As the last notes of the final song faded, and the confetti began to fall from their slushie cups, Rachel Berry thought she could burst with the emotions she was feeling right at this moment. Whether she was going to laugh, cry, or possibly both simultaneously, she had no idea. It was like she was back on stage to sing again, the emotions all there, all fighting to escape, but she had no word for how this felt. All of New Directions seemed to be in a similar state – glancing to either side, Rachel saw her team mates frozen, grinning like mad, almost in tears, already beginning the celebrations. Then, the roar of the crowd began like thunder, building up until nothing else could be heard throughout the whole auditorium. She could see, in almost the exact spot she had occupied not a half hour earlier, Kurt, who was waving his foam finger madly and looked like he was going to cheer himself hoarse, and she almost lost it, burst into whatever it would be (she had no idea). However, losing control of her emotions, especially at this moment, would let loose an avalanche which she couldn't control, and that was not acceptable now. Instead, she controlled herself, composed herself, simply turning on a huge, stage-worthy smile that would make even her other proud. She beamed around at her teammates – and just for a change, they beamed right back. Then everyone was everywhere, it seemed – Brittany was hugging her, Santana was hugging Artie, Mercedes was high-fiving Sam and Finn was spinning Tina in circles happily. Turning to hug and congratulate whoever was on her other side, her huge, lamp-lighting smile dropped a little. She smiled again, much more gently this time.
"Congratulations, Finn."
But before he could reply, Mr Schue was there in front of them on stage. The audience was taking their seats once again, Kurt was removing his foam hand and standing up with the rest of the Warblers, and an usher was ushering them back into the centre of the stage as the Dalton Warblers and Aural Intensity took up their places on either side of the New Directions.

It was like she was in a dream, standing there between Mr Schue and Noah, waiting for them to announce the result. She didn't even blink twice at Sue or the announcer – she couldn't even tell you who that was. The first thing she registered was something that sounded like 'New Directions', but it couldn't be. Then Tina and Brittany were screaming, and it all came flooding in. Everything was crystal clear, brilliantly perfect for that one moment, when the trophy was passed through them, and she couldn't help but let loose the laughter bubbling underneath the surface. As they began leaving the stage, practically floating back to the green room, Rachel stopped, moving back towards the Dalton boys, who were standing alone. They looked forlorn, but none so much as Blaine and Kurt. Rachel leaned in and hugged both boys tight, both returning it with much warmth.
"Congratulations. You were amazing."
Then, winking at them, she turned and ran off stage after her teammates.

The next hour or so were a complete blur – even Rachel could hardly believe they had won, and amid all the cheering and being congratulated and trying to get onto the bus and back to school, there was barely time to breathe, let alone think. She still had to get her mind around the fact she had won 'Most Valuable Player' – at least she was able to still make a coherent (and truthful) speech. In fact, that would take almost a week to sink in. But then, they were sitting in the choir room, almost idly, but still on cloud nine. While they sat there, the girls started another rendition of 'Loser Like Me', and soon everyone was singing and grooving along again as Santana took the solo and Mike and Brittany danced their way around the choir room.

It was then, amid all that noise, that Noah made the best suggestion of the night. It took him a few minutes to be heard, but eventually the choir room was quiet enough that they could all hear his question. Rachel, who had removed herself slightly from the group and therefore having heard it the first time, waited a little impatiently as Noah tried to get the attention of the others in the group.
"So, who's hosting the victory party?"
"Guys. Party. Where?"
Finally, there was silence. Suddenly, it was awkward, everyone looking around at each other for answers. Nobody seemed willing to volunteer themselves or their houses.
"Parents," said Quinn by way of explanation, and most of the others nodded their agreement silently.
"Well then," said Noah, "looks like we're headed back to mine then – it's not like my parents will notice anyway. Plus, we can raid the cabinets..."
At this, Brittany and Santana shouted their approval, and Mr Schue smiled.
"Well, you remember our agreement. I'll make sure to keep my mobile near me, just in case."
Rachel could see Quinn, smiling to herself at Mr Schue's words from her spot next to Finn. She watched her for just a moments too long, as Quinn seemed to sense it and looked up, and their eyes met. Quinn forced a smile, and Rachel nodded as kindly as she could muster. As the Glee Club began to separate, headed to their separate cars for the short drive to Noah's house, Rachel moved back over to Mercedes.
"Do you have room for me too?" She asked. "In your car, I mean."
Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Finn and Quinn leaving together, following Noah out the door, presumably towards his car, and as she turned back to Mercedes, her smile had faded a little. Nevertheless, it was still there, just a little less bright than before.
"We have plenty of room!" Mercedes said. "You'll have to sit in the back, I hope you don't mind..."
"It's fine, anything is better than walking, I suppose."
She followed the girls out to Mercedes' car, taking her seat in the back. Her smile was now almost fixed on her face, and she was deep in thought. She'd seen Finn watching her as she sang, and she'd told him it was for him, but he was still in the back of Noah's car, sitting next to Quinn Fabray. Did he really think it was easy, to go up there and sing her own song, about her raw emotions, knowing he would hear it? I mean, the singing itself was simple – it always would be for Rachel, of course, but if she was completely honest with herself, she had never felt so exposed before, on stage or off. It was not a pleasant feeling, but she had still done it – for Finn. Could he really just pretend it didn't happen? It seemed like he was going to try, but Rachel knew she wouldn't be able to let him for very long, if at all. She was strong, but not quite that strong.
The whole way there was spent in this manner, Rachel deep in thought as the speakers in Mercedes' car pumped out the bass and both girls in the front sang along as loudly as they possibly could. As they pulled up to his house, parking on the curb, she stepped out of the car, but stayed next to it. She was still thinking, still trying to work out what she needed to do, what she should do. They waited for a few minutes, as everyone else pulled up in their respective cars, before Noah grabbed some keys from underneath a potted plant and unlocked the door. This raised a cheer, and the others began walking, skipping, rolling and even dancing up the walkway into Noah's house. Nobody noticed the fact that Rachel hadn't moved – nobody, that is, except Finn, who had been waiting for the others and was the last to head into the house.

"Rachel?"
She was shocked out of her thoughts by the sound of his voice. It was the one she was least expecting to hear; she would have thought that he would be avoiding her, avoiding talking to her about her song. At least Rachel had reached a conclusion, even if Finn hadn't yet. She knew what she had to do. She looked up at him, smiling again – only this time it was even loss sincere, more fixed.
"I'm coming, Finn, don't worry," Rachel said, longing almost creeping into her words.
Finn didn't even seem to notice.

As she followed Finn into Noah's house, she looked around. It seemed to be a typically normal house, but she didn't get the chance to see much, as she followed the others as they walked straight through his house and into the yard. Here, there was space, lights, a hot tub, and Noah was unlocking a sliding door to open up his living room, where a large sound system was placed. Rachel brushed her hair out her face, fixing that megawatt smile back on her face, brushing past Finn as she bounced herself over to join Tina and Mercedes as they waited for some music.
"Hey again, girl!" Mercedes greeted. "You ready to party?"
Rachel nodded, bouncing a little on the balls of her feet, making sure to speak loudly but definitely not looking in Finn's direction. "Let's do this!"
"It's gonna be totally awesome," Tina added.
"Oh, actually," Rachel began, just as the music began blasting out of the speakers, and Noah reappeared with drinks of both the alcoholic and non-alcoholic persuasion, "You go ahead. There's a phone call I have to make first."
Mercedes flashed her a slightly worried look, but Rachel just smiled, and Mercedes returned it before following Tina towards where Santana and Brittany were already dancing. But Rachel took a step back, heading a little ways back into Noah's house where it was just that little bit quieter and pulling out her mobile. She pressed the speed dial button quickly, not even needing to look at her phone to dial the number she wanted, and leant against the wall as she put the phone to her ear.