I'm so sorry this keeps happening! But I'm not going to let this story go unfinished! Next chapter will be the final chapter! So please, enjoy chapter 11!
Rory could still feel the high of Nationals even two weeks later. He could still feel that sudden high of "New Directions" being called in first place, kissing Roxie as the crowd cheered, the feel of the confetti as they returned back to McKinley as their classmates congratulated them. It still all felt so new, so raw, so sudden. But it wasn't. It was weeks later, and the whole glee club once again sat in the choir room, graduation only days away.
"Guys, come on," Mr. Schuester said rather loudly, trying to gain the attention of the students through the ruckus of the rowdy seniors. Mike and Artie were throwing wads of paper at each other, the occasional wad hitting Joe and causing him to laugh with the boys. Everyone was yelling, laughing. They were all still high from winning. "Guys!" Schue yelled. The room slowly sank into silence, everyone awkwardly shuffling to their seats. "Look. I know that we're all still feeling pretty amazing after winning Nationals, but-" before he could continue, the class cheered for themselves, applauding their progress, "but we aren't quite finished yet."
Santana scoffed, rolling her eyes. "Are you kidding me? We've been doing this for three years straight. A funky chunk of us are going to be gone in three days. Can we not have a break?"
Schue gave her a half smile. He turned to the whiteboard, popping the cap off of the black marker and scrawling a word across the board, turning and pointing to it. "Graduation."
"Mr. Schuester, I really don't think there are any songs about graduation," Tina said quietly, looking over at Mike for a moment as if to confirm her thoughts.
"Well, there's that one by Vitamin C," Finn added, his arm casually slung around Rachel's shoulder as he glanced around at his classmates, "but I've heard that one so many times before I was even in middle school that I kinda almost didn't even want to graduate so I couldn't put myself through it again."
"Do we really even have to sing at graduation?" Artie asked. "I mean, didn't we kind of cover all of that at the Teacher of the Year ceremony?"
"That was about winning," Schue clarified. "I want this to be our last number as the full glee club in its entirety."
"Mr. Schuester?" Rachel said, standing up from Finn. "I know I speak for myself, and the majority of my fellow seniors, when I say that performing at Nationals felt like the climax of everything we've worked toward. I mean, it definitely feels like we've finally proved to everyone what glee club can mean and what we can do. But graduation is about the seniors departing. It's about growing up, moving on, and starting new lives. So… I really think the underclassmen should sing at graduation."
After a long pause, Mercedes spoke. "You know… I actually kind of like that idea."
"Lord Tubbington should have a solo," Brittany said, "he has a beautiful voice."
"I was thinking," Rachel continued, gesturing to the four underclassmen sitting to the side, "of there being four soloists. Joe, Sugar, Rory, and Roxie."
Roxie's attention was suddenly pulled from nowhere, as were that of the other three teens. "…really?"
Schue nodded after a moment. "I like it."
"But… we've never had big solos before," Joe said, his arm over Sugar's shoulders, making the girl blush softly.
"Which is exactly why I like it," Schue repeated.
"I definitely deserve a solo," Sugar stated simply, shrugging.
"And I know the perfect song," their teacher continued, smiling, well, gleefully.
"Rory?" Roxie called, backstage, just an hour before graduation began. Joe and Sugar stood back as well, assisting Roxie in her goal. Rory was nowhere to be found. Figgins would be to give a speech, followed by a speech by Coach Sylvester, then Mr. Schuester, who would introduce the four students to sing. Both girls donned black dresses, a staple in show choir, and both boys wore simple tieless suits. They were finely dressed and well rehearsed. So where the hell did Rory go? Roxie swore he was standing right next to her, joking with Joe about something, and when she turned her back, he was gone.
Roxie sighed deeply, running her hand through her straightened hair. "Okay, um… guys, you keep looking around backstage. I'll take a run down the hall, see if he's in a classroom or something." Her friends nodded, splitting off around backstage as she left and headed down the hall.
"Rory?" she called, jogging down the hall as her heels clicked beneath her. "God, where the hell are you…" she whispered to herself. The lights in the halls were off, the only illumination being the sun spilling from the windows. She peeked down a corridor, seeing a classroom door open, the light falling down the hallway.
The glee room.
She walked down, slowly, almost identical to her first walk down the hall as Blaine brought her, showed her off, introduced her. She peeked through the doorway, seeing Rory sitting in his usual spot among the empty chairs. "Rory? What are you doing in here?"
Roxie watched as Rory's chest rose, and he let out a loud, tired sigh. He looked over to her and she bit her lip. He looked sad, stricken with something heavy in his heart. She walked over to him, sitting down next to him and grabbing his hand. "Baby. Talk to me, please."
He squeezed her hand, shutting his eyes and taking a deep breath. "Roxie… I leave in a week…"
She felt her breath hitch in her throat. She knew. She'd known. It was a thought she'd been hiding from herself for ages, because she simply didn't want to think about it. She didn't want to think about her boyfriend leaving for the summer, maybe even for good.
"Rory, please," she began, looking at her lap.
"This is the last time we'll get to sing together," he whispered. Roxie clenched her eyes shut.
She shook her head, swallowing hard. "No, no it isn't," she insisted. He looked over at her, their eyes meeting, and she gave him a weak smile. "It's the first. The very first of many." Rory smiled, standing up and leaning over her, kissing her softly on the mouth, holding her face with his hands.
"I love you," he breathed into her mouth, and she placed her hands over his, smiling up at him.
"I love you more," she replied. She stood up, fixing the collar of his dress shirt and smoothing out the lapels of his jacket. "Come on. Let's go."
"Now, to sing a song for the graduating seniors," Mr. Schue began, "I present four members of New Directions: Joe Hart, Sugar Motta, Roxie Anderson, and Rory Flanagan."
The four teens emerged from behind the curtains, taking their places on the small set of risers upstage, as Brad, their accompanist, began to play the piano, moments before Sugar sang.
"Once in the dear dead days beyond recall, when on the world the mist began to fall…"
Joe smiled at her from his spot as she walked to the center of the risers as his own solo approached, walking toward her.
"And in the dusk where firelight's gleam, softly it wove itself into our dream…"
The pair sang the chorus together as they joined hands, walking down the center and sitting together at the bottom of the risers. Roxie smiled at Rory, who nodded at her as her solo began.
"Even today, we hear loves song of Yore, deep in our heart, it dwells forevermore. Footsteps may falter, weary grow the way. Still, we can hear it at the close of day…"
Rory sucked in a huge breath as Roxie walked to the center, and he moved toward her, singer.
"So 'til the end when light's dim shadows fall, love will be found the sweetest song of all…"
The pair moved behind Sugar and Joe, singing the final chorus together.
"Just a song at twilight, when the lights are low. And the flickering shadows softly come and go. Though the heart be weary, sad the day and long. Still to us at twilight comes love's old song. Comes love's old sweet song…"
The crowd applauded, all standing. The four teens smiled, then to each other, pride overwhelming them. The senior members moved from their seats on the stage with the rest of the graduating class, hugging the younger members. Rachel flung her arms around Roxie, who giggled, shocked.
"Roxanne," she said, smiling hugely. "Please, continue with glee club. Work with Tina. You two are going to be my successors. And I want to see you at NYADA with me." Santana nudged Roxie, throwing an arm over her shoulder with a cheeky smile.
"Always knew you were a hobbit in training," she joked, giving a friendly peck on the smaller girl's temple.
The four underclassmen finally moved backstage, hugging each other proudly. Rory hugged Roxie tightly, then pulled away, chuckling as something glittering stuck to his hand. "This was on your back, mo ghra," he laughed, showing her a small, shining gold star sticker.
She covered her mouth as she giggled, taking the star from him. "I think I've been marked."