Hullo! Thanks for the awesome reviews! This is going to be a long story, so hang in there! Also, in one of the next five chapters it'll be explained how barbie and lane are seniors. And, im not going to explain who's P.O.V. each part's in, but it should be obvious each time.
P.S. Thanks for all the positive reviews!
Saturday, June 11 2011, 2:00 P.M., Shelby Corcoran's front yard
"Are you sure you want to do this?" Puck asked me, his eyes meeting mine. He looked... scared.
There was only one other time I'd seen him scared before. The moment he first saw Beth.
I nodded. "It's now or never."
Puck knocked on the door, and within seconds the door opened. Shelby looked exactly the same as when we'd first met her. She might have even been wearing the same clothes.
"Quinn? Noah? Well, this is a surprise." Shelby said, her eyes sparkling with recogniton. "Would you... like to see her?" She asked, a little fidgety.
"No." I said quickly. I had a feeling that if I saw Beth again, I would burst into tears and try to kidnap her.
"We just wanted you to have this." Puck said, seeing how uncomfortable I was. It scared me how much he could almost read my mind. He handed Shelby a CD.
"What is this?" Shelby said, looking at us suspiciously. I almost grinned and said 'It's a CD.' but I had a feeling this wasn't the time for jokes.
"Quinn and me recorded a few songs for Beth to listen to." Puck explained. I almost whispered 'Quinn and I.' but stopped myself just in time.
Sometimes I wish that everybody could say everything they thought all the time. But it seemed only Brittany could do that.
"And yes, I did get the idea from Rachel. She said that you did the same thing for her. We were just wondering if you could give it to Beth when she turns thirteen." Puck said.
"Why thirteen?" Shelby asked, as confused as ever.
Puck hadn't told me why before, but I knew. "Because when a Jewish girl turns thirteen, she's a woman." I said, finally speaking my mind. Puck smiled at me (though his eyes still looked frightened), and I was glad I did.
Shelby smiled. "Ah, yes."
"Look, we're not going to make you sign any legal documents. So you don't have to give her the CD if you don't want to. It's your decision." I said, smiling softly.
She looked at me with kind eyes. It felt so awkward having an entire conversation on a front step like this. Come to think of it, she really should have invited us in.
"I understand competely, you guys. Don't worry, I'll give her the CD." She said.
"Thank you." Puck said. I said it, too, but I couldn't really find my voice, so I just mouthed it.
She shut the door.
Puck turned to me and wrapped me up in a hug. I hugged him back.
When he pulled back, he didn't look scared anymore. Like he knew that everything was going to be okay...
Monday, January 3rd 2028, 2:00 P.M., William Mckinley High School Auditorium
"Why do we even hold these auditions, anyway?" Noah asked.
I gaped at him. "Are you seriously asking me that? So that we can get new members for Glee Club! So that we can find the star that is the needle in the haystack of preppy teenagers." I said, proud of my analogy.
He snorted.
I glared at him. "And for your information, I am certain that there is at least one person who is going to try out. I made sure of it myself." I said to my fellow co- director.
I hated that we were co- directors. Why couldn't I be president of the Glee Club, and he be vice president? It would be much more fitting.
"Well, your version of 'making sure' usually involves spying and/or blackmail, so I just pray to Jesus that you didn't do anything that could get us arrested. He said, crossing his arms.
I frowned. "You pray to Jesus? Noah, you're a Jew.
"Rachel, you're a bitch."
Monday, January 3rd 2028, 2:08 P.M., William Mckinley High Auditorium
I opened the door and walked onto the stage. I was startled by the yelling that I heard as soon as I came in. The auditorium must be sound- proof because I couldn't hear them when I was outside.
"You can't pray the way that Christians do because you're a Jew!"
"Do you have to make everything rhyme?"
I cleared my throat, and they stopped and turned to face me. The lady was Rachel, my homeroom teacher, and the guy was Mr. Puckerman. I remembered how Lynn had told me about him this morning.
"Oh, hello! You see, Noah? I told you she'd show up!" Rachel said, beaming again. Mr. Puckerman rolled his eyes.
"Yeah, um, there was no sign- up sheet, but..." I trailed off and bit my lower lip gently, something Ialways did when I was nervous or uncomfortable. Wait, was I seriously nervous about my audition? It was just Glee Club, right? What did it matter?
"Well, Noah and I know from personal experience how embarrassing signing up for Glee Club can be, so we figured that it would be better just to hold auditions instead." Rachel explained.
I nodded.
"So, what song are you going to sing?" Mr. Puckerman asked gruffly.
"Well, I've never met my biological dad, so I was going to sing 'Papa, Can You Hear Me?' from Yentl. I don't know if he's dead or not, but I've always loved the song, so..." I trailed off and bit my lip again.
Mr. Puckerman looked like his mind was elsewhere, and I got a little angry. Wasn't he supposed to listen to kids. Wasn't that his job?
"Fantastic! I sang that same song when I was around your age, too!" Rachel exclaimed, beaming. She gave me a ready- when- you- are nod. I took a deep breath, and began:
"Goo-oo-oo-oo-oo-od, our heavenly father.
Oh, goo-oo-oo-oo-oo-od.
And my father, who is also in heaven."
I sang, starting to loosen up.
"May the light, of this flickering candle,
Illuminate the night the way your spirit,
Illuminates my so-oo-oo-oo-oo-ul.
Papa, can you hear me?"
I sang softly, getting enough confidence to meet Rachel's eyes. She smiled approvingly.
"Papa, can you see me?"
I metMr. Puckerman's eyes as I sang. He looked... scared.
Why was he scared?
"Papa, can you hear me in the night?
Papa are you near me?"
I leaned forward.
"Papa can you hear me?"
I looked around in faux- anxiety. I was really getting into this.
"Papa, can you help me not be frightened?"
I closed my eyes.
"Looking at the skies I seem to see a million eyes, which ones are yours?"
I lifted up my arms as I said 'yours'.
"Where are you, now that yesterday has come and gone,
and closed it's doors?"
It felt good to let everything melt away. Singing was a great way for me to relieve stress.
"The night is so much darker,
The wind is so much colder,
The world seems so much bigger, now that I'm alone."
I felt a tear roll down my cheek. I couldn't help it.
"Papa, please forgive me.
Try to understand me.
Papa, don't you know I had no choice?"
I wondered, if given the option, would I have chosen Shelby or my birth parents?
"Can you hear me praying?
Anything I'm saying,
Even though the night is filled with voices?"
I really missed my dad. Is it possible to miss someone that you don't even remember?
"I remember everything you taught me,
Every book I've ever re-e-e-e-e-ad!"
Yes, I decided, it was. Because sometimes it feels like I can still feel him holding me, the first- and probably only- time he ever held me.
"Can all the words,
and all the books,
help me to face what lies ahead?"
I wonder what did lie ahead. Would I ever meet my parents? Do they even want to meet me?
"The trees are so much taller,
and I feel so much smaller.
The moon is twice as lonely,
and the stars are half as bright."
I opened my eyes.
"Papa, how I love you.
Papa, how I need you."
I looked at Mr. Puckerman and saw that he was crying, too. Wow, was I really that moving?
"Papa, how I miss you kissing me,
Goodnighhhhhhhhhhht."
I finished and raised my head. Rachel was clapping.
"Amazing! Not as good as me, of course, but... very theatrical. It'll do. What do you think, Noah?"
Mr. Puckerman was still crying, and he looked even more scared. What was going on with this guy?
"It was lovely, Beth." He whispered.
How did he know my name? Whatever, Rachel must have told him. Speaking of Rachel, she was looking at him with a very freaked- out expression. I can't really blame her.
Grown men don't burst into tears over music too often.
"Erm, yes... it was lovely, Beth..." She trailed off. "What's your last name?"
I resisted the urge to roll my eyes. Rachel had already had me for homeroom, English, and now my audition, and she still didn't know my last name.
"Corcoran."
They both stiffened.
Is that what he was afraid of? My mom?
"As in... Shelby's daughter?" Rachel asked slowly.
"Yes." I said, surprised. "Do you know her?" How could my mom not have told me that she knew Broadway legend Rachel Berry?
"Yes. She... was the director of our rival Glee Club, Vocal Adrenaline, back when I was in high school." She paused, and furrowed her brow. "But you don't look like her..."
"I was adopted." I said impatiently. This was taking too long. I had to get to Cheerios try outs.
"Beth...Corcoran. Beth..." Her eyes widened. She looked at Mr. Puckerman, who gave her a guilty look, and her eyes widened even more.
I frowned. What was going on here?
"Um, alright. So, we'll see you in Glee Club wednesday. Congratulations. Goodbye." She said very quickly and a little rudely. I noticed how she spoke anxiously instead of with her usual happiness.
"Um, okay. Goodbye, Rachel. Mr. Puckerman." I said.
Mr. Puckerman cleared his throat. "Oh, you can call me..." Rachel gave him a warning look. "Puck." He said after a long pause, as if he was going to say something else.
"Okay... bye." I said, turning around and walking out.
Weirdos.
Monday, January 3rd 2028, 2:20 P.M., William Mckinley High School Auditorium
"How did you know her name was Beth?" Rachel asked me accusingly.
"You couldn't tell?" I asked incredulously.
She looked confused. Finally, something she knows she doesn't know. "Tell what?"
"She sings just like her." I said softly. As soon as Beth sang the first line of that song, I knew that she was my daughter. And it made me sad, her singing that song. It showed how much she missed me, and it made me feel like shit for giving her up for adoption, even though it wasn't really my decision.
"Who? Quinn?"
I nodded.
"Wait..." She said, and I could see everything clicking in her head. "Shelby adopted Beth? This whole time I've had an adopted sister and I never even knew?" Her expression became angry. "How could you not tell me?"
"Um, it really wasn't any of your business." I muttered.
"The hell it wasn't!" She screeched. "I wait 16 years to meet my real mother, and then I wait 17 years to meet my sister? And she doesn't even know she's my sister? How is-"
"Will you just shut up already? God, you're so annoying!" I yelled in her face. "Can't you see I'm not in the mood for this right now? I just met my daughter for the first time in 17 years, and all you can think about is how it affects you, how it angers you, well, newsflash, it's not all about you! You have made no impact on this world whatsoever! You haven't changed anything to make anything better for anyone! In fact, you've made most things worse just by being associated with them! So I. Don't. Want. To. Hear. It. It pisses you off? Good! Now you know how everyone else feels whenever you open your godamn mouth! And do you wanna know how I feel? Probably not, but I'm gonna tell you anyway! I. Am. Fucking. Scared. Shitless." I finished, getting up and storming out of the auditorium.
Monday, January 3rd 2028, 3:49 P.M., Beth Fabray- Corcoran's bedroom
I collapsed on my bed when I got home. God, Cheerios tryouts were brutal. There were so many people there, I had to wait almost an hour before I could even try out. Then, when I performed my routine (which was absolutely flawless, by the way), Coach Lopez just looked at me and said 'Follow- up try outs are tomorrow. Be there, as being a Cheerio is probably the most important thing you will ever be in your pathetic, hopefully short life.'
"Ugh." I sighed, getting up and putting the CD from my birth parents into my laptop.
My mom's song was first.
"Makin' my way downtown.
Walkin' fast, faces pass, and I'm homebound."
It hadn't really been a shock to me that I had been adopted. I looked nothing like Shelby, and when I got the CD, I was ecstatic that if I couldn't have my birth parents with me, at least I could have their voices.
"Starin' blankly ahead,
Just makin' my, makin' a way,
Through them crowd."
I always wondered things about my mom when I heard this song. What did she look like? How tall was she? When's her birthday? Is she the one playing the piano in this song?
"And I need you.
And I miss you."
I started crying again. I need you too, mom.
"And now I won-der...
If I could fall,
Into the sky,
Do you think time,
Would pass me by?"
I closed my eyes and settled back on my bed.
"'Cause you know I'd walk a thousand miles,
If I could just. See. You.
Tonight."
She had a beautiful voice. It could be powerful and emotional when she wanted it to be, or soft and whispery.
"It's always times like these,
When I think of you,
and I wonder if you ever,
Think. Of. Me."
All the time.
"'Cause everything's so wrong,
And I don't belong,
Living in your precious mem-o-ry."
I don't belong living in yours, either.
"And I still need you.
And I still miss you.
And now I won-der."
Here comes my favorite part.
"If I could fall,
Into the sky,
Do you think time,
Would pass...us...by.
'Cause you know,
I'd walk a thousand miles,
If I could just. See. You.
Tonight."
I wish she could have sung the whole song. I never get tired of hearing her voice. I waited anxiously as the song switched over to my dad's.
"I'm not surprised,
Not everything lasts.
I've broken my heart so many times I stopped keepin' track."
My father strikes me as someone who would have been a player, which is kind of funny to think about.
"Talk myself in,
I talk myself out,
I get so worked up,
Then I let myself down."
I wondered things about my dad, too. What kind of hairstyle did he have? What religion is he? What's his favorite food?
"I tried so very hard not to lose it.
I came up with a million excuses.
I thought, I thought of every possibility."
Even though both of the songs my parents are singing are love songs, it wasn't weird that they're singing them to me.
"And I know someday that It'll all turn out.
You'll make me work,
So we can work,
To work it out.
I promise you,
Kid,
I give so much more than I get.
I just haven't met you yet."
Here comes my favorite part.
"I might have to wait,
I'll never give up.
I guess one- half's timing,
And the other half's luck.
Wherever you are,
Whenever it's right,
You'll come out of nowhere and into my life."
I wondered if I'd already met my dad, and I just didn't realize it was him.
"And somehow I know that it'll all turn out.
You'll make me work,
So we can work,
To work it out.
And I promise you,
Kid,
I give so much more than I get.
I just haven't met you yet."
I wish that he'd sung the whole song, too. His voice was equally as amazing. I impatiently waited for my favorite song. Their duet.(A.N. Bold lyrics are Puck's, Underlined lyrics are Quinn's, and Both are both of them).
"Breathe,
And I'll carry you away,
Into the velvet sky,
And we'll stir the stars around,
And watch them fal away,
Into the Hudson Bay,
And plumet out of sight and sound.
The open summer breeze,
Will sweep you through the hills.
Where I live in the alpine heights,
Below the Northern Lights,
I spend my coldest nights,
Alone, awake, and thinking of,
The weekend we were in love.
Home among these mountain tops,
Can be so awfully dull.
A thousand miles from the tide.
But photos on the walls,
Of New York shopping malls,
Distract me so I stay inside.
I wish the rocket stayed,
Over the promenade,
'Cause I would make a hook- and- eye,
And fish them from the sky,
My darling, she and I,
We're hanging on so take us high,
To sing the world goodbye.
I am floating away,
Lost in a silent ballet,
I'm dreaming you're out in the blue,
And I am right beside you,
Awake to take in the view.
Late nights and early parades,
Still photos and noisy arcades,
My darling,
We're both on the wing.
Look down and keep on singing,
And we can go anywhere.
Are you there? (Are you there?), (Are you there?)
Are you there,
Or are you just a decoy dream,
In my head?
Am I home,
Or am I simply tumbling out alone?
I am floating away (floating away),
Lost in a silent ballet (silent ballet),
My darling,
We're both on the wing,
Look down and keep on singing,
And we can go anywhere.
Are you there?
Are you there?
I smiled as the song ended.
"We love you, Beth!" They both cried before the CD ended.
Better chappie, I think, but the ending's so- so.
Songs:
Papa Can You Hear Me? by Barbara Streisand, from Yentl
A Thousand Miles by Vanessa Carlton
Haven't Met You Yet by Michael Buble
On the Wing by Owl City
Cheers to typing this while I'm supposed to be studying for algebra!
-CC