Heard about the Cory rehab thing. That's rough but I'm glad he's putting in the effort to get better.
Now!
I'm back! If I've counted correctly I've been M.I.A. for a little over three months now. Wow! I know, a long time. And I would love for you guys to read this next chapter of A Gleeful Reality but before that, I would like to share a little bit of myself with you and through that, it'll explain (my everlasting excuses) why I've been gone so long if you care enough to know. So, here it goes…
I am a college (university) student, if some of you haven't figured that out by some of my other author's notes. I am a sophomore or second year to be exact. I live in a dormitory in a room with my two great friends along with these two obnoxiously loud girls that live in the neighboring room. SO, school has had me really strapped down leaving me very unfocused to write (also due to loud neighbors, the exceedingly thin walls that make even a sneeze sound like an explosive bomb a whole room over, and the fact that we always have other friends coming in and out of our room.) My updates are always infrequent because I have this thing where I just cannot write at school so I do basically all writing for this and CFF&QF either on breaks or if I'm home for a weekend. This is the reason, most of the time, for my lack of updates. (Although I sucked it up and finished the last part of this here at school so you guys wouldn't have to wait any longer)
My other reason is of course, laziness like everyone has. If you say you aren't, you're just lying to yourself. So between all these reasons (poor excuses), I have literally been writing this chapter little by little, piece-by-piece, for the last three months and it's finally here!
So like always, I am very sorry for the longest wait yet I believe and I also apologize for the extensive AN. If you just read through all of that, you're totally committed and extremely awesome! So thank you! And thank you to everyone that's favorited, followed and especially reviewed!
It had been a little over three weeks since the cast had begun their summer tour in Vegas. Since then, they had performed a slew of shows in California starting in Sacramento then to San Jose, Anaheim, Los Angeles and San Diego. They had moved out of the state when they journeyed into Minnesota for their Minneapolis show then shows in Indianapolis, Chicago, and Boston followed.
The cast couldn't help be a just a tad tired as they traveled via their tour jet to Philadelphia for their next in line show and therefore, Cory was going to take the hour it took to get there for a nap.
Pulling the hood of his sweatshirt over his head, Cory shifted in his seat so he was laying somewhat on his side (his best sleeping position by far) before closing his eyes. He sat there for a few minutes trying to get comfortable and attempted to ignore the light that shone through his eyelids before he figured he wouldn't sleep like this. It was too bright on the plane for his liking. He was more of a- it needs to be pitch black like a cave for me to sleep- kind of guy.
Knowing how he could easily solve this issue, he pulled his ray bans out of his backpack along with his dark blue travel blanket he kept, perched the sunglasses on the bridge of his nose and threw the blanket over his head and torso. He sighed contently with the darker results.
"Going to sleep, babe?" Came Dianna's voice from his side. They always sat next to each other on their plane or on the bus.
He pulled the fleece material from over his head to see his girlfriend.
"Yep, I thought I'd get some shut eye for a little. I've been kinda tired lately."
Dianna smiled sympathetically and nodded her head in agreement.
"I know what you mean. I'll wake you up when we get close to landing, okay?"
"Sounds good. Thanks, Di." He replied and tossed the blanket back over his head.
Ten minutes later found him in that awkward stage where you're "asleep" but are still aware of your surroundings. He liked to call it "lazy sleep" because you're so aware of everything you hear and feel around you but you're just too lazy to open your eyes to see what the commotion's all about, either that or you just don't give a crap.
It was in his lazy sleep that the first commotion happened. Cory was in the process of moving in his seat when he felt some extra weight on the area around his right arm but being lazy, he wasn't that interested in figuring out the mysterious pound. Only a few minutes later did he groan because curiosity peaked when the weight shifted on him again.
Poking his head out of the top of his fleece blanket, he noticed who else but Dianna strewn across the aisle with her lower half in her own seat and her head resting on the side of his body.
"Hm, Dianna," He called out sleepily and wiggled himself further out of his blanket. "Dianna... Di… Dianna."
At hearing her name, Dianna sat up and giggled while she stared back and forth between her boyfriend and Darren who held his iPhone up in his hands clearly video taping the scene.
"Smile, Cor, you're on candid camera!" Darren laughed along with Dianna. Cory stifled his smile and shook his head disapprovingly. He had to act somewhat upset with them even though he knew he totally would have done this to someone else too.
"Are you taking a video?" He asked to which Darren nodded. "You guys are so weird."
"We're documenting the tour." Dianna informed him as she grabbed her small bowl of fruit from her tray and popped a grape in her mouth.
The tall brunette threw the blanket back over his head and huffed fronting his slightly annoyed façade.
"No, it seems to me that you're being weird and actually documenting me sleeping. People find that creepy, you know."
The blonde shared a silly look with Darren and giggled.
"Come on, Cor, it's like a behind the scenes look for fans; another video blog of some sort. It could go on YouTube." The raven-haired man explained.
Hearing this, Cory's head flew out of the darkness once more.
"You're going to put me sleeping on YouTube?" He questioned frantically, forcing his eyebrows into his forehead.
Dianna giggled once more.
"Maybe…" She teased.
"Like I said, you guys are extremely odd and major creepers." He groaned from under his blanket before it was snatched off him and the light invaded his darkness.
"No, no more sleeping," Dianna chided. "We're landing in ten minutes."
"Philly here we come!" Chris and Lea shouted simultaneously from a few seats ahead and the plane erupted in cheers and laughter.
Cory grinned as they all walked around the city that afternoon with some security detail of course. They didn't mind a few people in a group approaching them, just not a mob.
The cast was given a free couple hours to shop, sight see, walk around or do whatever they wanted after their first rehearsal and sound check for the concert that night. Cory made his way around the city with Dianna, Naya, Kevin and Chord to take in some of the sights, which included having to get an authentic Philly cheese steak according to both Kevin and Chord.
"I feel like this is such a touristy thing to do." Cory griped, which earned him an eye roll from Naya.
"Cor, do we live here?" The tall, Canadian shook his head. "Are we technically visiting?" Cory nodded this time. "Then the facts state we're tourists."
"And therefore there's nothing wrong with having the desire to eat one of the most delicious foods on earth that Philadelphia is popularly known for without shame!" Kevin added and Cory sighed heavily but conceded.
"Alright then, where do we find some?" Cory questioned as he took in his city surroundings and felt Dianna squeeze his hand as they strolled.
"I bet you can go into any restaurant and they have them here. It's called a Philly Cheese Steak and we're in Philly, ergo it is a law that they sell them everywhere." Kevin said as he scanned some of the pizza places they walked past. The group chuckled at his reply.
"Not a law but you're right, it should be." Naya agreed and even their security detail tipped his sunglasses down the bridge of his nose and nodded emphatically.
The group continued down the sidewalk on their search, only getting a few more feet before a small group of teens and twenty somethings made their way up to them slowly and cautiously, seemingly shy or maybe they just didn't want to be a bother.
Cory smiled inwardly in thought. He had to say that he appreciated their reluctance but he was always excited to meet fans. He was still, to this day, shocked whenever anyone wanted a picture with him. He sometimes still considered himself an odd jobs-man from the Vancouver area.
"Cory! Cory!" A few of them called, effectively gaining his attention. He smiled before greeting them. "Could we possibly get a picture if you're not busy? It would be really cool."
"Yeah, absolutely." He replied before glancing around to the rest of his group who all seemed to be gathering up to take pictures with fans and then back to the man snapping the picture with one of the girl's smartphones.
"Would you mind one more?"
Cory stepped back from the giggling trio of friends to see an older looking girl- who he thought may have resembled Jessica Alba and he might have stared a little- confidently step up next to him before handing her camera over to one of the previous girls.
"Uh- uhm, no, of course not." He mumbled but kept his friendly grin displayed across his face.
From the side, Dianna's eyebrow peaked as she shook her head with a decent sized smirk and chuckled. She always felt like she'd be a jealous freak with Cory like she had been with Alex when he talked to fans but she trusted her goofy boyfriend more than anything, especially after the Katie debacle.
So she patiently waited before a boy cautiously approached her for a picture as well.
"Thanks for the picture, Cory." The Jessica Alba look-alike winked as she shook his hand before pulling away and strode off with her friends.
Cory knitted his eyebrows together and let out a slow, "Ookay…" Then he looked down to his hand to see a piece of ripped up napkin with a telephone number scribbled on it.
"Oh my god," he chuckled as he looked at the digits with a heart penned down as well.
Kevin had seen Cory glancing down to his palm as he was just finishing up with a couple fans himself. Quickly saying his goodbyes, he stepped towards his cast mate, sporting a large, teasing grin.
"Ooh, what's that?"
Cory slipped the soft napkin between his fingertips and held it up for Kevin who couldn't stop the laugh that escaped him.
"Her phone number," The tall brunette began with a laugh. He was just as amused as Kevin. Even Chord had joined in on the discussion.
"Okay, let me see this!" Chord snatched the soft albeit crumpled napkin from between Cory's fingers. "This is from that woman that came up to you?"
Cory nodded proudly. Hey, he couldn't help be a little boastful of a hot girl giving him her number, even if he had no plans of calling her.
"Is it?" Came Dianna's amused voice from behind the three men, prompting Cory to turn to her. "You better pick up your jaws boys, don't want any bugs to fly into your mouths."
Cory grinned and wrapped his arm around the blonde's shoulder, squeezing her tight before placing a kiss to the top of her head.
"God, I love you," He breathed into her hair before lowering his voice. "You're so sexy when you're playing jealous."
Dianna looked up from under his arm and made a show of putting her nose up in the air.
"I'm not jealous, merely teasing you for being a stuttering mess in front of Little Miss Nina Dobrev." She stated matter of fact-ly.
"Well I kind of thought she was more of a Jessica Alba." He responded with a playful pout. Dianna quickly moved her hand over his mouth in an attempt to wipe his pout away. Cory ended up placing a soft kiss to her palm.
"No Di's right, I'm definitely going with Nina Dobrev. She's pretty hot," Chord chimed in as he stood with Naya and Kevin examining the napkin. "You don't want this, do you?"
"The number?" Chord nodded prompting Cory to continue. "I figured our relationship ran its course after she confessed her love, whimsically proposed- which, I'll admit, made me feel a little emasculated but she did it so sweetly, I didn't even care- and told me to meet her at the fountain where we would partake in a romantic affair and be happy for the rest of our lives."
At hearing this, Dianna shot her eyebrow up challengingly and glared at Cory who sported a smug grin.
"What? Of course I said no," He chuckled and held his hands up. "I told her I already had the most beautiful woman in my life."
Naya burst out in laughter a couple feet away. Cory shifted his view over to her and began to smile before he felt a punch connect with his bicep.
"Ow!" He rubbed at the sore spot as he turned back to a now smug Dianna. "You punch a lot harder than I ever thought you would, you know."
"Comes with growing up with a brother. Now, stuff a sock in it, Monteith."
Cory huffed out a chuckle then spoke. "Yes, dear."
There was a brief moment of silence within the group as Chord smirked at the number, Naya smirked at Chord, Kevin continued scanning the pizza joints that had to sell cheesesteaks and Dianna and Cory shared flirty glances with each other.
"So we are going to get something to eat, right? I'm craving my cheesesteak over here!" Kevin rubbed at his stomach for emphasis.
"Yes we're going, Bee." Naya replied for the group before they set off on to find some famous Philly Cheesesteaks.
The group found a nice, little pizza place not much farther down the road and filled themselves up with the sandwiches before heading back to the venue where they'd have their concert that night.
A little over nine hours later, the cast found themselves with another concert in the books as they chugged down water and gathered up their stuff to leave.
"Another one down huh, Rob?" Dianna said to one of their stagehands as he broke down and packed up one of the traveling soundboards. The lanky, thirty something man smiled back at Dianna and nodded.
"And so it goes on to Toronto!"
"Toronto?" Dianna echoed, narrowing her eyebrows in thought.
"Uh, yeah," Rob affirmed with a grunt as he picked up a large case in order to bring it back to the truck. "Only stop in Canada that we're making."
"Okay, thanks!" Dianna shouted to him as he shuffled down the long tunnel to the rear of the building. She watched Rob disappear out of sight then turned around in her chair, lips pursed in thought.
"Only stop in Canada." She spoke softly. Then a grin appeared on her features. She had to talk to Ryan.
Dianna watched as Ryan flipped through some pages of the tour dates before returning his eyes to hers.
"I don't know, Di. You guys would just be cutting everything too close and frankly, I'm not sure I can trust this situation to work itself out."
The blonde sighed desperately.
"Look, Ryan, I know I'm not asking anything that's light, nor convenient but it would really mean a lot to me and I'm sure more for Cory if we could do this."
Ryan pushed his fingers into his forehead and rubbed soothing circles into it. Of course he felt bad that he couldn't just say yes to Dianna. He loved the girl like she was his own daughter and would want to do anything for her but he just didn't know if what she was asking was possible.
"You do realize that this would also be a legal issue as well. I'm under contract, as well as you, that states I cannot let you out of my sight. What if something were to happen when you and Cory were off? Dianna, I'd be fucked." He gestured dramatically between them. "We would be fucked. Fox would have our jobs in a second. Finding another blonde girl to play Quinn would be easy enough."
"We won't let anything happen. Cory and I will be really discreet about this. We can get a private plane to charter us there from Toronto so no one will see us on a public plane and snap pictures, plus if we leave right after the concert, it'll be a red eye flight anyway and not many people are at the airport at that time. We'll only be there for the one full day and night in between the venue dates and be back early the morning of concert day in Detroit… Everything will work out, Ry, I promise."
Ryan sucked in a large breath before he exhaled deeply and rubbed at his eyes. He couldn't say no to Dianna, especially with that glint in her eyes and the desperate plea in her voice.
"Okay," He finally relented. When he opened his eyes he saw the biggest of smiles on Dianna signifying that she was obviously happy, which made him feel better about the situation. "You can go. Just please be discreet and please be back on time. That last one goes for two, okay?"
"Yes! Yes, we definitely will do both of those things!" She squealed gleefully before diving in to hug her favorite executive producer. "I have to go tell Cory!"
Ryan smiled as he watched her run off before calling after her.
"Discreet and timely, Dianna!" He repeated, just hoping everything was going to work out or Glee would find themselves with one less executive producer and potentially two new cast members.
Cory had been scrolling through his twitter feed when he heard someone bust into the green room they could wait in while the crew packed everything up. He briefly took his eyes off his iPhone to see his girlfriend strutting towards him.
"Hey, babe," He greeted with his crooked smile. "You look like you're on a mission or something."
"I am," She admitted breathlessly. She'd been running around the building for the last fifteen minutes searching for him. "I've been looking for you everywhere."
"Well you found me, what's up?"
Dianna sat down next to him on the couch and took a few seconds to catch her breath before speaking.
"Cor- Cory," She swallowed and continued to collect herself. "Babe…"
The tall brunette let out a chuckle while the corners of his lips tugged into a larger grin at seeing her all out of breath and seemingly… nervous? She was just too cute.
"Yeah?"
"I'd really like to meet your family."
Cory's eyebrows shot up, forcing creases into his forehead as he sat back. It's not that he didn't want her to meet his family. She already met his niece when she came to L.A. to visit so that wasn't a big deal to him, he was just surprised she was pulling it out now, in the middle of their tour nonetheless.
"Yeah, sure," He finally spoke. "After the tour I'm sure we could set something up."
Dianna shook her head and her smile from talking to Ryan began to appear.
"No, I was thinking sooner. As in, right after the show in Toronto." Now Cory's brows were really up there.
"But that's in like, two days," He coolly informed her like she was crazy but she merely nodded her head. "Babe, I'd love for you to meet my family- hell, they really want to meet you too, but that's just not…" He paused to make sure he chose his wording wisely. He didn't need her to go off on him for being rude or thinking she was crazy. "Realistic…" Yeah, that was a good word- a safe word. "We're on tour. Our schedules are just too hectic."
Dianna just continued to smile sweetly.
"You get that, right?"
"Of course, Cor," She eventually said. "But what if I told you we don't have to worry about that for a day?"
His curiosity peaked. As did his eyebrow.
"Okay, I'm listening." He told her and placed his phone down to give her his full attention. Dianna bounced giddily and slipped her leg under herself to get more comfortable.
"I got us a way to visit right after the Toronto show. I mean, I figured we'd be the closest flight wise to get to Vancouver from there making it the most optimal time to go, and Ryan agreed as long as we were discreet and to be back for Detroit on time. We would have that whole day in between the shows to hang out with your family."
As he listened, Cory felt his insides warm up. He couldn't believe how perfect this woman was for him. Dianna went through all this trouble to set up a free day to meet his family along with caring for him and loving him. He would be shocked if his mom never mentioned the 'marriage' word to him while they visited. He smiled softly and slipped his hand into hers.
"Then I guess it's a plan." He agreed and watched her ever-growing smile continue on.
"Really?" She questioned, the excitement was evident in her face never mind the fact that it just exuberated out of her.
Cory put on a smile that matched the intensity of hers.
"How can I say no after you went through all this stuff trying to set it up?"
Dianna squealed once more before she jumped into Cory's lap and pressed a passionate kiss against his lip. No more words were shared after that moment, just hard kisses and caresses that screamed, I love you and man, did she really love him.
Their Toronto show mirrored every other show they had performed so far. Sound check and quick run throughs went great and backstage preparations had been flawless.
Everyone knew Cory was the most excited out of everyone to be in Canada, his home country. He especially loved Toronto because he had never had a bad experience there. Every time he had gone, whether it was with his family when he was younger or just with friends when he got older, the people were always friendly and it was just a fun city. He could only imagine the Glee fans would be awesome and they sure as hell did not disappoint.
Just like every show, after their final number of 'Somebody to Love' they would wave and say their goodbyes to the crowd.
"Thank you, Toronto!" Kevin yelled into his mike.
"You guys are the best!" Cory shouted, unable to not do it. "I love Canada!" He continued to jump up and down before reaching his hand down for some fans in the first row and giving a few high fives along the way.
From a few people down, Dianna giggled wildly with Lea as they watched Cory dance and give high fives while they too shouted out to the crowd. He was such a goofball sometimes but they all loved him.
Once they were all done shouting their love to the arena, they waved and began to make their ways backstage.
"Are you ready baby?" Dianna asked as she slipped her hand around Cory's bicep from behind. "We need to be out of here in the next half hour."
"Yep," He began and wrapped his arm around her shoulder instead. "I made sure to pack an over night bag before the show. When does the flight leave?"
"I booked pilots for eleven so we should be there by ten-forty-five at least. It's a little under five hours for the flight."
"Remind me again why did we have to get a private plane instead of just taking a red eye on Air Canada?"
Dianna shrugged her shoulders. "Ryan said to be discreet. We're technically not supposed to even be leaving the tour."
"Riight…" Cory drawled and nodded his head.
Dianna continued to share the details of their flight itinerary with Cory as they walked to the green room to grab their bags and say bye to everyone.
"So I guess we'll see you two Monday?" Harry asked and hugged each of them.
"Yeah, we'll be back that morning," Cory said. "We just have to keep this trip on the down low so you know, just…"
"Don't spread it around. I got you," Harry concluded with a smile. "Have fun."
Cory said his thanks before turning to talk with his bro, Mark. Meanwhile, Dianna was saying her goodbyes to Naya, Lea and Heather.
"Don't do anything I wouldn't do." Lea winked and giggled. Dianna arched her brow up at her.
"As in try not to get frisky with Cory in his Star Wars sheets." Naya clarified and began chuckling. She loved Di but she loved to tease her more.
"Yeah, Star Wars sheets, I'm sure," Dianna joined in. "I'm more counting on that they're Canucks sheets."
"Either way, you don't want Mama Monteith to hate you for defiling her precious little boy. Not a good first impression."
Dianna nodded and smiled at Heather before doing the same for Naya and Lea.
"Well ladies, advice taken. I'll see you guys Monday morning."
And with one more hug, she joined Cory at the door before they travelled to the airport.
The trip to the airport wasn't too eventful. Getting through security was quick and easy due to the fact they had their own private security check in plus the fact that it was late at night. After security, a nice TSA agent walked them to their "gate" which was more of just a door that led out to the tarmac. After being greeted by their two pilots, they took their seats in the middle of the almost bare twelve-person plane. There was one older lady in the front who must have had some money to get on the supposed private plane. Oh well, it wasn't that big of a deal once they thought about it. She was sleeping before they even took off.
Their four and a half hour flight went by quickly. Right in the beginning Dianna had wrapped her arms around Cory's side and rested her head on his shoulder and fell asleep. Cory followed quickly behind and they snoozed until there was only an hour left to go.
"I'm nervous." Dianna commented as she gripped tightly onto Cory's hand. He smiled sweetly and ran his thumb over the back of her hand for comfort.
"Why are you nervous? Because of my family?" She nodded her head prompting him to lean down and kiss her forehead soothingly. "You're amazing and my mom and my brother's family will love you."
Dianna exhaled lightly, bit her lip and smiled softly.
"How do you always know exactly what to say to make me feel better?"
Cory shifted his head to the side, shrugged and smiled cockily. "Well, I like to think it's because I'm pretty freakin awesome."
"And oh so, so modest." The blonde teased and giggled. Cory nodded his head along agreeably.
"That too," He chuckled. "Plus, Lexi already loves you, you know that, right?" Dianna nodded. "Then you're already in like Flynn. It's her seal of approval that really matters."
"What? Does she run your family?"
"Damn straight she does!" Cory exclaimed and they both laughed. "But really, don't worry about it. If I love you, so will they."
"And do you?" Dianna asked, rhetorically of course because she knew the answer but she wanted to hear him say it. Nothing was better to hear than Cory saying those three amazing words to her.
She watched as her boyfriend's eyes softened and a small smile graced his lips. Then he nodded his head.
"I do," He assured her, his voice only loud enough for her to hear over the sound of the plane. "I love you more than anything."
She smiled dreamily and leaned up a little to kiss him. She moaned softly into his lips then pulled back to stare right into his eyes.
"I love you, too."
After a brief couple of seconds, Cory cleared their silence.
"So is there any chance we can join the Mile High Club?" His eyebrows jumped suggestively and his lips displayed a wicked, yet very playful grin.
Dianna scoffed but laughed loudly. "Oh my god, you would say something like that!"
"I know, I'm joking," He admitted before chuckling. Then he paused. "Wait, that wasn't a no so…"
"No," She rolled her eyes at how silly yet partially serious he was being. "There's that old woman sitting right up front next to the bathroom. We'd scar her and I don't feel like killing a woman of her age with a heart attack."
"But she's been sleeping this whole time!"
"No!"
"Alright, fair enough. I thought I'd try." He admitted as he glanced around his seat at the old woman in the front.
"Maybe another time."
Cory whipped his head around to see Dianna give him a saucy smile.
He chuckled and nodded. "Yeah, maybe."
As soon as their plane landed at Vancouver International, the pair grabbed their small carry-ons that held their night and day's worth of clothes and headed out into the terminal.
Once they were out there, Cory pulled his iPhone out of his pocket and dialed his brother's number. It was four in the morning so he knew his brother wouldn't be awake at the moment and that his phone would be off but he could leave a message. He had to let someone know they were here.
As soon as he hit the call button, the phone went straight to voicemail like expected.
"Hey bro, it's Cory. Listen, I know you're not up right now and I'm hoping you'll be up at five like you normally are and check your phone cause I'm at the airport right now with Dianna. Um… Surprise I guess! We got a day off in between the tour so I brought Di home to meet you, mom and Stacy. Uh, anyway, just call me back when you get this message and oh! Don't tell mom I'm here. We want to surprise her. Okay, talk to you later, bye."
"No answer?" Dianna asked, coming up from behind him.
He shook his head. "No but I didn't expect there to be one. Shaun normally gets up at the crack of dawn though so he should get the message I just left within the next hour."
"Okay then. Do you want to get some breakfast while we wait? I'm starving."
Cory glanced around the surrounding portions of airport. It was too early for most places to be open.
"I don't think the actual restaurants open up until six but I'm sure we could find a Starbucks somewhere in here if that's okay."
"Yeah that sounds great," Dianna agreed and brushed some hair behind her ear. "I could go for a bagel or muffin or something."
They didn't walk far before they spotted a Starbucks not far down the hall of the deserted airport.
With coffees and breakfast in hand, they found a small table to sit at while they ate and waited for the hour to pass and by five a.m. sharp, Cory's phone was ringing.
"Is that your brother?"
Cory eyed the caller i.d.
"Yep, told you he woke up super early," Cory chuckled before answering the phone. "Hey Shaun. I guess you got my message?"
He listened closely to the groggy voice on the other end.
"Yeah I just heard it. So you're visiting?"
"Uh huh, we thought it would be nice if Dianna finally met you guys," He glanced over to his girlfriend who was eyeing him with an excited smile. "Plus I haven't been home in months."
"So you're visiting?" Shaun repeated.
"Yep!"
"As in… today?" He asked once more, just for clarity's sake.
"Yeah, Shaun," Cory chuckled at hearing the surprise and confusion in his older brother's voice. "We're just going to be hanging out for today and need a place to crash for the night until we leave tomorrow morning."
"Okay that sounds good but you're gonna have to stay at mom's this time. I just started repainting the guest room the other day and it's not finished. The fumes are pretty terrible."
Cory nodded and took a sip of his coffee. "Yeah okay, we can do that, just remember, don't mention Dianna and I visiting to mom. We want to surprise her by stopping by."
"I'm sure she'll love that. Should I not mention it to a certain ten year old either?"
"Yeah, her either. She'll be stoked to see Dianna." He replied before mouthing 'Alexis' to Dianna who nodded.
"Alright, I guess it's a plan bro. Do you need me to pick you up or something? Wait, where are you right now?"
"We're still at the airport but it's not a big deal, we can take a cab…"
Shaun rolled his eyes and inhaled heavily, waiting for the 'but'. Cory always operated that way. Ever since they were little he'd guilt you into something and when that wasn't the game he was playing he would just be very indecisive… and annoying.
"Or I mean, you could pick us up if you want but only if it's not any trouble but if it is, it's totally cool-"
"Okay we've played this game for far too long now. Just tell me that you want me to pick you guys up, Cor." Shaun retorted. He wished Cory could see him shaking his head.
With a bright smile and a breathy laugh, Cory did just that.
"Then I'll see you guys in twenty or thirty minutes. Be waiting outside at the pick up zone."
"Cool, sounds good. Thanks, Shaun."
And with that, Cory ended the call and shifted his view to his girlfriend.
"My brother's picking us up in twenty minutes. We just have to wait at the pick up zone outside for him then."
"Okay," Dianna said quietly. She was suddenly getting nervous knowing that in a matter of twenty minutes, she'd meet a member of Cory's family; his big brother to be exact, someone Cory has always looked up to. She so wanted to be able to impress him and get his approval.
Hearing her timid tone, Cory smiled reassuringly.
"Hey, like I said on the plane, please don't be nervous. They are going to think you're great and by the extremely minute chance they don't, then screw them because I think you're great... And also extremely hot but that's still- besides the point."
She giggled before she smiled graciously and intertwined her fingers with his across the table. He truly did always say the right things.
"Thank you," She breathed out slowly while she leaned over, cupped his cheek and kissed his lips softly.
When she pulled back, Cory could see the smile on her lips and he had one to match.
"So we'll just finish our coffee then head downstairs?"
"Sounds good to me." She said and took a long swig of her hazelnut roast.
Getting to the pick up/drop off zone of the airport was very easy. Canadian customs was a breeze and there were barely any people at the airport at the early hour and the ones that were just flew by the couple without any inclinations to stop. The best part: No paparazzi. Damn, they loved secret trips!
They only ended up waiting outside for a few minutes before Shaun pulled up to the curb.
"Hey, Cor!" Shaun greeted excitedly, pulling his brother into a hug as soon as he could.
"Hey, Shaun, what's going on? Thanks for picking us up." Cory responded and gestured to Dianna who waited to the side while the brothers had their moment. She immediately noticed they looked pretty similar, though Cory was a few inches taller than Shaun.
"Dianna!" Shaun announced finally after catching up with Cory, equally as excited to see her, as he was his brother. It wasn't everyday that Cory brought a girl home to meet the family, never mind the fact that he never had many girlfriends as it was.
He walked over to her and gave her a friendly hug, one that she giggled into and greeted him back. All the while Cory now stood to the side, beaming. He was really happy that Shaun was making it very easy for Dianna to not be nervous.
"It's nice to finally meet you." Shaun told her as he pulled away from their hug and listened while Dianna expressed her mirrored sentiments.
"Yeah same to you. I figured after how long Cory and I have been together it was only right to meet his family."
Shaun grinned and chuckled before he offered to put their bags in the trunk.
After a few more minutes of pleasantries, Shaun was off into the early morning on the way to drop off Cory and Dianna at their mother's house.
"You're really chipper for this early in the morning. I wasn't sure if you'd be upset about picking us up this." Dianna mentioned as they pulled onto the highway. Shaun shrugged.
"No it's not a problem at all. I've always been a morning person."
"Yeah, especially when we were kids. Shaun would always come in and wake me up a whole two hours early for school." Cory added bitterly but ended up laughing about it anyway.
"So Dianna, as much as my wife and I would love to put you and Cory up, because trust me, my daughter would be ecstatic, but we just started painting our guest bedroom and unless you're into huffing paint, I didn't think you'd enjoy the accommodations," He chuckled as he explained. "I mentioned it to Cory on the phone so I hope you don't mind that you guys are gonna be at our mom's place for the night."
Dianna waved this off in a lighthearted manner from the backseat.
"That's absolutely fine. I can't wait to meet your mom." She revealed with a soft squeeze to her boyfriend's hand to let him know she was excited and yet still a little nervous. She'd always be a little nervous no matter what comforts Cory would whisper into her ear.
From the seat over, Cory grinned brightly at hearing Dianna's enthusiasm and her ability to always look positively at a situation. It was one of the many things he found attractive about her.
Their drive lasted about fifteen minutes and by the time they pulled into the driveway of their mother's house and family home in Victoria, which was right near Vancouver, it was almost completely light out making it very easy to see the house.
It was a nice house, Dianna thought. It was a cute, white two-story cape styled house with plenty of beautiful bushes and flower gardens to brighten up the front yard. She could tell that Cory's mom had a knack for gardening. It also boasted a beautiful cobblestone walkway that began in the driveway and lead all the way up to the dark green door.
Dianna continued to take in her surroundings as Cory took their bags from Shaun before the brother turned to lead the way in, leaving his little bro with one bag in hand and the other slung onto his shoulder.
"Will she be awake?" Dianna questioned worriedly. "I don't want to wake her up early just to find that she has unexpected visitors."
Shaun shook his head, silently telling her not to worry about it.
"Oh yeah, it's just about six. She's a morning person like me. If I know her like I think I do, she should be sitting in the kitchen with a cup of coffee watching the news."
"Great," Dianna breathed, feeling better that she wasn't interrupting the woman's slumber but also getting butterflies in her stomach at the thought of meeting her boyfriend of almost seven month's mother.
Sensing a change in the blonde whose hand was firmly iron gripped onto his, Cory shifted his eyes down to hers- to which she immediately returned his gaze- and gave her a reassuring smile and mouthed the words, 'don't worry.'
Once at the front door, Shaun connected his knuckles to it three firm times sending nice and very audible knocks into the house. Only moments later did the door swing open.
"Shaun? Honey, why are you here so early? Is everything okay?" Their mother asked, beginning to worry. The older brother nodded his head, which calmed the woman down.
"Everything's fine, mom and I'm sorry it's early but I knew you'd be up. I actually brought something I think will make your day."
Shaun turned around slightly and waved Cory forward into their mother's view.
"Oh my goodness! Cory!" She squeaked and wrapped her youngest in her arms, very forcefully and tight Cory might add.
"Hey there, mom. It's so awesome to see you."
"It's always wonderful to see my baby boy," She breathed into his chest as she continued to squeeze the daylights out of him before pulling back slightly. "But I thought you were on your tour for your show. How are you here right now?"
"Well," Cory inhaled deeply and began to smile. "I'll show you."
Seeing that her boyfriend was gesturing for her to join next to him, Dianna gathered her confidence, pushed her nerves aside and stepped up to the door.
"Mom, this is Dianna, my girlfriend." The tall Canadian announced proudly before he wrapped his long arm around the blonde's shoulder and pulled her next to him tightly.
"Dianna Agron," Dianna greeted and stuck out her hand for their mother to shake. "It's really great to finally meet you."
"Same to you, dear." The older woman said with a large smile as she took Dianna's hand into her own to properly greet.
"So um, do you mind if we come in, mom?" Cory asked to which the woman nodded emphatically.
"Of course, of course! Shaun, take your brother's and Dianna's bags into the hall before joining us in the kitchen."
Cory suppressed his chuckle when he noticed a slight scowl on his big bro's face as he scooped up their bags before following them all into the kitchen.
Dianna continued to be impressed as she made her way by following into the kitchen which boasted beautiful granite counter tops but still had a quaint charm in the furniture, particularly the small, dark stained wooden table they were currently taking seats at.
"You really have a lovely home, Mrs. Monteith." She complimented once they had all sat down, Shaun included.
"Please, you can call me Ann. Mrs. Monteith makes me sound old."
"Oh my god, mom. Really, with the 'Mrs. Monteith makes me sound old' stuff?" Cory groaned at his mother's cliché-ness.
The brunette woman scoffed and gave her son a hard albeit teasing glare.
"Cory Allan Michael Monteith, I'm offended."
Dianna laughed as she took in Ann's playful tone and her boyfriend's slightly rosy tinted cheeks. Must have been the full name thing, she figured.
"Yeah, Cor, your mom's not old. As a matter of fact, I think she's looking fantastic."
Ann smiled appreciatively. "Thank you, Dianna" Then she shifted her eyes to her son. "I can already tell she's a keeper, Cor."
Cory grinned and chuckled, the pink already disappearing from his face. "Yeah, she is."
"Hey, mom," Shaun piped up from his seat at the table, having been content with just listening before. "Would it be okay if they stayed here? Stacy and I would have loved to have them over but-"
"Aren't you repainting your guest room?" Ann interjected. Shaun nodded and began to speak once more.
"Exactly, that's why I told them that it would be better for them to stay here."
"We would have stayed at a hotel or something but it wouldn't have looked good if a charge from Victoria, B.C. came in on my card." Cory told her with an apologetic shrug.
"Why is that, dear?"
"We're not exactly supposed to be here right now," Dianna answered for him. "I had to practically beg our executive producer to let us leave the tour until our next stop in Detroit. He told us to keep the trip on the down low so Fox Corp wouldn't find out."
Ann glanced back to her son once Dianna had finished. Cory bobbed his head in agreement and she nodded understandingly.
"Okay then, you two can most definitely stay here. How long are you staying?"
"Only for tonight actually," Cory replied and rubbed the back of his neck soothingly to get a kink out. That plane headrest really did a number on it. "Our show in Detroit is tomorrow night and we made a promise to be in Detroit by tomorrow morning."
"Shame you can't stay longer but I get how busy you guys are," Ann said before she took a quick sip of her coffee. "I can set you two up in Cory's old room, actually. I would have put you in the guest room but it's got a lot of boxes full of my interior design stuff in it."
"That's great mom, thanks." Cory smiled gratefully and even more so when he felt Dianna's fingers on the back of his neck working slow, massaging circles into it. He figured she could tell his neck was bothering him from before.
"Great, glad that's settled," Shaun spoke again. "Since it's still pretty early, you guys were probably gonna get a little more sleep, huh?"
Cory glanced over to Dianna who softly nodded before he looked back to his brother.
"Yeah I think we might catch up on some sleep, just for a few more hours though."
"Okay well," Shaun got up from his seat and pushed it in before returning his view to Cory. "I'll let you two do that but I was wondering if you'd like to go to Whistler with Alexis, Stacy and I when you guys wake up. We were planning on making it a day trip today and you and Dianna are more than welcome to join."
Cory smiled widely, a very excited expression on his features. "Yeah man, that sounds cool."
"Great we'll come get you guys around nine-thirty. Be ready." And with that and his goodbye, Shaun was already out and in his car pulling out of the drive.
"Whistler?" Cory turned to see the utterly confused yet intrigued look on Dianna's face.
"Oh uh, Whistler Blackcomb," He clarified. "It's a ski resort a little north from here."
"You do realize it's June right? They have snow there?"
Cory shrugged and let out a soft, breathy chuckle. "There's a little natural snow although it's mostly machine made this time of year but it's cool enough to stick."
"Plenty of people around here love to go summer skiing, Dianna," Ann added from across the kitchen as she washed out her mug. "It's nice to ski in the warmth in t-shirts rather than bulky winter jackets."
"Something I've never done before," Dianna noted with an arched brow. "But it definitely sounds like fun."
Cory licked his lips then smiled. "I thought you might like going. I remember how you told me you love to ski a while back."
"Right I do but Cor, what about the being discreet thing we talked about? Going to a large, public ski resort won't exactly be keeping our heads low. I told Ryan that-"
"That we'd be careful, I know," He finished for her and she sighed. "We will be. Believe it or not, not that many people show up on Sundays to ski and in the summer at that. Skiing's obviously way more popular in the winter."
"How do you know?" She questioned, her eyebrows already narrowed for the challenge. Cory narrowed his in return, completely ready to take on the look.
"Because I've done this exact thing before. Plus, we'll be wearing goggles and you can even wear a facemask if you want but I promise that'll get hot."
Dianna huffed but ultimately agreed that they'd be fine.
"Okay, then I think it would be cool to go skiing for the day."
Cory smiled heartedly and planted a quick kiss on Dianna's cheek.
"Great, sounds like a plan," He noted before a deep yawn took over. "Do you want to catch up on some Z's before we leave?"
The blonde smiled lazily at him and nodded before turning to Ann.
"Again, it was so nice to finally meet you."
Ann grinned at the pair before focusing directly on Dianna.
"It was wonderful to meet you as well, Dianna," She responded and leaned her back up against the kitchen counter, shifting her body so she could give the other woman her full attention. "Cory can show you to the room. I'll be down here in the kitchen or the living room if you two need anything."
"Great, thanks mom," Cory said as they got up from their seats and exchanged hugs with his mom before he led them down a long hall to the last room.
"This was my room," The tall brunette informed Dianna as she came up from behind him to peek into the decent sized- now guest- bedroom.
"Ah," She noted and swiped her hand along the sheets peeping out from the blanket. "I see they're nice, neutral green sheets," She noticed Cory giving her a confused look. "Naya and Lea told me there would be Luke Skywalkers and R2D2s everywhere." She clarified.
Cory scoffed feigning hurt. "They would! They should have known there would be a better chance of hockey sheets."
Dianna perked her beautifully sculpted eyebrow at her boyfriend. "Do you?"
"Have hockey themed sheets?" Dianna bobbed her head before he smirked and stepped over to the closet and whipped open the rustic door. "Bam!"
The blonde burst out in giggles when an overflowing top shelf full of Canucks styled bed sheets came into view.
"This is exactly what I said you would have!" Her raucous laughter was suppressed when Cory wrapped her in his long arms and gently tackled her onto the bed. "Do they fit this bed?" She patted the soft bedding beneath her. The brunette held in his chuckle with a tight smile and nodded.
"Why? Do you wanna put them on or something?" He joked and laughed finally but stopped when he noticed the sexy stare his girlfriend gave him.
Dianna sucked on her bottom lip for a moment before letting it slide out from under her teeth slowly. "Maybe… I think it could be hot taking advantage of you on your kiddy sheets."
She watched as he cringed then began choking up a laugh.
"What?"
"Nothing, it's just that you-" He laughed a little harder. "You kinda sound perverted when you say kiddy sheets. It just reminds me of being a little boy." He finally finished and left Dianna to roll her eyes and pout.
"Cor!" She whined and threw her head back onto the pillow. "You totally ruined it with that! Now all I can picture is an innocent little boy!"
Cory continued to laugh.
"What? Oh, I'm sorry," He apologized with calmer chuckles and pecked her pouty lips. "We could try that again if you want."
"Nope, you ruined it so we're done." She shook her head emphatically while she laughed softly before she turned onto her side and shut her eyes.
Cory, on the other hand, kept chuckling until he too closed his eyes and fell asleep.
"Sweetie," Came a voice through the door accompanied by a couple of light raptures against it. "Are you awake? Shaun, Stacy and Alexis are here."
"Hmm…" Cory hummed as he forced his eyelids open before he rubbed at them. "Yeah, I'm up," He returned groggily. After his mom said okay, he slowly shifted on the bed so he was looking at his girlfriend who was still very much asleep, face down into the pillow.
"Babe," He mumbled, still trying to get himself to wake fully. "My brother's back. Time to get up."
"Hmph…" She grumbled and grabbed the sides of the pillow to cover her ears. Cory chuckled softly and began to rub his hand up and down her arm, nudging her every few times.
Then he glanced to his right and looked at the time.
"Come on, we've been sleeping for three hours. We need to get up to go out."
"I am up," Her muffled voice sounded from the pillow. Cory rolled his eyes before he got out of the bed and moved over to her side so he was standing directly above her.
"I meant out of bed, let's go!" He then scooted his arms under her limp body, scooped her up and began carrying her bridal style out of the room.
Dianna, very awake now, began to squeal and throw her fists into his bicep.
"Okay, okay I'm up now for real, at least let me go get ready!" She demanded and watched as her boyfriend smiled goofily at her.
"Fine," He relented before he placed her onto her feet. "Be out in the kitchen in five minutes."
Dianna's mouth dropped open, a look of disbelief on her face.
"Five minutes? That's not long enough!"
"What do you have to do? All I plan on doing is brushing my teeth and throwing on a long sleeved shirt and a pair of my ski pants my mom keeps in the garage."
"But you're a guy, you aren't expected to take long."
Cory chuckled lightly and placed his hands on her cheeks. "Babe, we're only going to a ski resort, you don't need to look all made up, plus you don't have to. You're gorgeous already."
Dianna exhaled loudly and narrowed her eyes at her smirking boyfriend. He always did say the right things and it got her thinking that he probably said those things to get her moving half the time. Oh well.
"I hate you, you know," She hissed as she turned to return to the room and Cory smirked wider in victory. "Ever the mastermind of compliments."
"Love you too!" He called after her before he made his way to find his extra gear.
Five minutes later, the pair had regrouped in the kitchen where they were greeted enthusiastically by Shaun and Stacy but even more so by Alexis.
"Dianna!" The girl squealed and made a running jump right into the blonde's arms. "It's so cool that you're here! I haven't seen you in so long!"
"Oh my god, you turned my only niece against me." Cory griped from next to Dianna who in response, stuck out her tongue at him teasingly.
"Can't help it if she's more excited to see me." The blonde replied with the biggest 'in your face' smile as she continued to squeeze the young girl in her arms.
Cory crossed his arms over his chest in a mock pout before scoffing. "Pfft, whatever."
"I didn't forget about you Uncle Cory," Alexis reminded him as she stepped out of Dianna's embrace and into Cory's. "You're still my favorite uncle."
"I'm your only uncle." He deadpanned in return, causing the girl to laugh.
"Right, that too."
"Dianna, hi, it's nice to finally meet you. Cory always has great things to say about you." Came Stacy voice from across the kitchen as she moved towards Dianna to hug her.
"I'm so excited to meet you as well," Dianna confessed after they untangled themselves from their embrace. "It's wonderful to finally meet the woman that has the sweetest daughter alive."
At hearing this, both Stacy and Alexis's faces lit up in grins.
"Thank you, you're too nice."
After the rest of their pleasantries were passed on and everyone who wanted a coffee had one, the plan to drive to Whistler Blackcomb was decided.
Aware that Dianna wouldn't have any kind of ski gear with her, Stacy offered her an extra pair of ski pants she brought along with some goggles, gloves and a helmet.
Twenty minutes later, the car was loaded up with Cory's board and gear he kept at home along with Stacy's, Shaun's and Alexis's gear.
The ride was just under two hours, which wasn't too bad in Dianna's opinion. She expected to have to go farther north to see snow but wasn't too surprised at the amount of snow clinging onto the mountain considering it was cooler there than back in Victoria.
"Here's Whistler Blackcomb!" Shaun announced as the car pulled into the parking lot and they began to unload the car.
"How come your mom didn't want to come?" Dianna queried.
"She isn't into skiing much anymore but she used to take Shaun and I all the time when we were little," Cory answered as he kept up with Shaun by pulling out their two snowboards. "Shaun and I learned how to ski at first but transitioned to boarding when we got a little older."
"Mmm…" She hummed. "I can't wait to watch my sexy boyfriend go snowboarding."
Cory grinned. "And I can't wait to see my beautiful girlfriend do the same."
Upon hearing this, her eyebrows shot up in surprise. "Huh?"
"What? You didn't think you were going skiing, did you?" At this, Dianna slowly nodded her head. "Nope, you are going to learn to board."
"Are you serious?" She asked skeptically. Cory nodded sternly. Crap he was actually serious. "But I've only skied my whole life. I don't know how to snowboard."
"That's why it's called learning, Di." He responded with a smug grin before he turned to follow his family into the lodge and Dianna could only pray that this wouldn't be too bad before she too trailed after them.
Just like Cory had claimed, the resort was far from packed and the process of renting a snowboard and boots for Dianna went quickly and smoothly. Once Cory had convinced his Shaun, Stacy and Alexis to head up a lift without them and to just meet them later, he took Dianna to the bunny hill.
"Okay, here we are." Cory grunted as he tightened the bindings on Dianna's board as tight as they could go before he did the same to his own. After that was done, he plopped himself down next to her and began explaining the basics.
"So the easiest way that I learned to get up from sitting-" He started before he was cut off by Dianna already attempting to sit up her own way. Once she successfully fell back onto her butt, she turned to a smirking Cory.
"Not that easy, is it?" He teased and laughed after she let out an exasperated sigh. "Like I was saying…" She rolled her eyes at this. "The easiest way is to fall forward onto your knees then use your leg strength to push yourself up onto your toes, then heels—like this."
Dianna watched as Cory demonstrated and held out his gloved hands to help her do the same.
She found it was easy enough to fall forward onto her knees but actually standing took much more effort and Cory's support definitely helped there.
When she was finally up, the goofy Canadian began explaining the next portion.
"So now that you're up, we're gonna start actually snowboarding," He informed her before he straightened out her board and they began slowly, under Cory's control as he held her hands an arm length away, to go down the hill. Though they didn't get far before Dianna was slamming her board into his and ultimately fell right onto her butt.
"I can already tell that I'm going to be so bruised by tomorrow." She sighed.
"Don't worry about it, I promise this will be the only time you get a bruise." He told her while he helped her to her feet once more, which led to another fall onto her backside a couple minutes later and Cory smiled to stifle his laugh. "I promise for real this time that you won't get another bruise."
And as promised, Dianna did dramatically improve as Cory continued to teach her the basics of actually getting down the hill and turning.
"Hell yeah!" Cory double high fived his girlfriend when the made it all the way down the bunny hill. "You did awesome that time!"
"Thanks, babe." She kissed him soundly on the lips. They smiled into it and when Dianna pulled back, Cory grabbed her chin the best he could, because hey, bulky ski gloves make things difficult, and brought her lips back to his.
The blonde moaned quietly as their lips melded together, letting Cory slip his tongue inside.
"Mmm, Cor," Dianna chastised as she pulled back. "What about pictures?"
Cory snorted out a laugh before he glanced around quickly then his eyes landed back on the woman in front of him.
"From what paparazzi? Di, there aren't any."
Dianna looked around and true to his word; there weren't any people around taking pictures, just a lot of skiers and snowboarders doing their thing.
"Fine, we can keep kissing." She said before she wrapped her arms around her boyfriend's neck then slipped in the process when her board slid from under her leaving her on the ground and Cory laughing.
"Ow! Cory!"
The rest of their day went by really fast once Dianna had the basics down. They had enough time to meet up with Stacy, Shaun and Alexis on a blue slope for a few runs before calling it a day and heading back for dinner.
"I did so good today, didn't I mom!" Alexis exclaimed as the group walked through the front door to be greeted by the lovely aromas of dinner cooking.
"You did, hun." Stacy replied and kissed her daughter on the top of her head then Shaun scooped Alexis up and threw her over his shoulder before trotting into the living room.
Cory and Dianna were the last through the doorway.
"I had a good time, Cor. Snowboarding was really fun. I'm glad we went even though I'll have at least two good sized bruises." She playfully scolded her boyfriend on the last part.
"Relax, I'm sure they won't be that bad." He said in response but would later wish he hadn't when he would hear her complain.
Once everyone had gotten changed back into regular clothes they reconvened in the dining room.
Dianna took her seat next to Cory on one side of the table and made sure to sit gingerly. The forming black and blues were already getting sore.
A few minutes later, Ann brought in the food with the help of Stacy and placed it on the table before the two joined the rest of them.
Dianna thought it was all very nice—the food and the company. The dinner reminded her of her own mother's home cooked meals whenever she had the chance to make it home and the company was great. It was really nice to sit down with Cory's family minus his father whom she had known was divorced from Ann and neither Cory nor Shaun saw him very often. Even without him, it was great to talk with Stacy and swap stories of what it was like dating a Monteith—those were funny conversations. Childhood dirt, uh she meant stories, were a riot to listen to. Ann had the best for both Shaun and Cory; one even had Cory completely red in the cheeks. She would have to say though, that speaking with Alexis at the table was one of the best parts because the girl was just too damn cute. She had many Glee related stories and fully expressed her desire to be her niece as well. Dianna was pretty sure she saw some kind of glint in Ann's eyes when this was brought up.
"So did anyone leave room for dessert?" Ann questioned from the head of the table. When a few yeses sounded, Ann got up from her chair and asked Cory to help her in the kitchen.
"So what's going on with you and Dianna?" She finally asked once they were in the kitchen out of ear's reach.
"What do you mean?" Cory questioned in turn as he scanned the desserts on the kitchen island.
"What are your plans relationship wise?"
"Well, she's my girlfriend…" He trailed off, unsure as to how exactly his mother wanted him to answer the question.
Ann rolled her eyes and chuckled softly. Boy, sometimes her son could be daft.
"I meant, are you planning to take the next step anytime soon?"
"Oh, that…" He chortled. "We've only been together for seven months, mom."
"So? There shouldn't be a set time that you need to be dating for to bring up the next step. It should be once you know, you know. Do you think she's the one for you?"
Cory bit the side of his cheek and pursed his lips as he took the second to think. Of course he knew she was the one for him. He loved her like nothing else in the world and this wouldn't be the first time he had thought about popping the question but he didn't want to do it too soon because what if she wasn't ready? What if she said no? After all, they didn't even live together yet and he wasn't sure if that step came before the proposal or if it didn't matter. Really though, what if she said no? That would utterly kill him.
"I know she's it for me," He eventually said. "I just- I'm not sure when the right time will be. I mean, trust me mom, I've thought about it before."
Ann sighed lightly and smiled sweetly as she walked up to her son and placed a gentle hand on his cheek.
"You'll know when's the right time because it'll just feel right and that there was no other alternative," She rubbed her thumb softly against his cheek, causing him to smile, before letting her hand fall back down and replacing her son's cheek with the pan full of pie. As she was about to walk out the kitchen door, she turned back to her son briefly and said, "And for the record, I think she's the one for you too and you for her."
The corners of Cory's lips slowly tugged north to create a large, thankful and thoughtful smile before he followed back out to the dining room.
"Is everything alright?" Dianna asked when she noticed her boyfriend sit down without anything in his hands.
He looked at her and huffed out a breathy laugh. "Everything's great."
The goodbyes to Shaun, Stacy and Alexis were a little sad for Cory and Dianna because they knew it would be the last time before they saw the three for a while. Dianna had to hold onto Alexis for a whole extra minute because the girl wouldn't let go of her but she was okay with that. She really liked Alexis.
Once the family had left, Cory went to the bedroom to get everything settled for bed while Dianna helped Ann with the dishes.
"I hope you liked everything tonight." Ann commented as she handed the blonde a plate to dry. Dianna had asked why she didn't use her dishwasher but the woman had replied that she liked to do things the old fashion way every once and a while.
Dianna smiled softly and nodded. "I did, very much. Your mixed vegetables were delicious."
"Good, I'm glad you enjoyed them," She breathed and passed over another plate. "So I heard you were quite the snowboarder. My sons will never get me on one of those things."
They shared a laugh before Dianna responded. "It was hard at first but Cory's a great teacher. Though I think I have some bruises."
"Yeah," Ann agreed. "Cory's always been very good with that," There was a long pause before Ann began to speak again. "What do you think of my son?"
Dianna opened her mouth ready to reply but couldn't stop the smile that made its way onto her lips.
"I think you raised a really great man."
"Do you love him?"
Dianna wasn't really sure why Ann was asking all these questions and why she wasn't more uncomfortable like she had been when she briefly met Alex's folks but she wasn't. She actually felt fine and confident and in a way, welcomed these questions. She bit her while she thought and noticed Ann still obviously waiting for her response.
"I do. I love Cory."
She watched the older woman smile and get back to scrubbing a pan.
"Well I can tell he really loves you, too."
Cory had just stepped out of the en suite bathroom from brushing his teeth when he noticed his girlfriend had already changed into a pair of shorts and a tank top and was pulling back the blankets to get into bed.
"Have fun washing dishes?" He chuckled as he joined her in bed.
"I did actually, your mom was nice to talk to." She said as she fluffed her pillow.
"You didn't let her corner you with questions did you?"
"I wouldn't say cornered, I actually really enjoyed talking to her."
He chuckled. "I bet… Now I think you owe time to me because I was all alone for like twenty minutes in here."
She could hear that 'I want some' tone in his voice and she was more than happy to oblige.
"Oh yeah? Poor, poor Cory…" She mumbled, as she got closer to him and their noses rubbed together. "Come here."
He smiled slightly before it disappeared under his girlfriend's lush lips.
Their kiss quickly turned heated as he prodded her mouth open with his tongue and rubbed it languidly over hers before she ended up pushing him down onto his back letting her swing her leg over and straddle him before reconnecting their lips.
Cory smirked into their kiss as he placed his hands on Dianna's hips before slipping his fingertips under the hem and started to tug north. Only when her shirt was completely off and she was left in her bra did she pull her lips off his.
"Cor, no."
The brunette groaned. "Why? I'm like- you know!"
Dianna chuckled at seeing how turned on Cory was.
"Baby I know, me too but I don't want to do this with your mom like, one room over."
"If we're really careful… and quiet, we can totally do it." He assured her then sat up so his face was mere inches away from Dianna's.
Dianna bit her lip and stared down to where she was sitting on Cory's lap before she returned her gaze to his and connected their lips quickly.
"Go get those hockey sheets." She whispered and Cory could have moaned so loud from the lust filled look she was giving him.
"God you're so hot," He waited until she slipped off him before he shot up from the bed and quietly shuffled over to the closet to grab the sheets he had slept with for years. "And totally not perverted." He added.
Dianna only arched a sexy eyebrow and gave him the come hither finger to which Cory completely obliged and pulled her into a kiss while they attempted to throw on the sheet the best they could.
So what if the girls made fun of her for completely disregarding what they said. She could take whatever they had to say when they got back because she could tell that tonight would be a good night.
And it was a good night. A really good night.
The next morning was an early one for the couple as they got ready and met Ann in the kitchen for some coffee and muffins.
"I'm so glad you guys had a good time visiting," Ann announced after she had retuned to the table from cleaning out her mug. "Especially last night."
Dianna choked a bit on her coffee and she tried to hide it the best she could but knew she was caught when Ann smirked at her.
Across the table, Cory blushed and rubbed at the back of his neck. "Um, thanks mom."
"No problem, sweetheart, I'll just be sure to put some extra detergent in the wash when I do those sheets." She prolonged her teasing just to see the blonde utterly red and mortified. She thought it was cute that the woman got so embarrassed.
"T-Thank you, Ann…" Dianna muttered and ducked her head until the older woman walked out of the room, giggling quietly to herself. Then she punched Cory's arm.
"What?"
"Never again."
Sorry if you thought the beginning was kind of slow. I wanted to add some real life stuff and I don't know if anyone's seen that video on youtube but there is one with Dianna laying all over Cory and him poking his head out afterwards. Also, I remembered someone wanted me to mention Toronto in the story so I added a little bit in here and I hope that it sufficed. Next I'd like to add some interviews for the tour if I can and I'd also like to do a chapter or two on the european leg of the tour because it could be interesting. Something crazy may or may not happen during that time, I mean, I don't know... hehe. Proposal? Proposal before or after move in? Maybe an Ellen interview with Cory? I wouldn't mind writing a wedding epilogue or something into this. Who knows. If you're willing to wait for it, I'm still willing to write, which means that this story is going to be longer than I planned for.
So please review! Getting up to 300 would be epic, especially for this fandom! REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW! Review to tell me how pissed you are that I waited this long. I don't care! They all help me write :)