Author's Note: So…yeah, it's been a while since I uploaded the last chapter, and I know what you're gonna say: "why is this chapter taking place in the winter time, and it's the middle of July?" Well, I've been really busy this year with school and such, but I can take a while to relax. I hope everyone enjoys this chapter. Stay tuned for the end of it, though, because I have something else to discuss. With that being said, happy reading all.
Featured Pairings: minor!Brittana (Brittany/Santana), Wildehart (Kitty/Joe), Wemma (Will/Emma)
New Characters: Elizabeth Cohen-Chang (Sandra Oh)
Disclaimer: I don't own anything related to Glee. All of the rights to the show go to Ryan Murphy and Co., and Twentieth Century Fox.
Many Colors
Chapter Twenty-Nine
This had to be the worst all-nighter Tina had pulled. Between listening to all of the songs for the Sectionals set list, conversing with Sam and Artie over the phone, and starting on some winter break homework, she barely found time to rest last night. Thank God for two-week breaks from school, because Tina thought she wouldn't survive.
"Tina!" a voice suddenly work her up after four and a half hours of sleep. The woman, presumably in her forties, who entered Tina's bedroom, sounded very irritated with her daughter and decided to interrogate her once she was able to get out of bed in the morning. Tina tried sleeping it off, but her mom walked over and shook the right side of her body, attempting to get her out of bed. "Tina Cohen-Chang, wake up!"
Annoyed with her mother's demands, Tina moaned loudly and opened her eyes halfway, allowing a percentage of light into her eyes. She could faintly hear her mother say, "do you realize how much the internet bill will be by the end of this month? Turn your laptop off! You left it on all night!"
Oh shit. Did I really leave it on? Tina took a moment to recall last night's chain of events as her mother stormed out of the room. Things seemed a bit blurry at first, and the minor events were out of their chronological orders as Tina reflected back on them. However, she did remember Artie bringing up a Christmas special he was working on with the help of several people from the AV club. Pretty much everyone in New Directions, with the exception of Rory Flanagan since Rachel and Kurt saw no relevance in his presence, was featured in Artie's Christmas special, and the creator himself reminded Tina last night that it would air at seven o'clock on Christmas Eve.
The Asian beauty still fumbled over trying to remember when she had fallen asleep…
And that's when it hit her.
A while after she and Artie hung up the phone, Tina was drawing some designs for Forsaken Harmonics' Sectionals outfits. Sectionals would be here faster than they thought, and outfit ideas weren't solidly discussed among the rest of the group. Tina doodled in her notebook slowly, determined to have everything perfected by the time she returned to school. However, as late as it was, the day got to her by each passing second, and she drifted off into a slow, smooth sleep.
It had to be around negative twelve degrees outside. Tina had covered herself with a maroon coat, a black scarf and pair of gloves, and a black beanie, yet her arms were getting goosebumps and her fingertips were getting frost bites. It had to be around eight o'clock at night or something, because all of the street lights were on and the sky was as dark and bare as the inside of a cave. Tina didn't have the slightest idea on where she was; the neighborhood didn't look too familiar, especially being that most of the houses were made of wood and boulders.
Once Tina reached the end of the road, all she could see was a big, fresh patch of snow, sitting there and waiting for someone to step into it. The snow patch extended out to infinity, which made Tina moan about the difficulty of walking through it. There was no going back, though. She already made it this far in the cold, and from the looks of it, no one seemed to be home. Garages were vacant of cars, and none of the lights in the little homes were on. Guess it was time for Tina to bite more than she could chew.
The walk across the snow was a pain in her ass. Seriously, her thighs and lower legs were giving her so much problems. No matter how much snow there was, though, Tina managed to keep on walking. Maybe there would be other people looking for shelter as well. Who knows, maybe they would have a home for Tina to stay once she got there. Maybe they could direct her back home where she belonged.
Unfortunately, after miles and miles of walking, Tina couldn't find anything yet. It wasn't until she stopped to take a couple of breaths that she heard Rachel Berry's voice in front of her. "I knew you couldn't do it on your own." The Asian beauty literally jumped out of her skin once she saw the pale Broadway-bound diva in a black coat and white gloves and scarf.
"Rachel…" Tina spoke in confusion. Her face was so frozen that she could barely move her lips as much. "What…what are you doing out here? Where am I?"
Instead of providing the answer Tina needed, Rachel continued on with the "I told you so" attitude, her tone not faltering a bit and her posture staying the same. "You don't realize how many years I've traveled through this snow bank, Tina. I've been able to find ways out and around this weather for about eighteen years of my life while you're still riding on training wheels." Tina's ears started to warm up as the steam started to build. Tina knew exactly what she meant. The snow was a metaphor, a metaphor for the ability to receive and maintain performing skills in terms on the glee club. It all followed Tina even in her dreams. When will Rachel get out of her head, for once?
"You can keep your pathetic, untouchable glee club for now," Rachel continued, "but no matter how much you all struggle in the snow together, you'll never amount to the versatility that I possess." Tina was so mad at her; she wanted to form a snowball and aim it directly at her face. Unfortunately, she thought of that too soon, for Rachel had already turned around and started walking away.
Tina wasn't ready to back out of a challenge, though. Even if it took fourteen inches of snow, she would outlive Rachel Berry at every chance she got. The Asian junior continued to walk, this time after Rachel. The snow danced in multiple directions as the wind started blowing everywhere. Tina had to cover her eyes in case some snowflakes blew into them.
When Tina removed her arm from in front of her eyes, she gazed upon a majorly steep hill that sat in front of her, completely blocking her pathway towards Rachel. She glanced up at the sky and noticed that, on top of the steep hill, was a tiny house with the lights on. Tina could faintly notice Santana and Brittany dancing together in the snow, with Mike Chang eventually joining in. Finn, Quinn, and Puck all drank what looked to be hot chocolate (or, in Puck's case, eggnog filled with alcohol). Rory was nowhere to be seen, and neither was Mercedes, Kurt, or Mr. Schuester. Tina assumed that they were both inside in front of the fireplace or even a radiator. In terms of Rory, Rachel could have dipped him in a scalding pot of water to cook him in, perhaps for everyone in New Directions.
After several seconds of confusion, Rachel was visibly seen from the top of the hill, glaring down at Tina with her arms crossed in front of her. "Think you have what it takes, Cohen-Chang? Climb on up!" It's like Rachel was literally challenging her – or maybe even threatening her. Whichever, Tina was ready to take on the heat…or at least the frost.
Unfortunately, when trying to climb the steep snow mountain, Tina was unable to get a good grip on anything. At every step she took, she slid back to where she started. Rachel, watching Tina below her, chortled at her pain and drank a cup of hot chocolate her fiancé brought for her. Every member still in New Directions were watching her now, giggling their little heads off as they watched the many attempts Tina took to climb the mountain. Hell, Mike was there looking pretty satisfied. That prick.
All of a sudden, Tina felt the ground rumble from underneath her. She looked down only for a couple of seconds, and all of the snow was collapsing down in a ditch. In fact, it wasn't just the snow – the entire ground beneath her was coming down. The Asian girl started to slip and fall down in the ditch, unable to grab anything else and keep herself up. No matter how much she screamed, no one would help her!
Everything after that, Tina couldn't remember as clearly. Tina had been so focused on trying to defeat Rachel Berry that she couldn't put her thoughts elsewhere. The junior girl turned her head towards her desk, taking notice of her Apple laptop still on with the screen displaying the glee club's schedule for January and February. She scattered on up, reaching for the device and turning it off to save power.
Something inside of her skull was knocking against her forehead. Side effects to all-nighters really got to Tina this morning. All she wanted to do was fall back to sleep –
"Tina!" her mother called from downstairs, making Tina lose her soothing train of thought. "We're going out with the family for lunch today! Get washed up after breakfast!" God damn it. Tina forgot about the family outing her parents planned for today. After church, they were going to see a Christmas movie with Tina's two younger cousins, Lisa and Franklin, and then everyone would go to a fancy restaurant for lunch (Tina thanked God that it wasn't Breadstix again).
However, as lazy as Tina was this morning, she found more peace as she fell backwards on her mattress. She'll probably wake me up later on anyway…
Everyone seated in the S.T. Erwin Church of God had applauded the church choir with the golden robes on for the special holiday occasion. If it's one thing Joe loved about going to church, other than getting the opportunity to worship his Lord and savior, was seeing the many saved, relieved faces on the many people seated around him. At times, church would make him feel emotional, especially when one of the choir members started singing so many soulful notes all at one time. At one point in the God Squad, before even joining New Directions, Mercedes pointed out that the glee club was like a commune for choirs around the world, no matter what God one believed in.
Only now, Joe was no longer a part of New Directions, but is now in Forsaken Harmonics, where he can be whatever he wanted without people criticizing him or calling him irrelevant or a "Jesus freak" because of it.
The pastor had gone up to the podium onstage, asking everyone to turn their Bibles to the book of Psalm. Once Joe placed his bookmark on the page he was directed to, he looked up for one second, noticing the blonde, curly head on the corner of his right eye. Joe's eyebrows furrowed at the sight of the girl. He wasn't sure who it was, though he doubt it was Quinn; her hair was much shorter. He remembered when she told him about the skank phase she went through, which lead to chopping her blonde locks off and coloring her hair pink. Yikes.
The Christian teen noticed that the blonde girl had turned her head for a slight second, listening to something that her mother right beside her was trying to tell her. She started to notice Joe sitting three rows away from her, too, because she made a full head turn until the teenager with dreadlocks was in her peripheral vision.
Joe stared back in surprise. "Kitty?"
Church service was over, but Joe and his parents decided to stay behind and eat dinner with the other churchgoers inside of the grand dining room. Joe took notice of Sam and Mercedes from inside of the room. Earlier that morning, the dreadlocked teen heard Mercedes singing her own rendition of A Boy Was Born in Bethlehem with the assistance of the church choir, and he thought she sounded like an angel. The moment Joe found the two conversing with each other, he greeted them both, giving Sam a brotherly hand shake and Mercedes a warm-hearted hug.
Kitty had just entered the dining room seconds into their greeting, standing at a distance so Sam and Mercedes wouldn't notice her. Even in church, Kitty felt uneasy trying to talk with Joe in public. It's not that she was shy or anything, because she could talk to whoever she wanted at any time. She just didn't want to screw anything up for herself.
"You were incredible," Joe told Mercedes after his hug. The senior diva touched her heart with her right hand and cooed. Everyone loved Mercedes's voice. She's the powerhouse of everyone in New Directions, despite what people said about Rachel, Santana, or even Kurt.
Sam wrapped his around Mercedes's back and rested the side of his face on top of the girl's head. "Same here, beautiful," he told her, admiring the red dress with the black boa Mercedes decided to wear today.
"Thank you so much, you guys. Glad you liked it." Mercedes responded.
"I mean, who wouldn't?" Sam asked with a shrug. "Anyone who disagrees with me will taste their own blood after my fist runs into their chin." Mercedes pursed her lips at the blonde beside her, and he started laughing at her reply. Mercedes couldn't help it but start laughing, and Joe join in a little as well.
Joe started gazing around the room after that little joked shared among the trio. He couldn't find his mother anywhere – she probably either went to the bathroom or had a long conversation with the pastor – and he wanted to know if Kitty was still here so he could talk to her.
The dreadlocked boy turned back to Mercedes and Sam. "Guys, I'll be right back. I wanted to see if I could find my mom okay." He knew that was a bold-faced lie, but he didn't want the other two knowing about his interactions with the ruthless, bitchy Cheerio just yet.
Joe started to wander around the dining room through the heavy crowd of churchgoers in the same room. When she noticed his departure from Sam and Mercedes, Kitty walked further into the room until she was close enough to reach him.
Once the two were facing each other, they started smiling in each other's directions. "Hey." Joe simply greeted her.
Kitty beamed back. "Hey," she responded.
"So…" Joe began, though it was an awkward way to start a conversation. "You came with your parents, huh?" Not to mention the awkward, ridiculous question he just asked.
"We come here almost every Christmas," Kitty began with a nod. "Last year, my dad had broken his hip from work, and we were all having a hard time shoveling the snow in our driveway." Joe started to feel a bit bad for her father; thank God it was last year, or he and Kitty wouldn't have met up together right now.
"That sounds…" Joe let out a breath of air. "Really bad."
Kitty shook her head in agreement. "No kidding. I mean, it was already a pain in my ass trying to walk him to bed when my mother was still at work. And don't get me started on lunch and dinner." Joe chuckled a little bit, giving Kitty the chance to look up at Joe's awkwardly cute smile. Whenever he laughed like that, it made Kitty smile. Joe was a naturally good-natured person, a harmless creature that the world happens to poke with a stick. He was the complete opposite of herself, though they both have a strong interest in Christianity and the glee club.
Kitty missed the glee club. The glee club she took a part of and thought she was going to hate since the beginning.
The blonde cheerleader noticed that she and Joe were both gazing into each other's eyes for a period of time, and she shook her head clear of her thoughts. "I have to go," she told Joe. "My parents are waiting on me. We were going to go to my aunt's house for Christmas dinner."
Joe nodded and did a little fist pump. "Righteous." Kitty tried holding in her giggle, but Joe probably noticed the red-tomato cheeks glowing on her face already.
"See you later, Tarantula Head." Kitty bid her farewell with a wink.
"You too, Kitty Cat." Joe said in response. As he watched Kitty turn around and head towards the door, the dreadlocked boy decided to walk through the sea of people again to make it to Sam and Mercedes's table. Before completely leaving the church with her parents, Kitty sighed and watched Joe converse with the others.
"Emma, I'm impressed." Will was sitting at the dinner table with her wonderful fiancé, enjoying a new homemade meal she tried out. Emma was proud of her hard work, for her adoring soon-to-be husband was devouring every melted piece of Parmesan cheese and every crumb left behind on his plate. "Where did you get the recipe?"
The redheaded guidance counselor shrugged bashfully. "My mother's lasagna with garlic and herbs can't go wrong, in my book. And my father bakes the best biscuits out of the three of us."
Will moaned with every bite he took of the Pillsbury family traditional entrée. If it weren't for Emma, he would be forced to buy TV dinners for him and Emma, because Lord knows that the man can't cook as well as his soon-to-be wife. "You probably didn't have any leftovers at every Christmas dinner you've had in your childhood, am I right?" His compliment made her fiancé giggle with pleasure.
"Well, if you liked dinner," Emma replied, wiping her mouth clean of any crumbs or pasta sauce that may have gotten on her face, "I hope you'll love the dessert that I made." Will was pretty much ready for anything Emma had prepared…though he wasn't sure on whether he was talking about an actual pastry or –
Damn it, Will. Not at the dinner table, Will thought after taking a few more bites of the food. Emma was still new about this whole relationship thing, and Will made it perfectly clear that he would respect her wishes. He didn't want anything to rush too fast, especially before the day they wed and become an official, married couple. However, Emma was a really special woman – in a good way. Everything about her fascinated Will, and he'd be lucky enough to learn more. Until then, though, settling together like this wasn't so bad.
While Will ate the rest of the food, Emma snuck the dessert out of the kitchen, which was actually a chocolate Christmas cake, embroidered with red, green, and white frosting and a few red sprinkles here and there. Lucky for Emma, Will didn't notice yet, because she was certain that he was already melting over the dinner she prepared, and she didn't want to ruin the moment. However, the sounds of singing disrupted both of their thoughts on food.
"Hon, did you have visitors over?" Emma questioned Will as she listening to the ahs from outside.
Will's eyebrows furrowed for a moment. "No…" he replied. "Who would come this late, unannounced?" He wiped the corners of his mouth with his napkin and started walking towards the front door. Emma followed closely behind.
Once they opened their front door, they were amazed by the sight before their very eyes. All of the members of Forsaken Harmonics stood on Will and Emma's lawn, bundled up in their coats and such and singing their version of a very heartwarming Christmas carol.
Forsaken Harmonics Boys
Away in a manger
No crib for His bed
Forsaken Harmonics
The little Lord Jesus
Lay down His sweet head
All ears paid very close attention to Sugar Motta's singing voice. Artie and Sam were slightly cringing before she even sang anything, hoping that they were able to trust Tina and believe that the spoiled girl actually got singing lessons. Truth be told, she actually improved. She sounded as graceful as an angel.
Sugar
The stars in the sky
Look down where He lay
The little Lord Jesus
Asleep on the hay
Will had a bittersweet smile spread across his face. Before when Sugar Motta had auditioned for New Directions, she sounded so terrible that she wanted to use a suction tube and a huge machine just to remove her voice. However, it would have been rude of him to do that to someone who wanted to audition for the glee club. Right then and there, he realized that he never got that much one-on-one time with the rich student to help her with her vocals. Now that she was a part of Forsaken Harmonics, she's gotten all the help she could get from her peers.
What made Will almost tear up with joy was how Tina, along with Venus and Samantha, started to sing their lines of the song. At that moment, Will realized how much he missed the Asian girl.
Samantha, Tina, and Venus
The cattle are lowing
The poor baby awakes
But little Lord Jesus
No crying he makes
Samantha and Tina with Forsaken Harmonics
I love you Lord Jesus
Look down from the sky
And stay by my cradle
'Til morning is nigh
Artie, Joe, Sam, and Tina with Forsaken Harmonics
Be near me Lord Jesus
I ask thee to stay
Close by me forever
And love me I pray
Forsaken Harmonics
Bless all the dear children
In thy tender care
And take us to Heaven
To live with thee there
Will could feel Emma squeezing his arm with a look of delight plastered across her face. The love the couple received from some former New Directions members, along with some new friends they've met along the way, warmed them despite the freezing temperatures within the winter night.
Will missed them. Tina, Artie, Sam, and even Joe and Sugar – he missed them all. It was still a struggle trying to find more members for New Directions. Luckily, with an ambitious Rachel Berry in his glee club, they were bound to find at least three more members in time. He still worried about Forsaken Harmonics, though, because they didn't seem to have enough members, and they would always get into some type of conflict with New Directions. Why can't we all just be a family again?
"That was great, guys." Will finally responded with a smile, and he noticed Tina, Sam, and Artie smile back in unison. He may not have them, Joe, and Sugar on New Directions' side anymore, but he at least knew that they all still cared about their former glee club director.
"Well, it is the holidays, after all," Tina stated with a smile on her face, "and Mr. Schue, this was a little kind gesture to you in hopes that we can not only have a fair competition at Regionals, but we can share a moment together as a family again." Beside her, Sam grinned at her kind words, wrapping his arm around her neck and bringing her in for a gentle, warm hug.
"We really missed you, Mr. Schue," Sugar stated with a sweet smile on her face, and Artie and Joe nodded in agreement. All of the Forsaken Harmonics members started to applaud for the New Directions director standing before them, and Will and Emma took a moment to look each other in the eyes before smiling at the group of students huddled up in the snow on their lawn.
Unexpectedly, Sugar and Tina walked up towards Will and embraced him with a hug. Emma and the rest of the Forsaken Harmonics members did the same. Sure, it was perhaps thirty degrees outside – perhaps colder – but the love in the air didn't freeze them for a second.
Author's Note/Cory's Note: Well, that is the end of chapter twenty-nine. Tell me what you all thought about it in the comments section. I hope you all enjoyed it. I know the chapter is kind of shorter than usual, but I wanted to save room for something I've been wanting to say.
I just wanted to give a huge thank you to a very special friend of ours. It's been 365 days since we saw him on earth with all of us, enjoying life the way it was sculpted before us. A few years ago on May 11th, the world woke up to a bright, beautiful sun as God blessed us all with our hero, our quarterback, and our best friend, Cory Monteith. I miss you, big guy. Ever since I saw you, I've always wanted to meet you and tell you how much of an inspiration you were to not just my life, but everyone else's. It's sad and unfortunate to know that we won't be able to see that smile anymore… but maybe we can. Maybe we can all meet each other in heaven one day and share all of the memories we've had while we were a part of the Glee family.
Thank you, Cory, for everything. Rest easy, old friend.
Featured Song:
"Away in a Manger" by Traditional. Sung by Forsaken Harmonics.
