Hi! Sorry for the long wait in the coming of this chapter. I have so much school work to do and it is completely taking it out of me. I hope this is okay! Reviews would be nice.
The first thing Brittany did when she saw the two men approach her was run forward and wrap them both in a suffocating hug. She was overjoyed to see them again, as she was always too nervous to try initiate contact with people. She knew that she hadn't gained the respect of everyone in high school, but when she saw the two of them standing on her porch with warm, loving smiles on their faces she couldn't help but smile back at them. They looked exactly the same to her, of course. All of them were older, and Sugar had professed that they looked nothing like their yearbook photos, but they all agreed that in their own eyes they hadn't aged a day. Even Santana pulled them each into a hug in turn, and Brittany was sure she saw tears in her eyes, something that was rarely exhibited in front of anyone other than herself.
Kurt clapped his hands excitedly, "I can't believe it's you! I just can't believe you guys live here so close and we didn't know. I missed you girls!" He beamed at them. Kurt had moved on a lot, they all had, but that didn't mean it didn't mean the world to him to see the two women happy and successful and together. This was exactly how things were supposed to turn out, and he had Blaine by his side to prove it.
"We have a lot of catching up to do," Santana said with a sentimental smile, "Come, sit down, we'll talk."
Sugar and Rory sat awkwardly in the corner of the living room, holding hands- watching in absolute awe as their parents recounted their high school days as if they'd never been parted. They were laughing together as though they were teenagers again, only laughing harder when the two youngest raised their eyebrows in bewilderment.
"You guys would have loved McKinley," Blaine told them with a sincere smile.
"Don't be ridiculous," Santana gave a genuine laugh "They'd hate it as much as we did."
"We did not hate it!" Kurt protested, but he gave Santana a knowing smile. He'd never forget how happy he'd been the last time he had stepped outside of that school, knowing that he was free from all the bad memories. On seeing Santana's expression, Kurt faltered, chuckling to himself. "So perhaps we didn't have the best time there, but I'm still glad I went, aren't you?"
"You're glad about getting shoved into lockers every day and being tormented?" Santana frowned at him.
"Miss Lopez," Blaine winked at her, "Ever the optimist." Brittany laughed, and put an arm around Santana's shoulders lovingly.
"That's Mrs Lopez-Pierce to you, sir," Santana corrected "And you know what I'm talking about. I remember how miserable you used to be. I wanted to help you, and I tried to. But sometimes bullies can be scary for everyone, even a teenage me, and let me tell you, I was-"
"You were bullied in high school?" Sugar's quiet voice interjected, her eyes directed at Kurt, who looked at her with comforting eyes.
"It happens to the best of us, Sugar." It was as if he knew.
There was a silence, and Rory squeezed Sugar's hand tighter, moving imperceptibly closer to her.
"Did you guys ever hear what happened to the others?" Blaine leaned forward, eager to hear new of where his old friends had got to, although he was sure that they had all found success.
"After Finn and Rachel got divorced," Kurt interjected "We never found out what happened to her." He sank back in his chair, a regretful look flashing over his face. He hadn't spoken to Finn in years. He'd taken the divorce so hard that he'd moved back to Lima, going full circle back to the small town where he lived in solitude. Kurt would talk to him if he had something to say, but what do you say to someone who has nothing left, who had completely left his family behind? He pushed the thought aside, vowing to call when he felt comfortable doing so.
When he looked across the room, Brittany and Santana were looking at him with wide eyes.
"You guys don't know?" Brittany was looking at them as though they had just suggested gay marriage rights be revoked.
The men looked at each other with a confused expression.
"I'm sure you guys remember Quinn Fabray," Santana leaned towards them with a mischievous smile on her face. "How she and Rachel used to fight all the time, and then suddenly they would be best friends?" Kurt and Blaine nodded in unison.
"I can't believe you don't know!" Brittany interrupted with wide eyes. "I thought everybody knew. Quinn and Rachel got married- years ago! Their daughter, I mean, Rachel and Finn's daughter goes to the same school as Sugar now!"
"Harmony goes to RHS? Have you met her?"
"She's a bitch." Sugar raised an eyebrow and looked straight at the guests. "Thought you should know."
Rory hated the ignorant smiles on Brittany and Santana's faces, if only they knew what that girl was doing they wouldn't be speaking of her so fondly. A warning look from Sugar told him not to let anything on and he closed his open mouth, a sour feeling filling up in his chest. He'd had no idea that Kurt's stepbrother was to blame for such an existence. Before he knew it, Sugar was dragging him upward and pulling him out of the room.
"We'll be upstairs," Sugar told the adults in a choked voice.
By the time they got to Sugar's room, tears had already started to pour down her cheeks, and Rory pulled her into a hug- stroking her hair and holding her tight until she calmed down. It didn't feel awkward anymore, he noted.
"I'm sorry," she sniffed. "I'm always crying these days."
The words broke his heart, and he pulled Sugar closer. "I don't want you to cry. Why haven't you told them about Harmony?"
"You don't know my mother." Sugar pulled back and looked at him seriously. "You think calling the school is all she's going to do? Santana likes revenge, and she'll get it in any way possible. If she finds out who it is she'll people. She might even contact Harmony's parents, and they'll try to talk to her about it and she'll know that I told."
"That's a good thing isn't it?" Rory felt so confused and lost. He desperately wanted to help Sugar, felt that it was his duty to do so- but this was all so far out of his reach.
"Don't you get it?" Sugar's expression broke his heart. "If Harmony finds out I told anyone she'll want to punish me for it. I know she doesn't look much, but she has a lot of people on her side." Her eyes looked hollow, and tears ran down her face. Rory sighed, pulling her back in and kissing her gently, unable to stop himself feeling dizzy from the closeness.
"I get it, I do." He whispered. "We'll find a way," he had to. "We'll find a way, I promise." Rory wasn't one to break his promises.
