For the last chapter I failed to mention that I do not own glee, I See Fire by Ed Sheeran, Beautiful Life by Nick Fadiani or Jet Pack Blues by Fall Out Boy. For this chapter I do not own Crazy Youngsters by Esther Dean or Kiss With A Fist by Florence and the Machine. I AS ALWAYS, DO NOT OWN GLEE!
IS THERE ANYONE ACTUALLY OUT THERE? I mean, I'm not really writing this for anyone, but my own curiosity so it doesn't matter if there's anyone out there who is reading this, but it would be nice to know if there was, you know. So please, anyone, if you are out there, do let me know. I appreciate feedback.
Alexa watched the seniors put the trophy in the case along with all the others that had piled up over the years. They all looked so happy, proud that they were once again returning to Nationals. They had won, without much competition. Yes, all the other teams were flawless, but they weren't exactly national's material. Ever since Vocal Adrenaline had barred from competing after their frequent steroid use a few years ago, winning had been a breeze. It took away the fun, yes, but it was one less thing to worry about.
A bottle of sparkling grape juice was popped and cheap plastic cups were filled with the bubbling liquid. Alexa sipped hers from her perch on the piano, her bare feet swinging back and forth as she chattered with her friends. She had on a crisp white blouse, a green cardigan, her signature black pencil skirt with the gold hardware, and gray tights with black polka-dots. Her hair was tied over her shoulder in a messy French braid and her lips glittered with her favorite pink lip balm. Chris watched her throw her head back with laughter at something Thayer, the latest addition to the club, had said to her.
The two had been growing increasingly close over the last few days. At the celebration party, they had sung a duet that was breathtaking and all. But ever since, they had been inseparable, a fact that hadn't gone unnoticed by Chris. He watched her put an arm over Thayer's shoulder, her head resting a top his as her laughter continued. Chris felt something build inside of him, a feeling he couldn't recognize.
"Excuse me," Matthew hollered, stepping on a chair. "I propose a toast to the one and only Alexandra Puckerman, for which without her we would certainly have lost."
Alexa blushed watching the people surrounding her hold up their cups and chant her name. Everyone took a gulp of their drink. After hers had slid down her throat, Alexa caught the attention of her entire choir.
"Okay," Alexa shouted, setting her cup down on the piano. "I say we celebrate New Directions style."
A collective cheer filled the room and with the help of Thayer she stepped onto the piano. Finn had found a guitar amongst the mess and Chris plopped down at the drums.
"One day the world will be gone," Alexa started. "There'll be no one here to walk the land. One day what you know will be wrong, there'll be no one here to hold your hand. Right now we're crazy youngsters. Time is running out, but who cares we're running free. They call us crazy youngsters, we don't apologize. We're mad and running free."
"They call us crazy youngsters," Alexa belted out, allowing Thayer and Matthew to lift her off of her self-claimed stage. "Time is running out but who cares we're running free."
"Hell yeah, we're crazy youngsters," all the girls sang, dancing on each other in a way that they knew drove the boys crazy. "We don't apologize, we're mad and running free."
"Cause we got," they boys sang. "Hey, we got a lot of things to do."
"Hey, we got a lot of things to prove," Alexa belted out, pulling Thayer away from the group. She grabbed a hold of his collar. He was against her, now his hands on her hips. The club let out a plethora noises, all along the lines of 'oh' or 'hot damn'. "Yeah we got a lot of room to grow. Yeah we got a lot of miles to go. So we keep driving, we keep driving. One day when the story's all told, there'll be no more words to fill the page. One night when the stars are all gone, there'll be no more light to guide the way."
"Right now we're crazy youngsters," Alexa continues. "Time is running out, but who cares we're running free. They call us crazy youngsters we don't apologize, we're mad and running free. They call us crazy youngsters. Time is running out but who cares we're running free. Hell yeah, we're crazy youngsters. We don't apologize, we're mad and running free."
"Hey, we got a lot of things to do," Alexa sings. "Hey, we got a lot of things to prove, yeah we got a lot of room to grow. Yeah we got a lot of miles to go so we keep driving, we keep driving."
"We keep driving, we keep driving," Alexa sang, her body moving against Thayer's. "And don't blink till its over, the fun has just begun. Let's finish the race while our hearts are young. Cause we're crazy youngsters, time is running out but who cares we're running free. Hell yeah we're crazy youngsters. We don't apologize, we're mad and running free."
"Hey, we got a lot of things to do," Alexa continues. "Hey we got a lot of things to prove. Hey, we got a lot of room to grow. Yeah we got a lot of miles to go so we keep driving, oh ooh oh."
"Hell yeah we're crazy youngsters," Alexa finishes. "We keep driving, driving, driving, driving."
Like always, she manages to blow away all that hear her. Everyone is dancing together now, even though the music has long since died away. Chris watched her rest her head on Thayer's chest, dancing slowly to some romantic song that no one else could hear. It was horrible to watch, but all at the same time it wasn't. Alexa seemed happy with him, which was a miracle in and of itself. But the fact that it was with Thayer drove him up the walls.
Thayer didn't know Alexa, not like he did. He hadn't been there for all the birthdays or piano recitals. But then Chris remembered, he hadn't been there either. Was this what Thayer was? A fresh start. If he was, Chris totally understood. Alexa more than deserved a clean slate and that was something only Thayer could offer her. He hadn't seen her when she went dark, he didn't expect anything from her.
Chris had nearly flipped his lid when he walked into the college bar the Lima Losers were performing at. In the middle of the crowd that was flanking he stage, he saw Thayer smiling up at Alexa. He was livid. What the hell was that goody two shoes doing at a bar?
Alexa was clad in her usual punk rocker girl garb, eliminating any sign of the Alexa that he had seen only a few hours before in the choir room. She had on super tight skinny jeans, a red see through tank top that obviously showed off her black bra, a big silver belt and leather cuffs. Her hair had been pulled into a pony tail and her lips were cherry red. As per usual, her makeup was dark and she was already stealing the attention of the audience. Her blue chrome electric guitar was strapped to her, already morphed into an extension of her body.
"You hit me once," Alexa started, her thick voice filling the room. When they were growing up, this had been one of Alexa's favorite songs. He would recognize the intro to it anywhere after all the afternoons and car rides he had been forced to listen to it. Not that it was a bad song, but really, you couldn't have found something a little bit more modern, Alexa? That song was what, thirty years old? "I hit you back. You gave a kick, I gave a slap. You smashed a plate over my head, then I set fire to our bed."
"She's really good isn't she," Thayer shouted over the blaring music. He hadn't even realized that the other boy had spot him let alone approached him.
"Yeah," Chris agreed a little distantly. "She's really something."
Thayer had no idea.
"You hit me once, I hit you back. You gave a kick, I gave a slap. You smashed a plate over my head, then I set fire to our bed."
"My black eye casts no shadow, your red eye sees no blame," Alexa continues, slamming notes angrily into her guitar. "Your slaps don't stick, your kicks don't hit so we remain the same. Blood sticks, sweat drips. Break the lock if it don't fit. A kick in the teeth is good for some, a kiss with a fist is better than none. Whoa, a kiss with a fist is better than none."
"Lex and I are going to this diner after she gets done here," Thayer said. "You wanna come with? She told me they have good pie."
This kid was making it hard to hate him. God, why did he have to be so damn nice?
"Broke your jaw once before," Alexa belted out. There was this sultry smile on her lips, like she knew the effect that she had on all of the men that were dying to 'show her a good time' or tell her how 'hot' she was. "I spilt your blood upon the floor. You broke my leg in return so let's sit back and watch the bed burn. Blood sticks, sweat drips. Break the lock if it don't fit. A kick in the teeth is good for some, a kiss with a fist is better than none. Whoa, a kiss with a fist is better than none."
"You hit me once, I hit you back. You gave a kick, I gave a slap. You smashed a plate over my head then I set fire to our bed," Alexa sang. "You hit me once, I hit you back. You gave a kick
I gave a slap. You smashed a plate over my head."
"Then I set fire to our bed," Alexa finished. There was barely time for applause before Alexa threw herself into the next song. Before long, she was done for the night. Chris stood back while she packed up her guitars. He was about to offer to carry one for her, but Thayer beat him to it. He pressed a soft kiss to her lips before taking the bigger of the guitar cases and swinging it onto his back.
Chris wanted to throw up right there all over the bar floor. He was almost positive that he wouldn't be the first or the last one. And given the familiar reek of vomit that filled the air, he was sure that he wasn't the first one to that night. However, he swallowed the bile rising in this throat and approached the happy couple.
"Oh, hey, Chris," Alexa smiled, wrapping her arms around his neck. "I didn't know that you came tonight. Um, Thayer and I were gonna go up to the diner, you wanna join us? Allen's been asking about you, wants to know when that 'skinny kid' was gonna come back and eat all his pie again."
"No, I can't," Chris lied. "I have to –uh –pick up Landry from her musical rehearsal."
"Tell her I to text me," Alexa said. "Her and I need to go out and do something. Get coffee, take a trip to the mall. It feels like forever since we've had a little bit of girl time."
"I didn't know you and Lan were still that close," Chris said.
"Well, I felt bad," Alexa said. "I left her with you for a year. Every girl needs a big sister, even if they aren't related."
