Chapter 36- Graduation
AN: Almost there guys! Just this and the epilogue left!
Macey's POV:
There's a feeling of accomplishment as the Glee Club walk through the doors of the school together. We're two time National champs, and we're all together. I love these people like a second family, and when Amelia got us to try out for it when we were fourteen, I never imagined it would become such a huge part of my life.
Of course, we won our cheerleading Nationals, so Coach Puckerman decided to throw a huge end of year party/dance for all the achievements everyone has made this year, instead of a prom. I mean, it basically is a prom. We're all wearing fancy dresses and perfume, but it's for all years, and it's more informal.
The Glee Club is performing a few songs as well. I have a solo but it's nearer the end. Before that, it's our group performance. We're all in clothes that are more possible to dance in for this part. We don't start it on the stage, instead, we're scattered around the room as the music starts playing. As it starts, everyone goes quiet, and we jump forward when it's our turn.
Amelia: Yeah, you may think that I'm a zero
But, hey, everyone you wanna be
Probably started off like me
Chloe: You may say that I'm a freakshow (Amelia & I: I don't care)
But, hey, give me just a little time
I bet you're gonna change your mind
Josh: Push me up against the locker
And hey, all I do is shake it off
I'll get you back when I'm your boss
Ethan: I'm not thinkin' 'bout you haters
'Cause hey, I could be a superstar
I'll see you when you wash my car
Amelia & Josh: All of the dirt you've been throwin' my way
It ain't so hard to take, that's right
'Cause I know one day you'll be screamin' my name
And I'll just look away, that's right
We all run into the middle as our classmates clap in time, and the jocks look down at the floor for a moment before they join in too.
New Directions: Just go ahead and hate on me and run your mouth
So everyone can hear
Hit me with the worst you got and knock me down
Baby, I don't care
Keep it up and soon enough you'll figure out
You wanna be
You wanna be
A loser like me
A loser like me
A loser like me
I beckon the cheerleaders over as we're singing the chorus and we all grab our pom-poms.
Hey, you, over there
Keep the L up-up in the air
Hey, you, over there
Keep the L up, 'cause I don't care
You can throw your sticks, and you can throw your stones
Like a rocket, just watch me go
Yeah, l-o-s-e-r
I can only be who I are
Just go ahead and hate on me and run your mouth
So everyone can hear
Hit me with the worst you got and knock me down
Baby, I don't care
Keep it up and soon enough you'll figure out
You wanna be
You wanna be
A loser like me
A loser like me
I grin at my friends as we finish, out of breath. The jocks come over to us and we're all holding our breath… then they fist bump us and smile too. Tonight really is a night of miracles.
Amelia's POV:
After the party/dance/prom last night, everyone's tired, but none of us would miss the last Glee Club meeting of the year!
Dad congratulates us on an amazing year and then we all cast our votes for who should be Glee Club captains next year. I vote for Ethan and Lottie and as it happens, they both are the top votes. I'm glad for Ethan because he rightfully got it this year, and for Lottie because I think the leadership will help her, and she's a great singer. I know the Glee Club is in good hands. It is weird to not be captain anymore though after being it for two years. That's a long time for a teenager. Two years ago, I was sixteen. At the beginning of Junior Year I had just gotten back together with Harry after we had broken up for a year when I saw him kissing Macey. We hadn't even got to Nationals, two years in a row, Nate and Cho were the only ones to try out, and we were treated to slushie facials, although mine had slowed since I was cheer captain, and we were all in a very depressed mood. But somehow, we managed to band together, work hard, and make it to the top. I recount this to the New Directions as Josh and I stand at the front of the room to make a speech.
Then we all hug before the bell rings and we have to head to class.
Alex's POV:
I take a puff on my cigarette and gaze out. I'm under the bleachers, leaning against a wall. I don't like cigarettes that much, so I throw it down and put my foot over it. My red robes blow in the wind, and I hear a voice from a little way away.
"I knew you would be here."
Izzy steps over and leans against the wall. She has on her robe and cap as well.
"Yeah," I say. "I just wanted some time alone to think."
"About?" She asks.
I just shrug. Then I open my bag and show her the sweets.
"They're from France. They're illegal in the U.S."
Izzy laughs. "Are those the ones you brought to school when we were eleven?" I nod. She takes one, puts it in her mouth, and almost spits it out! "Crap, that's sour!" She declares after she has swallowed it. We both laugh.
"Weird to think this is the last time we'll be hanging out here huh?" I say. I'm staying here in Lima and Izzy's going to Ohio State in September.
Izzy rolls her eyes. "Oh shut up you idiot. It's not like we're never gonna see each other again. We met in Kindergarten, and going to new schools and being in separate classes hasn't separated us in those fourteen years we've known each other."
Izzy puts an arm around my shoulders and we march off to the auditorium together.
Harry's POV:
I shake Amelia's arms from behind. "BOO!"
"Oh my god!" She screams. "Harry what are you doing here?"
I kiss her softly on the cheek. "I wasn't exactly going to miss my girlfriend's high school graduation now was I?"
She smiles and then links her arms around the back of my neck to pull herself up to my lips. Then she links a hand through mine. "You don't have to keep doing this all the time y'know." Amelia whispers against my lips.
"I won't have to soon will I?" I point out. "Now I have to go get a great seat." I wink at her. "See you at the after party." I can hear her infectious laugh as I walk to the auditorium, and it makes me so happy that I'm going to get to hear that every day again.
Izzy's POV:
I'm Izzy Adams, so I'm right at the beginning of the line, like literally, I'm first out of the whole graduating class! Alex gives me a quick thumbs up and then I push back the curtains and walk up to the stage. I smile for the camera flashes as I shake the principals hand. One from my dad, one from Mrs Hudson. Then I make my way to the back of the stage. Josh- Carter- is about five people after me. He grins charmingly for his parents' and then Mrs Hudsons' flashes. He comes and stands with me.
"Jack Davison."
"Having fun?" I ask through gritted teeth.
"Oh a tonne of it," Josh says sarcastically. I look over to him. I wasn't aware that he had the capability to be sarcastic. He doesn't have a hippo face like Alex says. He's actually quite hot.
"Macey Gregory." Josh and I clap, still looking at each other.
"Aaron Hudson," I glance away from Josh to see Aaron winking at me. Huh? He jerks his head subtly at Josh and then shakes the principals' hand and smiles.
"Alex Hudson."
"Woo!" I cheer for my best friend. She comes over and stands next to Aaron who's beside me.
"Go for it," Aaron whispers to me about Josh, who's looking at the back of the hall.
"Amelia Hudson."
"Josh," I say suddenly, a little louder than I intended. "Um, Josh, I say again. Would you wanna, maybe, uh," I glance at Alex, who's busy cheering for her sister. Convenient. "Do you want to- hang out in the summer some time?" Josh looks at me open-mouthed. Oh god how embarrassing. "I'm sorry," I say awkwardly and am about to move, but Josh grabs my hand.
"It's a date."
Chloe's POV:
"Chloe Stevenson." I smile for the flashes from Macey's mom's and the Hudson's cameras as I shake the principal's hand, but there's a third flash. I shake it off and flip my tassel to the other side, before heading over to my friends.
Aaron's POV:
"And now," Announces the principal. "We have a special treat for our graduates. Our staff, and the New Directions!"
The New Directions? I didn't know they were performing!
Mom and Dad: Your little hand's wrapped around my finger
And it's so quiet in the world tonight
Your little eyelids flutter cause you're dreaming
So I tuck you in, turn on your favourite night light
Staff and New Directions: Oh darling, don't you ever grow up
Don't you ever grow up, just stay this little
Oh darling, don't you ever grow up
Don't you ever grow up, it could stay this simple
I won't let nobody hurt you, won't let no one break your heart
And no one will desert you
Just try to never grow up, never grow up
Mom and Dad: Take pictures in your mind of your childhood room
Memorize what it sounded like when your dad gets home
Remember the footsteps, remember the words said
And all your little brother's favourite songs
Alex whispers under her breath the next line as they sing it, and only Amelia and I can hear her as we're on either side of her,
I just realized everything I have is someday gonna be gone
Lottie & Ethan: So here I am in my new apartment
In a big city, they just dropped me off
It's so much colder that I thought it would be
So I tuck myself in and turn my night light on
Staff and New Directions: Oh I don't wanna grow up, wish I'd never grown up
I could still be little
Oh I don't wanna grow up, wish I'd never grown up
It could still be simple
Oh darling, don't you ever grow up
Don't you ever grow up, just stay this little
Oh darling, don't you ever grow up
Don't you ever grow up, it could stay this simple
Won't let nobody hurt you
Won't let no one break your heart
And even though you want to, please try to never grow up
Oh, don't you ever grow up
Oh, never grow up, just never grow up
By the end of the song there's not a dry eye in the house. I have one hand in Amelia's and one in Alex's. And Alex isn't pulling away?
"Ally," Amelia says, noticing Alex's tears. "Are you alright?"
Alex reaches out for Amelia's hand behind my back so that we're all connected now. "I just realised everything I have is someday gonna be gone." She says quietly.
"Als," I smile. "We're never gonna be gone. We're the Hudson Triplets."
Amelia nods. "Forever."
"The William McKinley High School graduating class of 2030 everyone!" We throw up our caps and suddenly Chloe appears and dips Alex in a kiss. At the same time, I spot Harry, running up the steps. He pulls Amelia into a kiss too. Back to where we were before I guess. Then I notice a graduating girl called Megan who I recognise from home room checking me out. I glance back at my sisters, but they seem fine! Dave, Eddie and Jack give me a thumbs up and I laugh before I head over to talk to Megan.
Chloe's POV:
"Aah!" Amelia, Macey and I squeal as we jump up and down on the spot holding hands.
"I can't believe we're high school graduates!" I yell but I'm brought down from my joy when I see two very familiar people standing behind Amelia. I yank on my two best friends' arms and they turn around.
"Hi sweetheart," My dad says.
Macey and Amelia look at me, both unsure of what to do.
"Mom, Dad," I say, helpless too. "What are you doing here?"
I'm aware of presences behind me, and I notice that the whole Glee Club is here now. I spot Finn and Rachel talking to the principal. Rachel looks over and her eyes widen. I nod my head at her to say that I'm fine.
"We want you back honey," Mom says. "We've missed you so m-"
Alex steps forward and takes my hand. I can feel my strength growing with her beside me. "Do you want the real Chloe or the fake cardboard cut-out you used to know, Mr and Mrs Stevenson?" She asks them.
They glance at her. "Hello again Alex," Dad says. "I thought you and Chloe weren't friends."
"Oh we aren't," I say and hold up our hands, showing the rings.
"You got engaged to a woman!" Mom roars.
I try to hold back my tears. I shouldn't have expected anything less, and yet this cuts like a saw. "Gay marriage is LEGAL Mom!" I shout. "It has been for fifteen years! And even if it wasn't, I would still marry Alex in another state because this is part of who I am and she is part of who I am, and I would never change that."
My parents turn and head out, crashing into Finn and Rachel.
"Hello there," Finn says. "Heading out?" My parents have always hated them, and used to complain about how stupid they were to get married and have kids so young. My parents storm out. "Are you okay Chlo?" Finn asks.
"Yeah," I say. "They aren't my family anymore." I look at not just the Hudsons, but the whole Glee Club. "You guys are."
Dave's POV:
Just before everyone leaves, we decide to do an impromptu performance.
Alex: Yo, my best friends, best friends 'til the very end
Izzy: Cause best friends, best friends don't have to pretend
Aaron: You need a hand, and I'm right there right beside you
Me: You in the dark, I'll be the bright light to guide you
Macey: 'Member the time, time, times sneaking out the house
Chloe: All of the time, time, times that you had your doubts
Josh: And don't forget all the trouble we got into
Amelia: We got something you can't undo, do
Seniors: Laughing so damn hard
Crashed your dad's new car
All the scars we share
I promise, I swear
New Directions (including us): Wherever you go, just always remember
That you got a home for now and forever
And if you get low, just call me whenever
This is my oath to you
Wherever you go, just always remember
You're never alone, we're birds of a feather
And we'll never change, no matter the weather
This is my oath to you
Oh ohh, just thought that you should know
Oh ohh, whoa, this is my oath to you
Yeah...
Underclassmen: Wherever you go, just always remember
That you got a home for now and forever
And if you get low, just call me whenever
This is my oath to you
Wherever you go, just always remember
You're never alone, we're birds of a feather
And we'll never change, no matter the weather
This is my oath to you
New Directions (including us): Oh ohh
You should know, you should know, you should know, you should know, yeah
Oh ohh, whoa, this is my oath to you
Oh ohh
Wherever you go, just always remember
You're never alone, we're birds of a feather
And we'll never change, no matter the weather
Oh ohh, this is my oath to you
We all finish the song with our arms linked, even Jack and Eddie have joined in and are with us. We do got something you can't undo. We've all been through so much together. I love these guys, and we're never going to stop loving and protecting each other.