to be a particularly troublesome element for Jake and Marley due to how while Jake had no inhibitions in regard to sexual matters and progressing to that point in relationships in less than 24 hours, Marley was a more innocent and careful girl who preferred to take things at the speed of a glacier. Still, to his credit, soon after officially becoming Marley's boyfriend, Jake had managed to keep himself abstinent and sexually faithful to Marley for about 5 and a half months straight, a record that not a single one of his predecessors would have considered physically possible.
Unfortunately, at one point in May of 2013, this emphatic polarity between them had finally reached a point where things began to go downhill. At that point, in spite of his best efforts at keeping himself restrained and abstinent in regard to his sexual addiction, he'd eventually found himself just no longer able to resist his urges. As a result, after a heated spat that had occurred between him and Marley over Marley's still not yet feeling ready to progress further than 2nd base in their relationship, Jake had gone right behind her back and begun seeing another girl on the sly. The girl in question, who had been a local McKinley High cheerleader at the time, was an African American girl named Bree Palmer. And unlike Marley, she had been more than willing to give him the all clear for going all the way. And as if to add insult to injury, she had begun to show a romantic interest in Jake exactly a week or so before the incident.
Thus Jake had effectively found himself living a double life in which he maintained a smooth and faithful relationship with Marley in public while also taking time off every once in a while to bed with Bree in private for the sake of keeping his ravenous sexual hungers satisfied. For the 23 or so years that had followed the beginning of this most unglamorous double life, Jake had managed for the most part to masterfully juggle and balance out both sides without anyone else, particularly Marley, finding out about it. Of course, he hadn't managed to perfectly prevent anyone apart from himself and Bree from becoming aware of the situation. Exactly one month after Jake and Bree had begun their affair, they had been caught in the act by none other than Puck. However, out of a combination of extenuating circumstances, willingness to respect Jake's wishes, and a grudging understanding of the reasons behind Jake's actions, Puck had agreed to keep it a secret for Jake. Apart from that, Jake had managed to more or less keep his distasteful secret hidden.
It wasn't until thirteen years after he'd begun his affair when Jake's guilt over how he was betraying Marley finally became strong enough for him to once again sufficiently resist his sex addiction, and he'd stopped spending physical quality time with Bree. Unfortunately, Jake and Bree had exchanged their cell phone numbers on the exact same day that Puck had caught them, and for the ten years that had followed, Bree had stalwartly continued to call him and send him texts. Jake had dutifully answered her calls and sent replies to her texts for three years before finally developing the mental strength needed to ignore them. And ignore them he had, dutifully making sure to decline all calls from her on his cell phone and delete every text from her the minute he'd finished reading them without any response to them beforehand throughout the seven years that followed.
However, despite how Jake had now considered his affair with Bree to be over, Bree had stubbornly refused to even consider it to be over. As a result, she had eventually managed to outsmart Jake in his efforts. At the time this happened, Jake and Marley had spent the past few years beforehand living in a San Francisco apartment together after graduating from college, and had managed to become a successful dancer and recording artist, respectively. And at the time that Bree had managed to outsmart Jake, it had been during the midst of a tour that Marley and Jake had gone on to commemorate Marley's at the time newest released album. To be precise, it had happened on the very last day of the tour.
The location in which the final concert for the tour in question had taken place had just happened to be Las Vegas. By sheer bad luck, Bree, now an NFL cheerleader, had been there with her cheerleader team celebrating a recent super bowl victory and had managed to catch sight of him walking down a street alongside Marley. Soon after that, Bree had made her move. Around 10 to 20 minutes before the concert had been due to begin, Bree had once again called Jake. But this time, she had used a pay phone so that Jake wouldn't recognize the phone number. And thus, Jake had gotten caught in her trap, and Bree had proceeded to try to pressure him into going on a dinner date with her that very night. Jake had continuously refused, only for Bree to just as persistently refuse to take no for an answer and even threaten to both keep him occupied long enough so as to be late for the concert and even to expose the truth about them to Marley right then and there. At that point, with only 5 minutes left before the concert and desperate to keep Marley in the dark, Jake had eventually ended up agreeing to the date just to get Bree to shut up. However, instead of keeping this promise, he had left Las Vegas with Marley to return to San Francisco immediately after the concert just like they'd originally planned, resulting in Jake quite effectively standing Bree up.
Unfortunately, Bree had not taken kindly to this, and she'd known the perfect payback. Moments after Jake and Marley had arrived back at the apartment they'd shared, Bree had happened to call the landline phone, and Marley had answered the phone due to how Jake had been feeling very tired and about to fall asleep at the time. And over the course of the conversation that had followed between Marley and Bree, the entire awful truth had been exposed. The resulting immediate aftermath to occur had consisted of an enraged Marley calling Jake out on his betrayal and storming out of the apartment, leaving Jake all by himself, and driving all the way to the address in Los Angeles where their friend Kitty Wilde lived. From that point on, the news had spread to Kitty, then to Ryder and their transgender friend Unique, and finally to the entire world. And to make a long story short, after a long complicated series of events that had followed, Marley and Ryder had ended up reconnecting and had now reached the point where they would be marrying each other. Jake, meanwhile, had chosen to let go of Marley, allow her and Ryder to have a chance together, and had chosen to get himself officially and likely permanently involved in a half romantic and half vitriolic relationship of sorts with Bree.
Jake sighed again at the memory of all this. At the same time he sighed, he also felt a sense of déjà vu. This was actually the second time he'd be serving as the best man at a person's wedding. And ironically enough, both times just happened to be for a wedding involving Ryder. Ryder's first wedding, which had occurred 15 years prior to this day, had consisted of him marrying a gorgeous, yet very academically gifted, blonde bombshell named Marissa Fitzgerald. How exactly he'd managed to form up a relationship with her and end up married to her, much less how they'd eventually ended up cutting ties on amicable terms the previous year, admittedly is a story for another time. All that mattered at that particular moment was how, in the end, Ryder and Marissa had turned out to not be quite as compatible together as they'd originally thought, and now, after a year's worth of reconnecting and rekindling their long hibernating romance, Ryder and Marley were now marrying each other.
Jake let out a silent groan as he thought once again about Marley. Admittedly, when he'd given Ryder his blessing to get together with Marley the previous year, and then set his complicated official relationship in motion on the same year, he'd truly believed that he would have managed to finally move on in both mind and heart from Marley by this point. Unfortunately, at this time, and in fact mere weeks or so before the wedding had been due to take place, he'd realized too late that he still wasn't entirely over Marley. In fact, as a result of the now very much reinvigorated lingering regret and guilt over his actions that had caused Marley to severe her romantic ties with him, he had very nearly bailed out of coming to the wedding. However, in the end, he had chosen to be a man and come to the wedding nonetheless.
He sighed once more. "I really need to stop doing that," he thought to himself. But even as he thought this, he realized how very appropriate it was for him to be in his current mood at the moment in light of the situation and the past events that had led up to it. And as he remembered all that, he found himself unconsciously thinking about an old sentiment he'd often heard from multiple people. The sentiment in question being how a person's first love typically lasts forever. But now, as Jake stood there at the altar of the church, waiting for the wedding to begin, he couldn't help but wonder whether or not that sentiment was necessarily true in every situation. After all, he had to admit, when he and Marley had first found themselves feeling a mutual attraction which would eventually develop into a full on romantic relationship, it had seemed that this sentiment would indeed be the case for them. But now, in light of the current circumstances combined with how Marley had also, in a sense, proven to be just as much Ryder's first love as she'd been Jake's, the biracial boy now wasn't entirely certain whether or not that age old sentiment was truly applicable to all people.
"Is that sentiment truly all it's cracked up to be?" Jake thought to himself. "Does a person's status as another person's first love truly necessarily guarantee that the person in question is that other person's last? Is a person's first love and the love of that person's life truly one and the same every time?"
Sighing once more, he lifted his head, steeled himself mentally, and resumed his patiently waiting for the wedding to begin. At this rate, he could only hope that watching the whole business unfold would be enough to shake him out of his current mood.
. . . . .
Half an hour later, Jake ruefully found himself sighing once more. The wedding was now minutes or so away from occurring, and he still wasn't any closer to shaking himself out of his current bleak mood. And even worse, there were now so many of his fellow alumni gleeks in the room all happy and joyful that he now felt even guiltier then he'd already been feeling. Four alumni gleeks in particular that Jake was now desperately hoping wouldn't catch on to his current mood were standing more or less in the same area as him.
Standing a couple feet or two in front of him were the two gleeks Marley had chosen to serve as her two chief bridesmaids. The maid of honor was easily recognizable as their friend Wade "Unique" Adams, whereas the secondary bridesmaid standing behind and slightly to the left of the large African American transgender was likewise easily recognized as their former common enemy turned BFF Kitty Wilde. Both of the two women were wearing the dark crimson red dresses that Marley had chosen to be the bridesmaid attire, and while Unique had her hair styled in its usual casual 'care less about formality' style, Kitty had her own shimmering golden blonde hair styled up in an elegant Cinderella style bun. And of course, both of Marley's best gal pals from her gleek generation had happy smiles on their faces. In fact, Kitty looked so happy that her golden hazel eyes almost looked as if they could have been carved from pure gold.
Meanwhile, standing right behind Jake and slightly to his right, was Nathaniel Olson; a devoted catholic, leader of a church youth group in New York City, and currently both Kitty's boyfriend and the secondary groomsman for the wedding. Much like Jake, Nathaniel was currently dressed up in the immaculate white tuxedo-like outfit that Ryder had selected to be the attire for the groomsmen. Unlike Jake, however, the Freddy Highmore lookalike had a wide cheeky grin on his face and looked so happy that it seemed very much as if his entire body was smiling; a phenomenon that typically occurred more often in Autistics and other people on the spectrum then it did in neurotypicals like Nathaniel.
And of course, standing a foot or so in front of Jake right by the actual altar, was the lucky groom, Ryder Lynn, himself. As he looked at Ryder, Jake found himself once again feeling a sense of déjà vu. Much like at his wedding to Marissa, Ryder was wearing an immaculate pitch-black velvet suit and was grinning like an idiot as he waited patiently in anticipation for the wedding to begin. But even in spite of the similarities between outfit and facial expression, Ryder wasn't entirely without his differences in regard to this wedding and his previous one 15 years ago either. In the place of the almost transparent silver white diamond ring he'd been wearing as an engagement ring when he'd been in the midst of marrying Marissa, he now wore a ring with a midnight black diamond that looked as if it were shaped like an Egyptian pyramid. In fact, even the suit itself wasn't entirely an exact replica of the suit he'd worn at his previous wedding. While that particular suit had been full on black through and through, this one had slight dark blue highlighting on the sleeves and a red stripe on each of the shoulder areas so small as to be almost unnoticeable from a sufficient distance.
In fact, now that Jake thought about it, Ryder had done far more than merely use a different ring and suit for this wedding for the sake of eliminating any trace of Marissa from the occasion. In fact, he had done everything in his power to prevent any element of his past relationship with Marissa being involved in this wedding. He had made sure to have it held at a different church, had held it in Lima instead of Cincinnati, had chosen for the wedding party members to wear different outfits this time, and had even had more of his friends from the New Directions alumni come to be guests than he'd had for his previous wedding.
As if to further add to how much Ryder had done to avoid his past with Marissa blackening things up for Marley, he'd not only sold his old wedding rings from his marriage to Marissa, but had even used the money obtained from the same sale to buy the ring he'd used to propose to Marley. Jake groaned mentally as he remembered the ring in question. It had been a devastatingly beautiful platinum ring with a sky blue diamond on it that had matched Marley's eyes flawlessly.
Jake was brought back down to Earth when he heard the sound of his peers in the gleek alumni among the guests talking around behind him. He turned his head and found himself with a wistful smile coming on his face as he examined each one that was present. He could see the two gay men Kurt and Blaine Hummel-Anderson sitting around talking up a storm at the end of one of the frontal pews. He could see Tina Cohen Chang looking intently around the room with her fingers intertwined with anticipation while her husband Mike Chang simply leaned down on the pew with his hands clasped together behind his head as if he were relaxing. He could also see the two lesbians, Brittany Pierce and Santana Lopez, sitting not too far away. Brittany seemed overly excited and appeared to be shaking with anticipation. Santana, meanwhile, looked slightly bored, yet also slightly amused as well as she waited alongside her friends and fiancé. In fact, this occasion would be particularly interesting for them since this would be the second wedding among gleeks that they'd be attending before their own wedding occurred later that same month.
Meanwhile, in a pew directly in front of the four gay alumni gleeks and the two Chinese American alumni, Jake noticed the famous Irish singer New Directions alumnus Rory Flanagan sitting in front of where Brittany and Santana were positioned alongside his wife Sugar. In stark contrast, Sugar seemed calm and collected while Rory was eagerly looking around the room as if the upcoming occasion held a massive degree of intrigue and fascination to him. Meanwhile, sitting directly next to Rory and Sugar were Artie Abrams and his girlfriend Betty Pillsbury, who were easily recognizable in their distinctive wheelchairs. Sitting next to the wheelchair bound couple was a tall and skinny blonde man and relatively high in weight African American woman who were instantly recognized as Sam and Mercedes Evans.
Directly in front of Sam and Mercedes sat Nathaniel's older generation counterpart, the tan skinned and dark brown dreadlock haired Joe Hart, and his wife Quinn Fabray Hart. Sitting next to them, was Jake's own half-brother Noah Puckerman and likely future half-sister in law Lauren Zizes. And finally, sitting right next to Puck and Lauren was a relatively small, yet nonetheless beautiful young dark haired and dark eyed woman who Jake easily recognized as Rachel Berry Hudson. Of the sixteen alumni who'd been present at the previous year's reunion during the Lima phase, the only one Jake didn't yet see was Rachel's husband, the freakishly tall gentle giant Finn Hudson. The reason why Finn himself wasn't currently in the room was because of his duties involved with the position he'd been given in the wedding party.
Typically, it was the job of the bride's father to give away the bride to the groom during the wedding. However, in this particular case, Marley's biological father had been characteristically unavailable. And thus, Marley and Ryder had chosen to have Finn, whom Marley had come to view as the father she'd never had, give her away instead. And of course, Finn had been more than happy to accept.
Finally, one other alumni that Jake could see among the wedding guests, just not among the ones from the generation to come before his own, was his own girlfriend, Bree Palmer herself. Jake found himself wincing and gritting his teeth at the sight of her seemingly ranting to all the random mundane guests around her. It had not been his idea for her to come. In fact, during Finn and Rachel's wedding a few months ago, he'd been able to weasel his way out of bringing her along due to how she'd had to go with her cheerleading team for a game at the time. But this time, due to how there wasn't anything going on to keep her occupied combined with how she'd claimed to have a need to 'stake her claim' as a result of her knowledge of how Jake would be dancing with Unique during the reception as per his best man duties, Jake had been forced to bring her along to the wedding this time. "And boy am I hoping that all Hell doesn't break lose as a result," he thought to himself.
Sighing once again, Jake positioned himself properly once more, but made sure to direct a glance towards the main doors to the room once again out of the corners of his eyes. The reason he was doing this was because of how he was certain that a signal to announce the beginning of the wedding would sooner or later take place near there. And he knew in advance exactly how the wedding would be started off too. It would begin with the current generation gleeks who'd been able to come entering the room with a performance, and from that point onward, Finn would enter with Marley and walk her down the aisle, and once the performance was over and Marley was at the altar with Ryder, the wedding would begin in earnest.
As he thought of the current generation of gleeks, Jake found a small smile forming on his face. Even he had to admit that it would certainly be enjoyable to see the current student generation of New Directions performing at this wedding. He certainly had to give Mr. Schuester points for finding worthy students to fill in the empty spots left behind by his previous generation of students. There was Diana Eberhart, a Quinn Fabray lookalike who had a personality very similar to Rachel Berry's. There was Daniel Taymor, a gray eyed Daniel Radcliffe lookalike who had firmly established dreams of being the next Finn Hudson, and was Diana's boyfriend. There was Calvin Martenson, an autistic blonde boy whose dancing skills were enough to make Jake feel jealous and could make such realistic animal impressions as to fool even the most practical of other people into thinking that a tyrannosaurus-rex, smilodon, or even a dragon was on the loose in the area. There was Susan Caraway, a dark haired Caucasian girl who idolized Mercedes and was also both Calvin's best friend and his girlfriend. There was Zack Skinner, an African American boy who appeared to have somehow turned out to be a reincarnation of Puck without being directly related to him by blood. There was Charlotte Thornton, a blonde, blue eyed, newly graduated head cheerio who had formerly been a cold hearted bitch in every sense of the title before eventually being mellowed out and tamed by Zack. There was Dunlap Carmichael, an albino boy with prosthetic metal legs. There was Naomi Bright, a ginger haired blind girl who walked with aid from a cane, and who served as Dunlap's girlfriend. There was Darren McCrimmon, a ginger haired boy who had Scottish ancestry, loved to play guitar, and also had an unusual habit of wearing amber yellow contact lenses. There was Amber Lawson, a blonde girl who knew all too well what it was like to be viewed as a sex toy by a boyfriend but had managed to move on with a much nicer boy in the end; the nicer boy in question being Darren. There was Cody Nakamura, a Korean American whose dancing skills were truly to die for. There was Bailey Kellogg, an African American girl whose spunky nature and diva attitude could give all four of the self-proclaimed divas of the first generation of New Directions gleeks combined a nose bleed, yet was not enough to drive away Cody. And finally, there was Raj Patel, an Indian American boy who could sing like an angel, but had dancing skills worth dying from embarrassment as well as a past history with Bailey. And alongside these thirteen gleeks, were Raj's girlfriend, the beautiful Korean American McKinley High chorus club alumna Kimberly Chung, and Calvin's German shepherd therapy dog of very complicated job description, Hobbes.
After what seemed like an eternity waiting, Jake heard the sound of the door opening slightly. He looked more intently at the doors in time to see Finn sticking his head in through the door before winking at Rachel. At the sight of Rachel directing a thumbs up at Finn, Finn ducked back behind the doors and closed them again. Jake quickly took advantage of this opportunity to get himself back into proper position once more. The wedding was almost certain to begin at any moment now.
At the sight of Jake hurriedly getting himself back into appropriate position, Nathaniel sniggered, shook his head side to side, and grinned widely once again as he found himself eagerly waiting the last few minutes or so that remained. Kitty and Unique, meanwhile, positioned themselves appropriately as well, smiles on their faces, and their bridesmaid bouquets tightly gripped in their hands. And of course, Ryder stood tall at his position at the altar with his hands on his hips and his head up high as if he were expecting a medal, and with an exultant smile on his face.
Seconds later, without Jake even noticing the signal to begin, the hired pianist Brad the piano man began playing a tune that the audience, particularly the gleeks, didn't take too long to recognize at all. Seconds later, the doors opened, Daniel himself entered the room, and the performance that resulted went something like this:
(Daniel)
It's a beautiful night
We're looking for something dumb to do
Hey baby, I think I wanna marry you
[Diana enters the room and runs up to Daniel]
(Diana)
Is it the look in your eyes?
Or is it this dancing juice?
Who cares, baby?
I think I wanna marry you
[Diana and Daniel run up towards the altar together, and then Calvin and Susan enter with Hobbes walking along between them]
(Susan)
Well, I know this little chapel on the boulevard
We can go-o-oh (go-o-oh)
No one will know-o-oh (know-o-oh)
(Calvin)
Oh come on, girl!
(Susan)
Who cares if we're trashed?
Got a pocket full of cash
(Susan and Calvin)
We can blow-o-oh (blow-o-oh)
Shots of patro-o-on (patro-o-on)
(Calvin)
Ah! And it's on, girl!
[Calvin, Susan, and Hobbes run off to join Daniel and Diana, and then Charlotte and Zack enter]
(Zack and Charlotte)
Don't say no, no, no, no-no
Just say yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah-yeah
And we'll go, go, go, go-go
(Zack)
If you're ready
Like I'm ready
[Enter Dunlap and Naomi]
(Naomi (with Dunlap))
'Cause it's a beautiful night
(We're looking for
Something dumb to do)
Hey, baby!
(I think I wanna marry you)
[Enter Darren and Amber]
(Darren and Amber)
Is it the look in your eyes?
Or is it this dancing juice?
Who cares, baby?
I think I wanna marry you
[Cody, Bailey, Raj, and Kimberly enter]
(Kimberly)
Oh!
(Cody)
I'll go get a ring
(Bailey)
Let the choir bells sing
(Cody and Bailey (New Directions Girls))
Like o-o-ooh (o-o-ooh),
So whatcha wanna do-o-oh (do-o-oh)?
(Cody)
Let's just run, girl!
(Raj)
If we wake up
And we wanna break up
(Raj and Kimberly (New Directions))
That's co-o-ol (co-o-ol).
No, I won't blame you-o-oh (you-o-oh);
(Raj with New Directions)
Ahh, it was fun, girl!
[All fourteen singers take positions near the front of the altar]
(Dunlap, Naomi, Darren, and Amber with New Directions)
Don't say no, no, no, no-no
Just say yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah-yeah
And we'll go, go, go, go-go
If you're ready
Like I'm ready
(Daniel and Diana with New Directions)
'Cause it's a beautiful night
We're looking for something dumb to do
Hey, baby, I think I wanna marry you
(Calvin and Susan with New Directions)
Is it the look in your eyes?
Or is it this dancing juice?
Who cares, baby?
I think I wanna marry you
[Finn enters with Marley and starts to walk her up the aisle as the audience watches]
(Zack (with New Directions))
Just say I (do-oh-o-oh)
(Daniel)
Tell me right now baby
(Calvin)
Tell me right now baby, baby
(Zack (with New Directions))
Just say I (do-oh-o-oh)
(Dunlap)
Tell me right now baby
(Darren)
Tell me right now baby, baby, oh!
(Diana)
Cause it's a
(Daniel and Diana with New Directions)
Beautiful night
We're looking for something dumb to do
Hey baby, I think I wanna marry you
(Daniel: Ah!) Is it the look in your eyes?
Or is it this dancing juice?
Who cares baby?
I think I wanna marry you
The applause that burst from the throats of the audience members was worthy of the ears of royalty. The only one who wasn't cheering while clapping was Jake. And also unlike the others, he was clapping much more slowly. While Jake had indeed enjoyed the performance, the sight of Marley and the happy look on her face as she made her way towards Ryder, knowing that she was directing that look of pure joy at Ryder instead of him, had put a damper on his enjoyment.
And of course, the sight of what Marley was wearing hadn't made things any easier for him. Just like with all the other elements of this wedding, the dress Marley was wearing bore no resemblance whatsoever to the one that Marissa had worn. While Marissa's had been a plain silvery white gossamer dress, Marley was dressed in a simple long ivory colored white dress with a single shoulder strap and a slight beaded pattern. And of course, she had the glamorous blue diamond ring on her finger that Ryder had proposed to her with. As Jake had continued to unobtrusively stare at Marley while she walked up the aisle alongside Finn, Jake found himself squinting intently at the dress she'd been wearing. For some odd reason, the dress had seemed strangely familiar. Then he happened to notice Rachel smiling and raising her thumb at Marley as if in approval of something, and he remembered that Rachel herself had worn a similar dress at her own wedding with Finn. As he remembered this information, Jake sighed once more. "Yet another undeniable comparison between them and Finn and Rachel," he thought to himself bitterly.
Seconds later, he hurriedly regained his composure and got himself into his proper position when he saw Marley take the last few steps needed to reach her position at the altar. Finn, meanwhile, proceeded to walk on over and take a seat next to Rachel. The fourteen teenagers and college student gleeks likewise proceeded to take seats of their own within the pews. Hobbes, of course, proceeded to lay down at his master's feet. As all this happened, Nathaniel, Kitty, and Unique also proceeded to get themselves properly positioned for the wedding ceremony. The wedding was now truly ready to begin. Smiling, Pastor Timothy, a salt and pepper haired man who'd previously orated at Finn and Rachel's wedding, opened his book, cleared his throat, and said, "We are gathered here today . . ."
. . . . .
Hours later, at the reception, Jake sighed once again as he sat alone at the table he'd selected for himself. Even now, he still hadn't managed to shake himself out of his current bleak mood. "Why can't I frigging be happy right now?" he asked himself in his mind. "Everyone else is happy. Is it too much to ask for me to be the same?"
But even as Jake thought this, he knew how very difficult it truly was and would be to truly be happy at this moment. He now knew all too well how Ryder had felt the previous year when he'd learned the hard way how he'd turned out to not truly be over Marley in spite of how truly he thought he'd moved on. Now, at the reception for Ryder and Marley's wedding, Jake couldn't help but feel bitter and a sense of unfairness from the world. "Why did his first love end up becoming his last and mine didn't?" he asked himself in his mind. Then he thought more rationally, "Then again, it certainly doesn't help that both of our first loves happen to be the exact same person."
Rolling his eyes, Jake looked around the large reception hall at each of the guests who happened to be involved in some way with the New Directions. He could see Mr. Schuester and his wife Emma sitting at a table not too far away from the one where the bride and groom were supposed to sit. Neither of their two sons, however, were present this time due to their schedules not allowing for them to have time for the occasion. He could see Kurt and Blaine clinking their glass goblets of sparkling cider together in a toast. He could see Tina with her hands on her chin as she dreamily stared up at the romantic decorations on the ceiling while Mike seemed to be staring intently at the dance floor in anticipation. He could see Brittany and Santana sitting at the bar guzzling down alcoholic drinks like there was no tomorrow. He could see Sugar sitting at a table appearing to be in the midst of explaining something to Rory, who looked very confused. He could see Artie and Betty sitting at the same table as Sugar and Rory, directing each other knowing looks as they bore witness to Sugar's efforts at explaining whatever it was she was trying to help Rory understand. He could see Quinn, Joe, Sam, and Mercedes sitting together at a table chatting up a storm. He could see Puck, who was annoyingly enough currently standing around showing himself off in his snazzy white tuxedo and directing flirtatious looks and other subtle innuendos towards any and every random lady guest he set his eyes on while Lauren sat at a table he was standing nearby rolling her eyes. And of course, he could also see Finn and Rachel sitting very close together at a table not too far away from where Puck was supposed to sit, the latter laughing in response to something that the former had said.
Jake also took the time to take a look at what the gleeks who were currently in college or still in high school were up to. He noticed Raj and Kimberly sitting together at a table a couple inches away from where Kurt and Blaine were seated, staring lovingly at each other. He could see Cody and Bailey seated at the table next to the one their Indian and Korean American friends were seated, appearing to be in the midst of a joking bout of banter. He could see Dunlap, Naomi, Darren, and Amber seated together at a single table laughing heartily about something they'd been discussing. He noticed Charlotte and Zack, who looked as if they were fighting to keep from falling to the urge to engage in a make out session right there in the reception hall. Jake could also see Calvin and Susan sitting at a table together. The dark haired girl was rubbing her fingers through her blonde boyfriend's hair. The autistic blonde boy in question had his eyes closed, was purring contentedly like a cat, and was rubbing his own fingers through the fur on Hobbes' head at the same time. Hobbes, meanwhile, was panting slowly in response to being patted. At the sight of this, Jake found himself wondering just how much longer the poor German shepherd would live, as Hobbes currently looked rather tired and weary at his current age of around 6 or so years old. As for Diana and Daniel, he could see them sitting at another table, and having just now finished a passionate kiss.
At the sight of this, Jake found himself hurriedly looking away. He did not need to see any more romantic gestures this night then necessary, particularly since he'd already be seeing more than enough such gestures and behaviors coming from Marley and Ryder this evening. At first, it seemed as if he'd successfully avoided seeing any romantic activities that he didn't believe to be obliged to view when he happened to catch sight of Unique sitting at her table by herself. He found himself grinning when he saw this, for he couldn't help but now guiltily feel relieved that Unique had never yet managed to find a romantic partner of her own. The sight of this now made him feel slightly better about his current situation in regard to Marley.
But then Jake found his bleak mood resurfacing stronger than ever when he saw Kitty and Nathaniel sitting together at another nearby table nuzzling together and likewise getting cozy with each other. "And there I was thinking I'd managed to avoid bearing witness to such actions," he thought to himself. His heart sank even further when he ended up unluckily looking right at the table where Marley and Ryder were sitting, and of course caught sight of the newlywed couple enjoying themselves considerably. "And there's the two lucky lovebirds," he thought to himself. He sighed again, and proceeded to look downward at the surface of the table he was sitting at. "Would it have been better for me to just not come here?" he asked himself in his mind. "Would it have been easier for me to just struggle with the guilt of letting down my best friends by not coming to their wedding?"
At this point, Jake was in such a deep funk that he barely even heard the sound of someone announcing the presence and names of each member of the wedding party. When his name and Unique's were announced, he sulked before standing up to attention a few minutes after Unique. In fact, he was all too eager to sit back down after the announcer called Marley and Ryder to stand up as the guests of honor.
Next came the speeches; and for the most part, Jake didn't want to pay any attention, but sadly, Marley would be the first to make a speech, and he knew that he was definitely not going to be so much of an asshole as to deliberately ignore her speech on her wedding day. Sighing once again, he reluctantly turned his head to face the podium for the speeches along with the rest of the audience.
Sure enough, he could see Marley standing at the podium right now, her smile so bright as to seemingly make her face glow, and with the microphone tightly gripped within her hand. Jake's heart sank at the sight of this. Even in the midst of all his effort to move on, he still felt a tiny part in him that wished that he could have been the reason for her to be so happy this day instead of the man that she was actually marrying this day.
Marley then cleared her throat, tapped the microphone, and said, "Hi everyone, I'm sure you all know who I am, but for the sake of those who might not, I am Marley Rose." The audience laughed at this, even Jake found a small smile come on his face. Marley smiled, and then continued, "And as I'm sure you all know, the reason we are all currently gathered here in this place is to celebrate how today is the day that I have now become happily married to my boyfriend of a year and a half and best friend of twenty something years, Ryder Lynn, who you will almost certainly recognize as the devastatingly handsome man sitting right over there." She said the last bit while pointing directly at Ryder, who blushed and hung his head in embarrassment as everyone in the audience apart from Jake proceeded to direct their gaze at him.
Marley giggled, and then said, "With all that in mind, I'm sure that while many of you are likely very happy indeed about this, some of you are probably very surprised, and some of you probably even heartbroken due to both my husband's formerly being married to another girl combined with my past relationship I had with a man who is ironically enough serving as the best man for this wedding."
At the sound of the last bit, Jake found himself being the subject of the glances from the audience. Jake sheepishly smiled, and gave a slow nervous wave. The wave proved a particularly appropriate action when he noticed how half the mundane guests appeared to have near murderous angry glares on their faces. It appeared that these guests in particular still had not yet forgiven him.
"Well let's just say," said Marley, "that for the longest time, I used to think that I would end up marrying Jake. Heck, during sophomore year, my friend Kitty not only thought that I would marry Jake, but she even thought that she'd end up marrying his half-brother, who happens to be the guy with the Mohawk over there. I can definitely say that she certainly wasn't expecting back then for me to end up marrying Ryder instead, much less herself to end up dating her current boyfriend Nathaniel Olson." The audience burst into laughter once again, and even Kitty found herself smiling and chuckling while Nathaniel hung his head in embarrassment while blushing at the same time.
"Furthermore," said Marley. "I will admit, I've always been a real sucker for the whole opposites attract concept. And this concept, is more likely than not, possibly one of the reasons I first ended up falling for Jake and thinking over time that in the end he'd be my soul mate. But eventually, well, for the sake of conciseness and preserving feelings, let's just say that the whole opposites attract thing doesn't always work for every couple, and that sometimes, there can be opposites far too polar for compatibility." Jake closed his eyes and nodded his head up and down in silent agreement. He knew all too well how true Marley's statement was in regard to him and her.
"But after Jake and I cut ties, and in fact a couple times before then, I found myself really thinking hard about how I felt for my other very good friend and high school crush, Ryder, and over time I came to realize that while we were both surprisingly similar in a large variety of ways, we were also in a sense opposites in our own unique sense. I was a singer, he was a jock. I was quiet, he was loud. I was careful and calm, he was impulsive and outgoing. I was more of a pacifist, and he was not afraid of confrontation. But in the end, the one thing we shared that I was incapable of sharing with Jake, is how we both had the patience needed to wait. And wait we did and not just in the way you're all probably thinking.
"Without even being consciously aware of it, Ryder and I have spent the last 24 or so years waiting for each other to finally realize and consciously understand that, in the end, we belonged together. Admittedly, we've had to wait 24 years, ended up briefly spending overly large amounts of that time romantically linked with the wrong people, and taken other ups, downs, twists, and turns. But in the end, here we are, finally together. And to be honest, I'm honestly very glad indeed that it's turned out that way, because if there's any story in existence within this entire universe that I've truly viewed as to be more romantic than any other, it's that of the Hunger Games trilogy.
"I'm sure you all are more or less familiar with the story, and that some of you will likely be confused as to how I could possibly consider that to be the most romantic story out of all the others in existence. Well to be honest, I did enjoy all the action and other aspects, but I chose to look even deeper and further past all that down to the more romantic aspects. And to be honest, while I did respect how Katniss and Gale would make a seriously badass warrior couple, the moment I was first introduced to Peeta and his dynamic with Katniss in my reading of the first book, I was instantly a firm supporter of a romantic relationship between them. In fact, only now can I guiltily admit that even when I was in the midst of dating Jake, there was always this tiny little part of me deep within my mind that I didn't at first want to listen to or believe that said, and I quote, 'If you're truly as faithful a fan of the relationship between Katniss and Peeta as you claim, then what are you, a Katniss counterpart, doing with a real world counterpart of Gale?'"
At the sound of all this, Jake gaped incredulously at Marley, time seeming to stop for him. This was the first time he'd ever heard of that little detail. After what seemed like an eternity for him, he eventually hung his head in shame. "Damn," he thought to himself. "Even when we were happy together, her mind still wasn't 100% in approval of our relationship." He sighed quietly to himself. "God my life sucks."
"So in the end, like I said, I couldn't be happier to have ended up with Ryder in the end. After all, in spite of how seriously badass Katniss and Gale, and in a parallel point of view me and Jake, would be as a couple, the only one that truly belongs with Katniss is Peeta, and let's face it, for all of those among you who personally know me and Ryder, there's really no one else here who's more like a Peeta to my Katniss then Ryder." At the sound of this, Jake noticed all the other New Directions alumni present apart from Bree and himself nodding their heads up and down in agreement with smiles on their faces. He could also see the thirteen New Directions members that the club had consisted of during the previous year's reunion, Kimberly, and surprisingly enough even Hobbes nodding their heads and agreeing in the same way. Even Mr. and Mrs. Schuester and Marley's mom appeared to be in agreement with Marley.
"So in the end," Marley stated, "I couldn't be happier now to finally be able to call Ryder my husband, and at this time, I wish to thank you all for being here to show your love and support for us." At the sound of this, all the audience members apart from Jake proceeded to smile and nod their heads. Jake could almost swear that he even heard Puck silently say 'damn right'.
"But before I step down to allow my husband to make his speech, I wish for my secondary bridesmaid Kitty, my best friend and maid of honor Unique, and myself to sing a song to all of you in his honor. Is that ok with you all?" The audience was quick to voice their approval and agreement. Ryder even gave Marley a thumbs up. Marley smiled, and said, "Well in that case," before beckoning with her left hand and saying, "come on up girls."
At the sound of this, Kitty and Unique got up from their seats and walked up onto the stage. While Marley remained standing where she was, Kitty and Unique took positions of their own to Marley's right. Kitty in particular was standing to the right and a couple feet or so ahead of Unique. Marley then said, "And now, if the band would be so kind as to come up here." At the sound of this, the aforementioned band members walked in from the side, and Jake found his eyes widening as he recognized them as the same three people who'd served as the drummer, bassist, and guitarist for the New Directions affiliated band during the club's first four years of existence before graduating during Jake, Marley, and Ryder's sophomore year. He could see the former New Directions drummer, Garfield McGregor, with his coal black hair styled in a way that reminded Jake of how John Travolta had looked when he'd played Danny Zucco in Grease, taking a position nearby a conveniently located set of bells. He could see the old New Directions bassist, Dick Whitman, with his brown hair now in a style that made him look even more like a clone of Jared Padalecki then he'd looked while still a teenager, picking up a violin. Finally, he could also see the former New Directions guitarist, Victor Hammond, who was instantly recognizable as the only blonde among the trio, picking up what appeared to be some sort of flute.
Seconds later, right before Marley was about to give a signal for the music to start, Victor hurriedly picked up two microphones from where they'd been lying around on top of a piano behind him and hurried over to hand them to Kitty and Unique. All of three seconds passed after Victor got back to his post before Marley was interrupted again when Dick and Garfield walked right up to Victor and extended their hands out towards him, smug smiles on their faces.
As Jake watched, Victor seemed to briefly grimace and have an internal struggle, before eventually sighing, reaching into his pants pocket, and drawing out his wallet. At first, as Jake and the audience proceeded to watch Victor draw two 100 dollar bills out of his wallet and hand one to each of his two McKinley High jazz band alumni, the biracial boy was very confused. Then, when he saw Dick and Garfield give each other a high five before they then returned to their own positions, it hit him. At that moment, he now finally remembered how, back in his sophomore year during the time that all the events related to the McKinley High production of Grease had been occurring, he had happened to overhear them having a private chat in the choir room about the matter of Marley, Ryder, and himself, and also had heard them make a bet on whether or not Marley would marry Ryder or Jake in the end. As he now remembered with crystal clarity, Dick and Garfield had bet that Marley would marry Ryder while Victor had been the only one of the three to bet on Jake. And now, after 24 years, Dick and Garfield had won the bet.
Jake sighed, and hung his head once again after realizing this. "Out of the entire first generation of jazz band members affiliated with the New Directions, only one of them had faith in me being Marley's soul mate," he thought to himself.
Seconds later, Marley then said, "Sorry about the little delay. But now, I can definitely assure you that we are ready. I hope you enjoy this." The audience mumbled their agreement and assent. Marley then turned her head to face the three McKinley High jazz band alumni and winked at them. Smiling, the three musicians got themselves prepared, taking deep breathes, and then Garfield proceeded to play a sweet and very romantic sounding tune on the bells. Mere seconds after Garfield began his part on the bells, Dick and Victor simultaneously joined in on the violin and flute, respectively. When the time for singing came, the resulting performance that unfolded consisting of singing from Marley, Kitty, and Unique as well as the flawless instrumental work of Dick, Garfield, and Victor, went like this:
(Marley)
If I had no more time
No more time left to be here
Would you cherish what we had?
(Marley, Kitty, and Unique)
Was it everything that you were looking for?
(Marley)
If I couldn't feel your touch
And no longer were you with me
I'd be wishing you were here
(Marley, Kitty, and Unique)
To be everything that I'd be looking for
(Marley)
I don't wanna forget the present is a gift
And I don't wanna take for granted the time you may have here with me
'Cause Lord only knows another day is not really guaranteed
So every time you hold me
Hold me like this is the last time
Every time you kiss me
Kiss me like you'll never see me again
Every time you touch me
Touch me like this is the last time
Promise that you'll love me
Love me like you'll never see me again
(Marley, Kitty, and Unique)
Oh Oh Oh
[Instrumental Break]
How many really know what love is?
(Marley)
Millions never will
Do you know until you lose it
That it's everything that we are looking for
When I wake up in the morning
You're beside me
I'm so thankful that I found
Everything that I been looking for
I don't wanna forget the present is a gift
And I don't wanna take for granted the time you may have here with me
'Cause Lord only knows another day is not really guaranteed
(Marley, Kitty, and Unique)
So everytime you hold me
Hold me like this is the last time
Every time you kiss me
Kiss me like you'll never see me again
(Unique: can you do that for me baby)
Every time you touch me
(Unique: see we don't really know)
Touch me like this is the last time
(Unique: see everyday we never know)
Promise that you'll love me
(Unique: I want you to promise me)
Love me like you'll never see me again
(Unique: like you'll never see me again)
Oh, oh, oh, oh
Oh, oh, oh, oh
The applause that burst from the throats of the audience mere seconds after the performance ended was worthy of the ears of queens. Even Jake found himself clapping with a warm smile on his face.
When the applause finally ended, Marley lifted her microphone back up to her mouth and said, "Thank you everyone. I hope you guys all enjoyed what we had to offer, but now, it's time for me to step aside for my husband."
"Ahem," said Kitty.
Marley turned her head, and the blonde woman said, "Aren't you forgetting something?"
Marley briefly pretended to be confused before a smile came on her face and she said, "Ah yes, I forgot, I still need to toss my bouquet." Upon saying this, Marley grabbed onto a small bouquet of flowers on a small table right next to her, lifted it up, and said, "Think fast," before hurling it up into the air. The audience watched intently as the flowers soared up through the air in an arc towards Unique and Kitty.
Unique grinned smugly, slightly bending her knees as if preparing herself to jump upwards to grab it. However, right as the bouquet was hurtling downwards towards the two chief bridesmaids and Unique was mere seconds away from jumping up to grab them, Kitty's left arm suddenly popped up into the air as quick as a viper, her left hand clasping tightly onto the bouquet so fast as to be almost within the blink of an eye.
Unique was briefly caught off guard after abruptly seeing the flowers she'd been about to catch suddenly ending up in Kitty's hand. She turned her head to look at Kitty with a half surprised and half confused look on her face. Kitty shrugged, extended her hands out to her sides, and said, "What? Is it against the law for me to catch these?" Unique thought to herself, then shrugged, and stepped back with her hands up in a gesture of surrender. Nathaniel, meanwhile, found himself staring very intently at the flowers in his girlfriend's hand, a ridiculously happy grin forming on his face as he thought of the superstitious implications for his relationship with Kitty that came with the fact that she'd just now caught Marley's bouquet.
After that was out of the way, Marley, Kitty, and Unique left the stage, and Ryder was called to come up to make his speech. Ryder smiled upon hearing this announcement, and he confidently made his way over to the microphone that Marley had previously been standing by. Smile still on his face, he picked up the microphone, cleared his throat, and then began, "Hello everyone. I am Ryder Lynn, and today, we are gathered to celebrate my recently becoming the husband of my long time best friend, and surprisingly short time girlfriend, Marley Rose." The audience nodded in agreement, some of them even giving silent fist bumps or stating phrases of agreement or congratulations in a low whisper.
Ryder chuckled, shook his head side to side in amusement, and then continued, "As I'm sure you've already made clear, the majority of you are probably pretty darn happy, and I can definitely tell you that I myself quite honestly couldn't be happier. A bit of a clichéd statement, I know, but nonetheless true."
Briefly pausing to stretch his arms, Ryder eventually continued, "I'll admit, Marley and I shared the same high school all the way from freshman year. However, in the midst of my entire freshman year as well as the earlier part of my sophomore year, there's probably a large bunch among you who'd be surprised to know that I didn't really know her that well at first. I was however, ironically enough, quite familiar with her mother. Talk about awkward." The audience laughed out loud upon hearing this. Even Jake found a small smile coming on his face and chuckled for a few minutes.
Eventually, Ryder managed to get everyone to calm down with a hand gesture, and he continued, "However, I first truly got to know Marley herself when she and I were both cast as the leads for the production of Grease that the high school we were then students at was putting on at the time. And believe me, the moment I first met and talked with her in person, it truly was love at first sight, or at least it was for me.
"Over the course of our work together in that play, it didn't take me very long at all for what I felt for her to evolve into what I could definitely know for a fact to be far more than a simple crush. But then, of course, things sadly came to a halt between us after a small set of extenuating circumstances, namely my getting a tutor after finally discovering how I had dyslexia and having to start having study sessions with the tutor, resulted in me unwittingly pushing her away. And for the next years that followed, I overtime ended up thinking for quite some time that maybe we hadn't truly been meant to be.
"But then," Ryder stated. "Last year, fate finally chose to once again allow for the two of us to have a real chance at what we'd lost out on all those years ago, and even though there were a few hurdles that had to be crossed and bridges that had to be burned, I would be lying if I were to say right now that I don't truly feel like I've been personally blessed by God himself in being able to now finally be married to Marley, my best friend, one of the most beautiful girls I've ever known, and a true angel on Earth. Admittedly, some of you are probably thinking right now that the way I've just described her is a little over exaggerative, and I can definitely understand why you'd think so. But regardless, in my eyes, there truly couldn't be a more appropriate way to describe her. And to really seal the deal, throughout all the time I've known her, there's just always been this one tiny part of me that's always known that there's only one thing about Marley that I would ever consider changing; and as of today, I couldn't feel any prouder to say how that one tiny little change has finally been made, nor more honored, as a result of that, to finally be able to share my last name with Marley."
Ryder took a deep breath, exhaled, and then said, "All I can say to you all now, after all that, is thank you for all your support and love that you've shown for me and Marley today, and I hope you wish us the best of luck and happiness. And finally, to end my speech on a high note, I would like for my best man Jake Puckerman and secondary groomsman Nathaniel Olson to come up on stage with me for a performance I've set aside for you all."
Upon hearing this, Nathaniel was very quick indeed in getting up from his chair and heading straight over to join Ryder on stage. Jake sighed, and eventually made his way over to the stage himself. Nathaniel and Jake proceeded to pick up the microphones that had been used by Kitty and Unique, respectively, and proceeded to take positions on either side of Ryder; Nathaniel took a standing position to Ryder's right, and Jake took a standing position to Ryder's left. Meanwhile, Dick, Garfield, and Victor proceeded to each position themselves so that they were ready to do their part for the upcoming performance; Garfield had seated himself at the onstage drum set, Dick had picked up a bass, and Victor had drawn out his trusty guitar. Seconds later, as the audience held its breath and stared at the three men about to sing for them, Ryder winked at the three band members. In a flash, Dick and Victor began strumming a tune on their bass and guitar while Jake and Nathaniel proceeded to let out a small series of humming whistles in preparation for when their time to sing came. The resulting performance that followed consisting of singing from Ryder, Jake, and Nathaniel as well as instrumental work from Dick, Victor, and Garfield, went like this:
(Ryder)
And though I never got her name
Or time to find out anything
I loved her just the same
And though I rode a different road
And sang a different song
I'll love her till my last breath's gone
Like a river made of silver
Everyone came running to the scene
I was shot down in cold blood
By an angel in blue jeans
(Nathaniel and Jake)
Whoa oh oh oh oh oh
(Ryder)
Late that night she got away
I chased her to the turnpike
Then lost her where the music never plays
And though I rolled upon the stones
And fell into the water
I'll love her till my judgment day
Like a sunrise made of white lies
Everything was nothing as it seems
I was shot down in cold blood
By an angel in blue jeans
(All)
Whoa oh oh oh oh oh
Whoa oh oh oh oh oh
I hear voices calling all around
I keep falling down
I think my heart could pound right out of me
I see a million different ways
To never leave this maze alive
(Ryder)
I woke up in somebody's arms
Strange and so familiar
Where nothing could go wrong
Barely alive or nearly dead
Somehow awake in my own bed
And there you are
Like a highway headed my way
Life is but a dream
I was shot down by your love
My angel in blue jeans
(All)
Whoa oh oh oh oh oh
Whoa oh oh oh oh oh
Ah ah ah ah ah ah ah
Ah ah ah ah ah ah ah
After the performance was over, Ryder and Nathaniel were the first to bow. Jake briefly paused, and then proceeded to bow as well. All of two seconds passed after this before the audience went wild. The applause that burst from the throats of the audience was enough for Jake to briefly find himself wondering why the ceiling hadn't already ended up caving in before his more realistic side returned. As the audience applauded, Ryder was very quick to shout out multiple statements of thanks before putting the microphone he'd used back down and leaving the stage to return to his seat at the table where his wife was seated. Nathaniel also gave his thanks and returned to his own seat at the table where Kitty was waiting. Jake, meanwhile, was the last to leave after slowly giving a few statements of thanks of his own. He took the same seat he'd been at before. After about a minute, Jake took a deep breath, exhaled, and thought to himself, "Thank goodness that's over." He was very relieved indeed how, despite how he was pretty sure he hadn't looked as if he were enjoying himself very much while up on the stage, he was still certain that he'd done well enough for the sake of Ryder and Marley's feelings as well as for putting on an enjoyable show for the rest of the audience.
Finn was the next person called up to make a speech, and it didn't take very long at all for him to get up to his position at the podium. With a smile, the burly teacher picked up the microphone, tested it, and then spoke into it, "Good evening people. I'm Finn Hudson. I'm sure you've all probably heard of me, or at least maybe my wife Rachel, there she is right there." At the sound of that, and the sight of Finn pointing his finger, the audience turned their heads in time to see Rachel standing up from her seat and waving around at random people with a smile on her face.
After Rachel sat back down, the audience turned their heads to face Finn again, and the gentle giant continued, "You might also recognize me as the guy who gave Marley away at the wedding earlier this afternoon. As I'm sure you all know, it's usually the job of the bride's father to do that kind of thing, much less make a speech like this in honor of the bride. However, as Marley, Ryder, Ms. Rose, and all my friends present here know too well, Marley's father was unavailable. I, however, have been viewed by Marley as the father she never had ever since her sophomore year at McKinley High. With all this in mind, when she and Ryder asked me to give her away, I was more than happy to accept. The way I saw it, I couldn't have been more honored to accept such a role. And accept it I did.
"I've known Marley very well ever since I first got to know her during her sophomore year while she was in the local McKinley High School glee club that I helped co-direct during my time as a drifter. Admittedly, when she and I first met each other, more or less, we definitely didn't really know all that much about each other. In fact, I remember as if it were yesterday how, directly after Jake asked her that day if she knew who I was, she said no. But over the months that followed, particularly after I actually started my time as the then new director of the New Directions, we eventually reached the point that it was almost as if she were my own daughter. In fact, in a sense, I have Marley to thank, among others, for being the great teacher I am today. After all, it was she who inspired me to man up and go to college to actively pursue a teaching degree. And now, like I said, I couldn't feel more honored to have been chosen to give her away in her sadly, yet characteristically, unavailable biological father's place.
"As for Ryder, I've also known him very well since first getting to know him during his and Marley's sophomore year. In fact, I myself, admittedly enough, am partially responsible for introducing him to Marley in the first place. And I must admit, over the years that have followed, I've only continued to be happy with how he's turned out.
"Even during the time that Marley was dating Jake, and when Ryder himself was married to Marissa Fitzgerald, there was always this tiny little part of me that had a feeling that Marley and Ryder would eventually end up truly together at some point or other. And I can definitely say that on the day they finally got together last year, to say that I was happy would be an understatement. In fact, I'm especially glad now that Marley has now ended up with Ryder in the end instead of Jake. The reason I say this, is because how every time I see them together, it's as if I'm looking at myself and Rachel, an observation that I've always noted with a certain couple among the thirteen guests here today who served as students in my old teacher's glee club together during the reunion last year. And on that note," he looked happily at Diana and Daniel, the former of whom was blushing and the latter of whom was smiling. With a smile of his own still on his face, Finn gave a thumbs up to the two newly graduated leading man and lady of the New Directions and said, "Congratulations Diana on getting into NYADA, and congratulations to you Daniel for getting into NYU. I'll definitely be looking forward to when you start your first semester next week." The audience cheered in agreement after Finn said this. However, the guests who cheered the loudest by far, were Diana and Daniel's twelve peers. Even Hobbes was able to let off a joyous cacophony of barks.
Finn chuckled and smiled as he watched and heard all this. When the audience finally quieted down and looked back at him, he cleared his throat, and then continued, "But back to the original topic at hand, all I can say right now is . . . well . . . honestly, I really can't do anything right now other than repeat myself. I truly couldn't be happier now standing here at Ryder and Marley's wedding, and I couldn't hope to feel more honored or proud to have both given Marley away this afternoon and have been partially responsible for allowing this wedding to even be a possibility through my role in introducing them together. Still, I can definitely say one thing to Ryder."
At the sound of this, all the audience members focused intently on Marley and Ryder, though the majority of the attention appeared to be on Ryder. As the audience gazed intently at Ryder, and Ryder and Marley looked equally intently at Finn, the gentle giant pointed his finger at Ryder, his face covered with the most serious and stern facial expression he could muster, and said, "I know that you are far less likely to give Marley any reason for heartbreak then Jake is, or will. But nonetheless, I'm warning you right now that you'd better take care of her. If you don't, then as the surrogate father she never had, I can tell you that you will regret it. After all, I may be a teacher, but I do know a thing or two on how to make things pretty painful for my enemies, including how to use a gun."
Finn paused for a moment to let the warning sink in, and then he spread his hands out to his sides and said, "But of course, since the kind of action that would warrant such action from me has neither been committed by you, nor likely ever will be committed by you, I can say once again, that I'm very happy for you and Marley, and that I wish you the best of luck, most supreme of happiness, and truest of love for you and Marley. That's all I have to say." The audience roared in applause after Finn said this.
A few minutes later, Finn raised his hand as if to signal for silence. The audience slowly went silent, and Finn then said with his finger raised, "I just remembered, you all probably might be perhaps expecting for there to possibly be a performance scheduled to occur real soon to accompany my speech now that I've finished it. Am I right?" The audience cheered in the affirmative. Finn chuckled, and responded, "Well I'm certainly not surprised to hear that. After all, Marley and Ryder have already treated you to such a treat after their own respective speeches finished." The audience cheered even louder in response. "Unfortunately," Finn then said. "I will not be singing for you this reception." At the sound of this, the audience all let out a collective groan of disappointment.
However, all of five seconds passed after Finn said his comment responsible for the newly born negative atmosphere before he lifted up his finger once more with his trademark half smirk on his face and said, "However, the fact that I myself won't be the one singing certainly doesn't mean that there isn't going to be a performance to accompany my speech now does it?" The audience let out such a loud roar of applause that Jake found himself whistling at how rapidly their mood had changed from negative to positive.
Finn chuckled, looked intently at the tables where the fourteen teenagers and likewise young adults among the New Directions entourage were seated, and beckoned. At the sight of this, Daniel, Diana, Calvin, Susan, Zack, and Charlotte got up from their seats and proceeded to make their way up onto the stage.
Five minutes or so later, the six soon to be college students were standing together on the stage, ready to begin their scheduled performance that Finn had set up for them. Finn himself was now standing at the bottom of the stairs on the right side of the stage, watching the six young performers. The audience was also watching intently from their seats. The audience members who seemed to be staring at them the most intensely were their eight peers among the performers of their generation, the other New Directions alumni, the Schuesters, and Hobbes. Hobbes in particular had even gotten up from his lying down position and was now sitting on his haunches while tiredly, yet happily, panting at his master.
After what seemed like an eternity, Daniel lifted his microphone up to his mouth and said, "Hello everyone, my name is Daniel Taymor. You probably recognize me as one of the fourteen teenagers who were singing that entertaining musical number you were treated to while the bride was walking down the aisle this afternoon." He pointed Diana and continued, "This is my girlfriend, Diana Eberhart, also one of the performers from this afternoon." He then proceeded to point at each of the other four friends of his that were on stage with him, continuing to speak as he did so, "And these are my friends Calvin Martenson, Susan Caraway, Zack Skinner, and Charlotte Thornton."
Having now gotten his introductions out of the way, Daniel looked back at the audience and said, "While I'm certain that you found our performance we made during the ceremony this afternoon alongside our eight other friends who aren't on stage with us enjoyable. I can definitely assure you that I very much hope that you will find equally large enjoyment in the performance that the six of us are about to treat you with."
"The performances you were treated to by the leading man and lady of this occasion were enjoyable, that's for sure," said Diana. "I will admit that. But now, it's time for you all to be treated with a performance from the younger generation that will be just as good, if not better."
"Prepare yourselves," said Susan. "For a performance that will rock your world."
"And when it's done," said Calvin. "Be ready to roar, and I do mean roar."
Daniel turned his head to face the band, gave a thumbs up, and said, "You heard them; hit it boys."
In a flash, the three musicians began playing the appropriate tune for the song that had been selected for the performance. The resulting performance that unfolded went like this:
(Diana)
Nick J, Tinashe.
It's the remix.
(Daniel)
I don't like the way he's looking at you
I'm starting to think you want him, too
Am I crazy? Have I lost ya?
Even though I know you love me, can't help it
(Daniel, Calvin, and Zack)
I turn my chin, music up
And I'm puffing my chest
I'm getting red in the face,
You can call me obsessed
It's not your fault that they hover
I mean no disrespect
It's my right to be hellish
I still get jealous
'Cause you're too sexy beautiful
And everybody wants a taste
That's why (Calvin: that's why)
I still get jealous
'Cause you're too sexy beautiful
And everybody wants a taste
That's why (Diana, Susan, and Charlotte: that's why)
I still get jealous
(Diana)
Listen
I'm the type to never sweat no chick
Ain't nobody but you got me stressin' this way and you know
Now the struggle's always real
Girls be stepping in my space
All up in your face
How am I supposed to feel?
(Diana, Susan, and Charlotte)
I turn my chin, music up
And I'm puffing my chest
I'm getting red in the face,
You can call me obsessed
It's not your fault that they hover
I mean no disrespect
It's my right to be hellish
I still get jealous
(All)
'Cause you're too sexy beautiful
And everybody wants a taste
That's why (Calvin: that's why)
I still get jealous
'Cause you're too sexy beautiful
And everybody wants a taste
That's why (Calvin: that's why)
I still get jealous
(Daniel)
You're the only one invited
I said there's no one else for you (Diana: else for you)
(Calvin)
'Cause you know I get excited (Calvin and Susan: yeah)
(Calvin and Susan)
When you get jealous, too
(Daniel)
I turn my chin, music up
And I'm puffing my chest
(Calvin)
I'm getting red in the face,
You can call me obsessed
(Zack)
It's not your fault that they hover
I mean no disrespect
(Daniel, Calvin, and Zack)
It's my right to be hellish
(Diana, Susan, and Charlotte)
I still get jealous
(All)
'Cause you're too sexy beautiful
And everybody wants a taste
That's why (Calvin: that's why)
I still get jealous
'Cause you're too sexy beautiful
And everybody wants a taste
That's why (Calvin: that's why)
I still get jealous
(Girls)
Hey! (Boys: oh!)
(Boys)
That's why (Girls: That's why)
(Daniel)
I still get jealous
(Diana)
Jealous baby, jealous baby, jealous! (Daniel: oh)
(Boys)
That's why
(Girls)
Nick J., Tinashe
(Boys)
I still get jealous!
(All)
Jealous!
When the performance was over, all of three seconds passed before the audience started applauding. However, the applause only lasted a minute before the audience then noticed the six performers holding up their hands out towards them as if to signal them to stop. Confused, the audience slowly quieted down and eventually stopped the applause all together.
Seconds later, all six of the performers smirked, and then Calvin proceeded to crouch downward with his knees bent, his arms spread out sideways like the wings of an eagle, and his head facing down towards the ground. Exactly one second later, before all the mundane guest even had a chance to wonder what was going on, the autistic blonde boy abruptly straightened up and let out an ear splitting, lion-like, "ROAR!"
At the exact same time that his master unleashed his trademark finale call, Hobbes, lifted his head up and unleashed an equally loud wolf-like, "AROO!"
When Calvin and Hobbes's duel beastly finale serenade finished, all of two seconds passed before the audience began applauding once more, but this time even louder than they had before. Smiling euphorically, the six soon to be college students locked onto each other's hands, raised them up, and proceeded to bow as one to the audience. No sooner had they straightened back up and unlocked their hands afterwards, when they all proceeded to leave the stage and return to their seats.
As the rest of the audience continued to applause, and the six gleeks who'd just performed were heartily congratulated by the rest of their peers, Jake found himself with a half wistful and half genuinely happy smile on his face. While he had to admit that he'd certainly enjoyed the performance, he'd also found himself feeling very sentimental about his experiences with Marley and Ryder over the course of the performance. Truth be told, the song that had just been performed was very appropriate in regard to how things had been in the past more than once between himself and his two friends that had just gotten married this very day.
As Jake had that thought, he looked over at Finn, who had also now taken his seat, and found himself wondering whether or not the history between him, Ryder, and Marley had been involved in any way with the reasons Finn had chosen to have that song be performed by the six newly graduated gleeks at the reception, much less behind the reasons why Marley and Ryder had approved of Finn's choice of song. Minutes later, Jake positioned his head so that he was looking downward at his table once more and sighed yet again. "No matter what's going on, I'm still keep getting more reasons to feel depressed today," he thought to himself.
What seemed to be mere seconds later in Jake's perspective, the announcer said, "At this time, we now shall allow an hour long intermission for everyone to enjoy themselves. But remember, once that intermission is over, we shall finish off the night with the best man's speech and the final dance. Until then, enjoy yourselves!" In a flash, everyone in the area proceeded to get to work on whatever activity got their fancy for the current moment at the beginning of the newly begun intermission. Everyone that is, except for Jake. Jake remained seated at his table for five minutes straight before he eventually got up and walked off into one of the hallways outside the room where the reception was occurring. Sighing once more, he thought to himself, "What am I going to do?" He could now only hope that his current mood wouldn't reach the point that he'd end up ruining his day even further when the time for his speech came.
. . . . .
At the half hour mark for the intermission, Jake found himself standing alone in a hallway with his back to a wall. It took all his willpower not to sigh for the umpteenth time as he remained where he was and thought to himself. At this time, with only half an hour left before it was time for him to make his speech, his mood still hadn't improved. Over the course of the last 25 minutes, he'd tried everything he could, short of talking to Marley, Ryder, or Bree that is, to attempt to distract himself and get himself in a more suitable mood needed to lower his chances of leaving a sour note on the reception over the course of his upcoming speech. Unfortunately, despite his efforts, his mood hadn't changed at all.
He'd attempted to talk things out with Puck. Unfortunately, Puck's efforts at cheering Jake up by talking to him about his own similar experience in regard to Quinn and Joe had proven far from helpful due to how Puck himself had managed to successfully move on months before Quinn and Joe had gotten married. He'd then attempted to find Nathaniel and have some guy time with him. However, when he'd ended up finally finding him, the fact that his friend had seemed to be having a very pleasant chat with Kitty had resulted in Jake promptly walking away to find someone else to talk to. He'd attempted to distract himself by hanging out with all the other members of the group that had traveled to Lima alongside Puck for the previous year's reunion, but all of them had proven too happy about Ryder and Marley's marriage as well as overly romantic with their own romantic partners to really be of much help in improving his current bleak mood in that regard. He had attempted to talk things out with Mr. Schuester. However, his former teacher had been too busy at the time in talking with some of the adult guests to help him at the particular moment the biracial boy had chosen to try to talk to him. He had even attempted to distract himself by talking with Kimberly and the thirteen younger generation gleeks. Unfortunately, this had proven a very awkward experience for both sides due to how Jake himself had spent very little time with the thirteen young gleeks and zero time whatsoever with Kimberly over the course of the previous year's New Directions reunion. And to further complicate things, Hobbes, having not spent any larger an amount of time with him than his master, had constantly been directing a suspicious canine glare at him as if uncertain how to read him or interpret him. As a result, Jake had eventually chosen to excuse himself and leave before making things even more awkward and difficult for both himself and the fourteen member group of teenagers and young adults.
Jake looked at his watch, and proceeded to groan mentally as he realized that he'd now spent five minutes thinking about his failed efforts at distracting himself and improving his mood. He now had only 25 minutes left before he was due to make his best man speech. At this rate, he really wasn't sure how well he'd do when that time came. He unconsciously drew out a sheet of paper he'd typed a generic speech that he was almost certain wouldn't sound very convincing coming from him in his current mood. Sighing once more, he thought to himself, "What am I going to do?"
"Hey Jake."
At the sound of that voice, Jake turned his head, and groaned mentally when he saw none other than Bree walking towards him from further down the hall he was standing in. Trying his best not to grimace right then and there, he looked back down at the floor and said, "Hey . . . Bree."
Bree chuckled, and said in mock annoyance, "Come on Jake. Is that the proper way for you to greet me?"
Jake groaned, turned his head to face the direction opposite Bree, and then said, "Honestly, I really don't know what the right answer to that question is anymore."
At the sound of this, Bree's shoulders dropped, and a half annoyed and half concerned look came on her face. "Is something wrong?"
Jake sighed, turned his head to face the wall directly in front of him, and said, "Well, in a sense or two, you could probably say that." Bree raised her eyebrow as if asking him to explain further.
Jake took a deep breath, exhaled, and then said, "Honestly, I really don't know what to think right now. Honest to God, I truly thought that I'd have moved on by now. But instead, here I am, best man for her wedding with Ryder, and I still haven't been able to fully let go of her. And now, I'm almost positive that I'll completely bomb my speech."
Bree thought to herself about what Jake had just said. Then she placed her hand on his shoulder and said, "I'm sure you'll do just fine. Everybody gets nervous at times like this. Believe me, I know. Trust me, everything will go fine. There's no need to worry."
"This isn't about being nervous Bree!" Jake shouted.
This sudden outburst of anger caused Bree to rear back in shock. Very rarely had Jake ever shouted at her like this in a genuinely furious nature as opposed to a joking banter-like nature.
For what seemed like an eternity, Jake angrily glared at Bree before eventually taking a series of deep breathes and calming himself down. He turned his head to face the wall in front of him again, sighed, and then said, "I'm sorry. What I'm trying to say is that, well, the reason I'm so down right now doesn't really have anything to do with pre-best man speech jitters. To put it simply, I just don't think I can truly do my job properly right now in my current state."
Jake turned his head to face Bree and continued, "You do remember how all this drama and such between you, me, Marley, and Ryder got started right?"
Bree nodded her head in the affirmative, her face silently asking where Jake was going with this.
Jake continued, "Well like I said, when I first gave Ryder my blessing to start a relationship with Marley last year during the reunion and later ended up starting an official non-adulterous relationship with you in the summer that followed the end of that reunion, I truly thought that I would over time manage to move on from Marley in time to avoid feeling awkward at a wedding between them. And over the course of the past year since the end of last year's reunion, I came to think that I'd truly managed to do exactly that."
Bree briefly felt a slight flare of anger inside her when Jake mentioned the previous year's New Directions reunion. Not only had she been practically the only member of the New Directions alumni known personally by Finn who hadn't received an invitation, but she had also not even been aware of the reunion in the first place until learning about it second hand from a newspaper article about Marley accidentally getting critically injured in a shootout that had occurred at the hotel where the New Directions had been staying at in New York over the course of the Nationals competition that year. However, for the sake of allowing Jake to continue his explanation of his current mood, she kept silent and calm.
"However," Jake continued. "I've only managed to realize how I had in fact not truly managed to completely move on from and let go of Marley this very morning, on the day the wedding between Marley and Ryder was scheduled to take place. And now, after all that I've seen, heard, and gone through today combined with all that's happened between me, Marley, and Ryder in the past has gotten me really wondering whether or not it was truly worth coming here and accepting Ryder's offer to serve as the best man."
For a few minutes, Jake was silent. However, right as Bree had finally decided to make a reply to what Jake had said, the biracial man continued, "And that's not the only reason I'm in my current state of mind over this either. In fact, I honestly wish it were the only reason." He looked back at the wall in front of him and Bree once more and said, "You've probably heard how they always say that first love is forever right?"
Bree nodded her head in the affirmative.
"Well to be honest," said Jake. "After all my experiences with Marley and Ryder, I've now come to start wondering whether or not that's really true." He looked back at Bree before continuing, "I mean, in a sense, I was practically Marley's first love just as much as she turned out to be both mine and Ryder's. That being said, if this had unfolded like a typical fairy tale, I would have been the one marrying Marley right now. But instead, through events that wouldn't have mattered in the end if this were a fairy tale, she ended up falling back in love with Ryder and is now marrying him instead."
Jake looked back at the wall, sighed once more, and said, "And now I'm just not sure whether or not I should be happy right now for Marley and Ryder, or resentful over how I could have been the one marrying Marley instead. I mean, I know I gave Ryder the all clear to start up a romantic relationship with Marley and chose to let her be with him for all this time and make an effort to try to form up something real with you, but I still can't shake off how unfair this whole situation still is all the same."
Sighing once more, Jake turned his entire body around to face Bree, spread his hands out to his sides as if conveying both exasperation and uncertainty over what to think, and then said, "Why did it have to end like this? Why did I have to lose out on one of the only girls I've ever really loved and end up with a girl that I previously only dated behind the back of said other girl and only agreed to have a second chance with for the sake of punishing myself? Why did Ryder have to end up unable to move on from her just as much as I am now and end up being the lucky guy to win Marley's heart and hand in the end? How come in the end, every other gleek I know personally from last year's reunion has managed to more or less end up with someone they truly love while I'm now having to settle for less than second best? How come my brother was lucky enough to have a happy ending while I appear to have ended up no better off than my father and all the Puckerman men who came before me and Puck? Why must my life now be so unfair? Just why?"
For what seemed like an eternity, Bree remained completely silent, completely lost for words. She'd never before truly realized just how much Jake had loved Marley or how negatively and bitterly he'd viewed his opinion of her compared to Marley. She eventually started thinking to herself, trying to come up with an appropriate response.
Eventually, Bree sighed, looked Jake in the eye, and said, "Well, all I can say right now is that, while not exactly helpful, sometimes life has to be complicated." Jake nodded in agreement, and had just opened his mouth as if about to utter a sarcastic remark when Bree continued, "But sometimes that's just the way it really has to be."
Bree took a deep breath, and then stated, "I mean think about it Jake. How often do people ever end up with their first love in reality? And regardless of how many do, you have to admit it would be pretty boring if that were the case every single time."
Jake thought to himself, then made a facial expression that appeared to say 'she does have a point' before nodding in agreement with his eyes closed. Opening his eyes back up, he then said, "Well that is true, but still . . ."
"Another thing," said Bree. "Think about fictional characters that you could potentially relate to. Think about Beast Boy. Think about Spyro the dragon. Think about Naruto. Did either of them end up with their first love in the end of their respective stories?"
Jake whistled silently, shook his head side to side, and then directed a sheepish glance towards a wall before responding, "No, they did not."
"Exactly," said Bree. "In the end, Beast Boy managed to move on from Terra and fall into a deeper and even more romantic and requited love with Raven. In the end, Spyro chose to be with Cynder, the young dragoness who'd formerly been his unwilling adversary and helped him save the world, over Ember, the pink dragoness he once had a crush on before she dumped him for Bandit the armadillo. In the end, Naruto finally realized that his childhood crush on Sakura was just that, a crush, and let her have her happy ending with Sasuke while he himself finally accepted and fell in love with Hinata, the girl he'd barely ever paid any attention to before who had always loved him since the very beginning when everybody else including, gasp, Sakura, dismissed him as a monster and a waste of fresh air."
Immediately after she said all that, Bree's eyes suddenly opened wide as if she'd just had an epiphany. "Hell," she then stated, "Why don't we discuss the Gale-Katniss-Peeta triangle that your story seems to resemble so much. Were you disappointed when Katniss ended up with Peeta instead of Gale?"
Jake responded almost instantaneously by shaking his head side to side. "God no," he stated. "I couldn't have been happier that she and Peeta got their happy ending. Gale was a dick, not to mention might as well have been the one who'd launched the bomb that killed Prim considering the fact that he was the one who designed it."
Bree spread her hands out sideways as if to say 'see what I mean?' and then said, "See? Even you agree with Marley and Ryder on Peeta and Katniss ending up together! So don't you think you should just do the same with your real life parallel of that situation?" She then raised her finger right as Jake was about to respond before then continuing, "Heck, I can even name a few people who are right here at this very wedding who've ended up not getting with their first love and being perfectly happy and accepting about it. Artie Abrams! Tina Cohen Chang! Hell, even your own brother!"
Bree then raised her finger as if to forestall Jake from commenting and said, "And before you say anything else, let me remind you of what Marley herself said in her speech earlier. You heard her, even when she was happily dating you, there was still a part of her mind that was very clearly stating that she was following the wrong path."
Bree placed her hand on Jake's shoulder, and then stated, "Besides, even if you had managed to marry Marley, odds are that sooner or later, she would have found out about your little secret anyway and ended up leaving you, and we would have still ended up right where we are now. That being said, there's really nothing left to be ashamed about in this matter."
Jake thought to himself, sighed, and nodded his head before turning his head to Bree and saying, "Well I guess you're right in all those regards. But there's still just one thing that I just can't really seem to get over."
"What is it?" Bree asked, half curious and half concerned.
Jake sighed, took one look at the wall in front of him, and then looked back at Bree. "I just wish that Marley and I could have romantically parted on better terms. I mean, I get that what happened is what happened, and I can't change it. But I still just wish that I could have told her about what I'd done to betray her myself. I don't know why but, I just can't help but feel as if maybe then I would have at least felt as if I had a little more closure for the whole thing. And maybe, if I had a little more closure for this matter, then maybe I'd have an easier time with dealing with this wedding combined with trying to figure out just who or what my heart even wants anymore."
Bree gulped, thought to herself, and then nodded her head before saying, "Well Jake, I'll admit, I guess I should have realized that things were going to be rather dysfunctional between us and your friends in regard to all this. And yes, I guess I probably should have used less questionable methods in my efforts to get my hooks into you, and for that I'm sorry." Sighing, she positioned herself so that she too was facing the wall in front of her and Jake, and then continued, "I'll admit, maybe things could have been better, or possibly worse, if things had unfolded differently than they have." She then turned her head to look at Jake once more. "But sometimes, closure or not, you have to just let go. You can't change the past, and you can't spend your entire life living in the past and wondering about what could have been. Sometimes, you just have to let go of the past and move on to make things better for the future."
Bree positioned herself so that her entire body was now facing Jake, and then stated, "All I can say right now is that, at the heart of it all, I don't think that forgiving Marley is what's holding you back, nor Ryder, nor in a complete sense even me. I think that, at the very base of it, the only reason you still haven't been able to move on is because out of everyone directly involved, the only person you still haven't forgiven is yourself."
Bree placed her hand on the area where Jake's heart was located, and then she said, "Forget that generic speech you typed up, speak from the heart; that's where all the best speeches come from. Let it out Jake, tell Marley and Ryder how you feel. Truly let this whole business be gotten over with. It may not change the past or make things better between you and me, but at the very least, maybe it will help you remove the weight from your shoulders and allow you to finally move on."
Jake thought to himself, truly considered everything that he and Bree had just now talked about, and then proceeded to draw his typed up generic speech back out of his pants pocket. He took a single long look at it before gripping it with both hands and ripping it to shreds. When he'd finished destroying his old speech, he looked at Bree, then at the clock, then back at Bree. "You know what?" He then said. "I have a feeling that you might very well be right." He then thought to himself some more, and then stated, "I think I now know just the thing to say in my speech." He looked back at the clock one last time, and then back at Bree before starting to hurriedly make his way back to where the reception was taking place in full while stating, "And I have just enough time to get back and prepare myself for it."
. . . . .
"At this time," said the announcer. "With the reception officially back under way, let us call up the best man, Jake Puckerman!"
As the audience applauded, Jake took a deep breath, exhaled, and confidently marched over to take his position for his speech, the same position that had earlier been taken by Marley, Ryder, and Finn. The time seemed to fly, and before long, he was grasping the microphone and facing the audience.
Jake took one last deep breath, exhaled, and then lifted the microphone up to his mouth before saying, "Hello everyone, my name is Jacob Puckerman, but you can call me Jake."
The audience laughed after hearing this, and Jake chuckled slightly. "As you all are aware, I am the best man. And ironically enough, this is actually the second time I've served as the best man for someone's wedding; and both times had the exact same man as the groom."
The audience roared in laughter. Ryder blushed, and hung his head in major embarrassment. Jake eventually managed to get the audience to quiet down with a gesture, and he then said, "But with all seriousness, I am nonetheless honored to now once again be the best man for the wedding of my non-biological brother from another mother, Ryder Lynn, and this time, with him marrying a girl that I know for a fact, will truly be the best person he could have ever dreamed of spending the rest of his life with, Marley Rose."
Jake then took a deep breath, exhaled, and steeled himself for the part that would be more difficult. "Admittedly, I never at first thought that I would end up describing Marley that way in favor of Ryder. As all of you are almost certainly aware at this point after having listened to the earlier speeches, I used to be Marley's boyfriend. And for so many years, things were seeming to go so well between us that I honestly thought at one point or other that I would be the one marrying Marley. But, as you can see, in the end, things didn't quite work out that way."
Jake stared intently at the audience, and then said, "In fact, earlier this day and evening, I honestly wasn't even sure if I would be able to handle being here much less giving his speech. Yes, I'll admit, I had given Ryder my direct permission to have Marley, but even after all the time that had unfolded between the drama last year between the three of us and now, I at first had still not been able to move on. I'd thought I had, but it wasn't until this morning that I realized that I was wrong in that regard."
He hung his head, lifted it back up with his eyes closed, and then exhaled heavily before opening his eyes and continuing, "But now, thanks to some surprisingly helpful advice from a very unexpected source, I've finally realized where the problem truly lay. I'd thought at first that I was being held back either by a lingering love for Marley, a lingering jealousy for Ryder, or a lingering anger towards the girl who was both instrumental in causing me and Marley to part ways in romantic regards, and actually ended up starting to date for real just to punish myself, Bree Palmer. But now, I've managed to realize that, in the end, neither Marley, Ryder, nor even Bree, were truly responsible for my inability to move on. The only person who I truly hadn't yet managed to forgive after all this time, was myself.
"But now," Jake continued, "I've finally realized that, no matter how much I might wish it, I can't change the past. And no matter how comforting it may or may not be to wish for things to be different or wonder what could have been, you can't live in the past forever. No matter what, there's always a time in which you just have to let go of what happened in the past and move forward to the future. And in the end, I'm now willing more than ever to accept what's happened between me, Marley, and Ryder. Ryder has been my best friend since we first managed to get to know each other and resolve early tensions during our sophomore year of high school, and Marley was my first love, but was just not meant to be my last. In the end, despite what they say, first love isn't always forever. Sometimes, your first love, isn't truly the same person who will turn out to be your last, and sometimes your first love, and the love of your life, are two different people entirely. And with all that in mind, let us all congratulate Ryder and Marley Lynn, for if anyone truly deserves happiness after a lifetime of drama, it's them."
No sooner had Jake finished saying all this, when the audience roared in applause. Even Marley and Ryder were clapping, but they were the only members of the audience who weren't cheering or standing. The half happy and half sad smiles on their faces were enough to show how they felt. Jake smiled at the sight of this, and then raised his hand for silence after another five or so minutes.
When the audience finally quieted back down, Jake then said, "And now, I'm sure you're all waiting vey patiently for this little event of mine to finally end so that we can get the main event, that being the bride and grooms first dance together as a married couple, finally on the road. But before that happens, there is one more thing I must do, and that, is a performance of my own. After all, you've already been treated to a performance to follow the speeches from Marley, Ryder, and from our good friend, Mr. Finn Hudson. So therefore, it would only be right, for me to grant you all the same pleasure."
As the audience started cheering, Jake smiled, placed the microphone he'd used for his speech back on its stand, and walked over to the piano on the stage, where Brad was still sitting. Coming to a stop next to the piano seat, Jake smiled, and then politely asked Brad, "May I?"
Brad smiled, nodded his head, and got up from his seat. Jake smiled, nodded his head in thanks, and took his seat at the piano. The audience held their breath, eagerly awaiting whatever it was that Jake had in store for them. The biracial man took a deep breath, exhaled, and with a final look back at the audience, particularly Marley and Ryder, he then looked back at the piano, and started playing the tune for the song he'd chosen. And as he proceeded to play the piano, he sang in the most beautiful and heartfelt tone he had ever been capable of managing in his entire lifetime. The resulting performance, went like this:
I was thinking about ya
I drew a little picture
But some things you can't put on paper
Like it like shooting stars?
I write songs on guitar
Got more things to do than stare at a mirror
I know, I know, she's gotta be out there, out there
I know I know she's gotta be...
Maybe I'm wrong
Maybe I'm right
Maybe I just let you walk by
What can I say
Maybe I've known you all my life
Is she the one? Is it today?
Will I turn the corner
See my future in a beautiful face
Maybe.
She's anything but typical
A sweet surprise
No matter what, she's looking at the bright side
It's gonna be worth it
Cause that's what love is
I'll keep searching for my kind of perfect
I know, I know, she's gotta be out there, out there
I know, I know, she's gotta be...
Maybe I'm wrong
Maybe I'm right
Maybe I just let you walk by
What can I say
Maybe I've known you all my life
Is she the one? Is it today?
Will I turn the corner
See my future in a beautiful face
Maybe.
They say give it time
Give it time, and it will fall in line
But I keep wondering how and when
And why I haven't met you
But maybe I'm wrong
Maybe I'm right
Oh
Is she the one? Is it today?
Will I turn the corner
See my future in a beautiful face
Maybe I'm wrong
Maybe I'm right
Maybe I just let you walk by
What can I say
Maybe I've known you all my life
Is she the one? Is it today?
Will I turn the corner
See my future in a beautiful face
Maybe
Oh
Maybe
La, la, la, la, la, la
Whoa
I'll keep searching for my kind of perfect.
All of five seconds passed after Jake finished his heartfelt performance before the silence was explosively shattered by the almighty roar that erupted from the entire audience. Jake smiled, got up from the piano seat, and bowed to the audience, causing the applause to even further intensify. Jake chuckled, and looked straight at Ryder and Marley. And upon sight of them, he smiled widely as he saw them applauding and cheering just as heartily as the rest of the audience.
Then Jake happened to see Bree from out of the corner of his eye, sitting at her table and directing a thumbs up towards him, all while smiling, still sitting down, and completely silent. Jake smiled back, and then nodded before looking back at Marley and Ryder. And as he did so, he found that he was feeling happier than he had ever felt the entire day.
. . . . .
An hour or so later, Jake was the only one still in the room where the reception had taken place. Everyone else had long since left the room. Jake, however, still remained standing in the center of the room, staring around at the area that had only moments ago been heavily crowded with people. All that now remained of the joyous reception party that had occurred were all the crumpled up and gaudy decorations as well as the tables and chairs. Sighing in content, he took one last look around the room, and then smiled before turning around to finally exit the area and meet back up with Bree at the car that they had used to transport themselves that day.
However, the instant he turned to face the direction of the exit doors, he found himself quite taken by surprise when he saw Marley and Ryder standing right there. After a few seconds in which he calmed himself down and got his breath back, Jake managed to say, "Ryder . . . Marley . . . what are you doing here? Aren't you supposed to be on the way to the airport to head off to your honeymoon?"
"Don't you worry about that Jake," said Marley. "Ryder and I have got plenty of time to get to the airport in time for our flight. And our chauffeur for this occasion is perfectly well aware of our current whereabouts."
Jake thought to himself, then nodded before stating, "Well that's good to hear. Still . . . what are you doing here right now?"
"We've come to thank you," Ryder responded. He placed his hands on Jake's shoulders and then stated, "Your speech earlier, was wonderful. You truly couldn't have done a better job tonight Jake."
Jake chuckled, nervously, hung his head in embarrassment, and then responded, "Well hey, it wasn't really that hard. Just doing my job for today you know?"
"Nonetheless," said Ryder. "We have come to thank you anyway."
"We know how hard it was for you earlier today," said Marley. "Believe me, we do. And to be honest, the only reason Bree even happened to come find you and talk to you back in the intermission was because Ryder and I were able to put aside our pride and tell her about the turmoil you were going through. Still, I have a pretty good feeling that it wasn't until she talked to you before she finally believed that what we'd been saying was in fact true."
Jake's eyebrows rose at the sound of this. This was certainly the first time he'd heard that bit of information.
"Let me get this straight," Jake then stated. "You're telling me that not only were you able to tell how I felt during the entire time before my speech and performance but that you were responsible for Bree coming to talk to me during the intermission?"
"Yep, you got that right in a nut shell," Ryder responded.
"I should have guessed that someone had put Bree up to talking to me at that particular moment she chose to come find and talk to me," Jake said sarcastically before looking back at Ryder and Marley, smirking, and shaking his head side to side. "Still," he said with the smirk still on his face, "I can definitely confirm that she indeed learned the hard way that you and Marley had been telling the truth."
Marley and Ryder chuckled, as did Jake. When the three friends finally finished chuckling, Jake stared solemnly at the married couple, and then said, "And I have to admit, I'm actually quite proud of you now that I know that you're the ones who got Bree to talk to me during the intermission. I thought that it would take centuries for you two to forgive her for her role in all that's happened over the last few years since that Regionals competition back in sophomore year. The fact that you were able to put aside your pride and talk to her just to help me out, I don't know how to thank you for that."
"Well I can definitely tell you one way you could potentially thank us," said Marley. She put her right hand on Jake's left shoulder, stared him in the eyes, and then stated, "You can continue to follow her advice she gave you during her intermission talk with you. You did a good job here at the reception during your speech and performance, and also the dance that followed immediately after the performance, but now you need to really work to continue following your current path in the days to come."
Jake sighed, hung his head briefly, and then nodded his head up and down before looking back up at Marley and saying, "I guess you're right Marley, but still, it does still hurt pretty badly, and I'm sure you know what I mean."
"I understand Jake," said Marley. "And believe, I feel just as bad as you do about how things had to end between us; but as painful as it is, Bree is right. You can't live in the past forever. Sooner or later, there always comes a time in which you just have to let go and move on. But at least now, you'll have a little more closure to help you get over it, and you've now managed to more or less forgive yourself as far as I can tell."
"Marley's right Jake," said Ryder. "And for that matter, you might as well also give Bree a real chance now. I know that you originally got into your current relationship with her strictly to punish yourself as well as her, but after all that's happened since that reunion, I think it's time that we all let go of her past and truly forgave her. Marley and I already managed to do that tonight, and it would only be right if you did the same sooner or later."
Jake sighed, hung his head again, and then looked back at Ryder. "I know, but still, it's not that easy. I mean, I know that she's proven very helpful tonight for us, but I can't just let go of all that she did to screw things up between us just like that after this many years, much less how long I've currently allowed my relationship with her to work the way it has been."
"I understand Jake," said Ryder. "And you don't have to let it all go and forgive her completely by tomorrow. All Marley and I ask is that you at least try and give her a chance. Marley and I have already done that now, and at this point I'm sure that even Mr. Schuester, Finn, and all the other New Directions affiliates from both the alumni and the current generation have done so. Like we've all said Jake, there's always a time when you just have to move on, and now's that time for you in regard to the way things are between you and Bree."
"Ryder's right," Marley stated. "And besides, as much as she kept a secret from everyone apart from you and your brother during all those years between Regionals during sophomore year and when she broke the news to me about her affair with you, if there was even a tiny bit of truth to what she did show of herself and act around us during those days, I'm sure that somewhere inside, she feels just as sorry about what happened as we do. And if that's true, then I'm sure she's perfectly willing to work as hard as she can and do whatever necessary to get back completely into everyone's good graces, including yours."
She placed her hand back on Jake's shoulder, and then said, "Sometimes, all you need is a friend." She then sighed, looked briefly down at the floor, and then looked back at Jake with a slightly sad smile before saying, "I'm sure you'll still love me in some capacity even after this and regardless of how things go between you and Bree. But as painful as it might be for me to say this, I'm not in love with you anymore Jake, and I have a feeling that you might not truly be in love with me anymore either. We had a good time together, but those days are over. I'm in love with Ryder now, and whoever you choose to be with, I'll be perfectly fine as long as we're both happy."
Marley sighed again, removed her hand from Jake's shoulder, and then said, "I know what the fairy tales always say, but this isn't a fairy tale. Sometimes, first love doesn't always last forever, and your first love isn't necessarily guaranteed to be your last. You may have been my first love, but I was the first love of both you and Ryder, and as I'm sure has been proven crystal clear at this point, the love of my life has turned out to be Ryder."
"It may be painful," said Ryder. "But more often than not, your first love and the love of your life are two completely different people. Not every couple can end up like Finn and Rachel. Just ask Beast Boy, Naruto, Spyro, heck even Katniss. They can all relate and agree with us here."
Ryder then placed his own left hand on Jake's right shoulder. "I know it's going to be hard," he stated. "But whatever happens, just know that Marley and I will be there for you regardless of how things unfold. And so will Finn, and Rachel, and all our other friends among the New Directions people. And for all we know, with time, so could Bree at some point or other."
Jake sighed, closed his eyes, and nodded up and down before looking back at Ryder and Marley with his eyes open. "Thanks guys," he then stated. "You really are good friends."
"As are you to us," said Marley. She then smiled, looked at the clock hanging on the wall to her right, and then said, "And on that note, I'd say it's about time that Ryder and I got back to the car where our chauffeur is waiting. I certainly wouldn't want to be late for my own honeymoon."
"Join the club Marls," said Ryder, who then looked back at Jake and said, "I guess this is goodbye for now?"
Jake chuckled, smiled, and responded, "For now, but I'll definitely make sure to be among the first to be there to welcome you back when you return."
Marley and Ryder chuckled, and then Marley proceeded to hug Jake in farewell while Ryder proceeded to give Jake a firm manly handshake immediately after Marley finished her hug. With all that out of the way, Ryder nodded his head at Jake, smiled, and said, "See you in a week Jake, and good luck."
"Thanks," said Jake. "Have fun on your honeymoon."
"Oh you can definitely be guaranteed that," said Marley. She then clutched Ryder's hand with her own, and the married couple turned and departed, making sure to direct a final glance and farewell wave to Jake before they exited the room entirely.
For another few minutes or so, Jake stood where he was, staring at the door, smiling happily to himself as he thought of how happy Ryder and Marley currently were and would be in the years to come. Eventually, with a final sigh, but this time of satisfaction, he stretched his arms up, took a deep breath, and proceeded to leave the room himself. Upon leaving the room where the reception party had taken place, he proceeded to make his way slowly over to the area where he and Bree had parked the car they'd been using for the day. And as he made his way to that area, he thought calmly to himself "I am going to make good on this advice and march on into the future ready for anything and without any chains to hold me back."
And this was a vow that Jake had every intention of fulfilling. For as the biracial man continued heading over to meet back up with Bree and head on back to the hotel they were staying at before flying back to their home in California the next day, he now knew exactly just what he wanted and what path he wished to follow. Admittedly, Marley was still with Ryder, he himself was still stuck with Bree, and all the stuff that had happened in the past before this day had still occurred. But now, Jake didn't mind. Now, he had accepted everything that happened and that it neither nor could be changed. For this was his story, and he knew that it sure as Hell wasn't a fairy tale. He may not have ended up with his first love, but he now was willing to accept that, outside fairy tales, a person's first love didn't have to be that person's last, that a person's first love could indeed be capable of being a completely different person from the love of that person's life, and that regardless of what he'd heard so many people say and as painful as it could be to admit sometimes, first love just didn't always last forever. And that, was something that Jake could definitely handle, especially now that he himself had finally decided to accept it.
The End
And just like that, I give you my first successfully created and published Glee oneshot/short story. I hope you guys all enjoyed reading it and that you leave a nice healthy batch of reviews! ^_^ For this oneshot idea, you have fellow member on this site, Chubby4567 (or something like that) to thank for suggesting the idea (and for that matter, I hope this matches up to more or less what you wanted, but I wouldn't recommend trying to give me more suggestions or asking others to do the same, as I will not be able to guarantee to be capable of fitting in time to make more request fics due to how many other ideas and non-fanfiction related tasks I have on my plate and mind). Once again, I hope you all enjoyed this lovely story! This is A-LionGleek signing out, and with high hopes for getting yet more Glee stuff posted (as soon as I've finished some important Teen Titans stories first). Like I said, have fun, I hope you enjoyed, and please do review! Even if you're a guest!