-7 Years Later-

Lea Michele gently clutched the sides of her shimmery silver dress to keep the hem from dragging on the ground until she hit the red carpet.

Moving to Los Angeles for a year had been one of the hardest yet one of the most rewarding times of her career: workshop offers, numerous television auditions, a voiceover spot in an animated feature. And now here she was, asked to sing at the American Music Awards.

They always liked to mix the hot top dogs with the newbies. Give everyone a chance to shine, so to speak. Of course it was the people like her who were the bathroom breaks and wine refills. The ones fast-forwarded if they were at home with DVR.

But she wasn't going to let that little thought rain on her parade.

Someday she would be winning an award.

This was her big chance to show America their Lea Michele.

She was ready to blow them away.


"How does it feel to be here? Especially as someone who is from Canada."

Cory Monteith squinted at the lights and shoved his hands into the pockets of his black pants.

He had done it. Bonnie Dune had been a measly little nobody band and here they were at the American Music Awards, ready to play.
Their luck had changed after they had moved to Los Angeles. They were picked up by a better record company, and while they weren't The Black Eyed Peas, they were something. People came to their shows. It wasn't like they were nominated or anything, but they got to perform on live television during the event and that was super cool. It would definitely help their publicity.

"It feels great! It feels great." Cory smiled, nodding at the smiling lady. "You know, L.A. is where things really picked up for us so these awards mean a lot. I'm so excited to be here."
The interviewer wished them luck and was off to someone who he was sure was far more important.

"Ass alert. Ass alert." Seth muttered, nudging Cory's arm and gesturing to the back of a woman who was currently in the middle of an interview herself. He was kinda right. Her sparking silver dress fitted her small body perfectly; Even though she had a small frame she did have an ass...

"Don't say that, we're on the red carpet." Cory chuckled, giving his bandmate an equally playful nudge.

The cameras and screaming and herds of celebrities made the American Music Award red carpet a terrifying place but Cory was a people-watcher. He liked to take in the spectacle. His eyes scanned the place, running from interviewer to interviewer to crazy fan flailing to super famous celebrity to Lea Michele to interveiwer to...

Wait.

She had her head turned away from him again but he was sure he had seen the woman's face.
The ass woman.
Shit.
It had to be her.
And now she was hugging someone.
Crap.

He kept his eyes on her and in one short moment her friend was walking away and she was hamming it up for the cameras.
He could see her profile now; her beautiful nose and that grin that lit up the world.

Definitely his Lea.


Behind the shoulder. Turn the head. Smirk. Smile. Move to the next cam.
She had a system.
And it was genius.
Of course her and Jonathan had come up with said system exactly 15 minutes before they had gotten in the limo, but it was working for her so far! The cameras were eating it up.

She felt a hand on her shoulder and turned around (praying deep down that the hand belonged to one Barbra Streisand). But she was faced with someone much different.
It was like her heart froze for one half of a second and her eyes locked on his for an embarrassingly long duration of time.

"Cory." She mumbled. Or at least she intended to mumble. She wasn't sure if any sound had actually gotten out.

"Hi." He looked the same. The same but different. His hair was brushed neatly and he had some (very handsome) scruff gracing his slightly tanner skin. His face was fuller but it suited him fine and he looked more grown up. Less like a boy and more like a man.

"Hi." She looked the same. The same but different. Her hair was up in a neatly pinned bun, much different from the wavy curls she would leave loose during that summer. She was still tiny as ever but she had a few more curves. The baby fat in her face had disappeared but he could still make out where her dimples went along the sides of her pretty cheek bone. She looked grown up. Less like a girl and more like a woman.

Cory was the one to speak first. "What are you doing here? I mean I don't doubt that you're here, if you were anywhere you'd be here. I mean except maybe those Tony Award things..."

Snap out of it, Lea. Snap out of it. Be professional. "They asked me to perform actually! Do a Broadway number. They're trying to...cater to all genres I guess." The brunette explained, running her tongue over her lips out of habit. "Why are you here? Are you...Are you someone's date?"

The man laughed and waved a hand. "Nah. I came here alone. Well not alone. My band's here. We're performing too!"

"Wow! That's nuts! Small world."

The entire red carpet was screaming with noise but in that moment it couldn't have felt more silent.

Unspoken tension.

"That's great. That's crazy." Cory nodded, his head bobbing with a smile. "Well I'll see you inside or something. I'll see you on stage too." He chuckled, rubbing his forehead in hopes that she was oblivious to the buckets of sweat. "Maybe at an afterparty or something."

"Yes." Lea agreed, her smile a little to big for whatever she must have been feeling inside. "Of course. I'll see you, Cory. Good luck tonight."

"You too. Break a leg."