Stay Beautiful Ch 36 Looking Back, a glee fanfic

Disclaimer: I do not have any relation to Glee or any of the writers on Fox. Purely fictional.

The end is such a scary place to start
Everything is torn apart
And I don't know where to go from here
In the end, there's no reason to pretend
I know you won't be back again
I gotta find a way from here

I don't know where I'll fall down
But I'm sure to hit the ground

Cause it's not over till it's over
Every ending's a new beginning
One more chance to get it right
One more chance to get it wrong
It's not over till it's over
Sometimes nowhere leads to somewhere
And it all starts again, and it all starts again
In the end

And it's such a scary place to be
Everything is in between
And I don't know where to go from here
In the end I see it's all up to me
To figure out where I should be
I'm gonna find a way from here

And I don't know where I'll fall down
But I'm sure to hit the ground

By the time the song was over, Lea was in tears and Amber was lost for words. She didn't expect the brunette to take it so seriously. So she laid her hand on her shoulder and tried to soothe her 'heartache' away.

What Amber didn't know was that Lea wasn't hurt. This may have been her umpteenth time crying over something that had to do with Cory Monteith. But this time, it was different. This wasn't about the debate on whether they should be together. They belonged with each other, she was sure of it. And her tears represented the sureness of their future. They were endgame, the real deal.

Cory pushed the doors of the building. He saw the old man by the reception desk and walked up to him. Just then, the person he was moving towards turned his back and grinned at the tall man's arrival.

"Morning Cory!"

"Hey Bob. How's your morning so far?"

"It's been good. My daughter's…"

"FINN!" The 5-year old toddler waddled towards him, her arms stretched out, initiating for him to pick her up.

"Here." Bob continued with a sigh.

Cory laughed at the mention of his character's name. He bent down to her height and picked the little girl up. "Hey cutie." He loved being around little kids. Their support for him was innocent, liking him purely for what he represented on the show. Besides, there was no way they would engage in the mindless gossip, and that fitted him just fine.

"Where is your girlfriend?"

Cory raised his eyebrows. He looked over at security and gave him a questioning look. When the tiny child realized that he didn't seem to understand her, she pointed to the ground and commanded, "Down!"

The man set her down on the floor gently and she ran behind the desk, pulling out a tabloid that had him on the front page. He knew the cover too well, recalling this issue from way back. It was the first article that caused a huge stir in the media world, circling around his and Lea's life constantly thereafter.

The guard picked his daughter up and apologized profusely. "So sorry Mr. Monteith. She was pestering me to get this issue for her when she saw you on the front page. You don't have to humor her. She doesn't know what she's talking about."

Cory Monteith looked at the picture of his favorite girl on the cover of the magazine. "That's okay." He said quietly. Then he turned to the 5-year old again and replied gently, "That's not my girlfriend Kelly. She's just a friend."

"No, she isn't" Kelly remarked.

"It's the truth sweetie."

"No!" She pouted stubbornly, with an even higher amount of determination in her voice. "You like her Finn! You see!" She pointed to the image of them. It was the shot that the paparazzi had caught of them when she had stumbled from the curb just before they got into his vehicle. "You helped her. Daddy says you help people when you care about them."

"Well, she is an important friend." He smiled at how naïve she was.

"NO! You look different Finn. Your eyes are not the same. I know because Daddy looks at Mommy the same way too. And they are in love. So you love her Finn."

"Kelly, that's enough." The guard took away the magazine from his daughter's hands and placed it on the desk. Then he set her down and instructed her to stay behind the desk until he came around.

The older man looked at Cory and said, "I'm sorry Mr. Monteith, Kelly can be a little chatty sometimes. Don't take her words too seriously. You know how kids are these days. They never think before they speak."

Cory nodded slightly. Then his phone started to ring, hinting that it was time for him to head up. After bidding his goodbye to the man, he went behind the counter and the tiny girl looked up at him. He crouched down and whispered in her ear, "I'll tell my girlfriend you said hi."

The toddler beamed at his confession and held out her pinky. "You promise?"

The giant man linked his last finger to hers and nodded.

When Cory head for the elevator, a surge of happiness shot up his back. Even 5-year olds could see that they were in love. How hard was it for the rest of the world?

When he got to his floor, he marched right up to the door of his manager and let himself in. Ryan glanced up from the paperwork in front of him and let out an exasperated sigh.

"Cory, you got something to say?"

"Yes. And this time, I'm not asking for your permission. This time, it's you who needs to listen to what I have to say." Then realizing that the contract was in front of him, Cory reached for the pieces of paper. Holding both ends of the rectangle, he ripped it into half, causing outrage on Ryan's face.

When he walked out of the room, he collided with the tiny brunette but didn't look up to apologize. His mind was a thousand miles away and he failed to acknowledge that he had just bumped into the girl responsible for his thoughts.

As Ryan watched this from his room, he called upon Lea to enter. He had enough drama for the day and didn't want the state of things to go even worse than it already has been. Coming to terms that her boss was sitting just a distance away, she looked down, disappointed that she had missed the chance with him.

"Lea, have a seat." Ryan said politely as he cleared the mess off his table. Cory sure knew how to create a scene if he wanted to. When Lea was finally settled at the other end of his desk, he instructed her of her new upcoming work that she couldn't resist accepting immediately. Finally she had a chance to perform in front of thousands of people and there was no way she was turning down this opportunity.

"Hey Everybody! This one's for Aretha Franklin!"

Ain't no way for me to love you
If you won't let me
I know that a woman's duty is to help and love a man
And that's the way it was planned

Lea brought her hands to her chest as she watched Amber from the sidelines. She had come so far and Lea couldn't help but feel like a proud mom watching her daughter sing her heart out.

Oh, it ain't no way (ain't no way)
It ain't no way (Ain't no way)
It just ain't no way, baby (ain't no way)
Ain't no way baby (ain't no way)
It ain't no way for me to love you (ain't no way)
If you won't let me

Stop trying to be someone you're not
How cold and cruel is a man
Who pay too much for what he got?
And if you need me to love you, say, say you do.
Oh then baby, baby, baby don't you know that
I need you
Oh, oh, it ain't no way
I'll tell you that it ain't no way,
It ain't no way

It ain't no way baby, no
It just ain't no way
It sure ain't no way
It ain't no way for me to love you
If you won't let me, no way, if you won't let me,
Ain't no way

"Thank you for letting me sing for you tonight! Have fun!"

The crowd erupted with applause as they gave Amber Riley the best standing ovation of her life. She bowed graciously, blessed to have the world at their feet and appreciating what she did best.

Lea presented Amber a huge embrace the minute she stepped down from the stage. She couldn't even begin to express just how much respect she had for her. After congratulating the chocolate woman on her success, Amber had to change for her next number, so she ran off hurriedly, leaving Lea alone by the sidelines again.

It was the last show of the year. After tonight, the glee cast would have concluded the end of the season with their concert tour. To test her international popularity level, Lea Michele had been invited as the opening act for them. It was nearly two months since she first started touring with them and she had been living a dream. The people came in support for the glee cast, but at every single venue when her name was introduced, she would get the recognition. And her heart soared with pride that there were people out there, loving her for her gift.

Cory stared at his reflection in the mirror of the dressing room. He took a deep breath. He had survived two months in agony, trying to avoid her at all costs. But things were difficult when suddenly he could see her everyday in such a tight group again. Thank God for the guys. If he didn't escape into their social circle everyday, he was sure to engage in a social situation with Lea that would just cause more distraught in their lives.

When he heard Amber finishing off her last line with a big bang, he smiled at how far she had came. The acceptance she had received for her role on the show was unanimous. Everybody loved her, especially when she opened her mouth. Just then, Kevin McHale's voice boomed through the crowd and Cory knew he had to make his way to the stage for his next number.

He gathered with the rest of the cast as they met up for the last call. When he saw the tiny brunette watching the performance from the sound system, his heart rate increased. Cory Monteith walked towards her, slowly but surely.

"Hey you."

She whipped her head around at the sound of his voice and panicked. Her attempts to make a decent conversation with him over the past two months had failed terribly, constantly having difficulties in locating him. Thank God for the girls. If she hadn't busied herself with the rest of the cast, she might just lose her mind from trying too hard.

"Enjoying yourself?" He continued.

She nodded and smiled. "Good luck out there."

He moved forward. The screaming audience was deafening, but he had to let her know. When she saw him drawing their gap closer, her heart fluttered that despite the crowd, he was standing right in front of her. He took her hands into his.

"I missed you Lee."

Her grin grew wider with excitement. This was probably all she had of him from the past two months and probably for the next few. But it was good enough.

"I miss you too."

"I've been thinking a lot about you. Especially since you're always around."

"Then where have you been Cor? Because it seems as though you've been avoiding me and it hurt."

"You know how Ryan is."

She nodded and he continued.

"I don't want to spend so much time thinking about what's right and wrong anymore. Or doing what I should or should not do. It's draining enough. But, sometimes, it gets me wondering. What am I living this life for? Is there any reason to it? Then I think of you."

Her heart skipped a beat. And just before he could continue, Mark called out to him and the man had to run off.

As the cast readied themselves in their positions, Dianna put a hand on his shoulder and whispered, "You can do this."

"He can't" Mark Salling smirked.

"Oh yeah?" Cory raised an eyebrow and the stage darkened, hinting that it was their time. The giant turned to the girl by the sidelines and saw that she was looking back at him. He winked at her and pulled himself up.

Chris Colfer took his position in mid stage; he looked at Cory and gave him a thumbs up for reassurance that it would go as planned. Jenna nodded in his direction and Amber beamed widely. Then Chris put his hands up in position and the music boomed through the speakers, erupting the crowd once again. As the spotlight shone on the actor, the girls pulled apart his jacket, revealing his infamous "LIKES BOYS" tee.

It doesn't matter if you love him or capital H-I-M
Just put your paws up
Cause you were born this way baby

My mama told me when I was young
We are all born superstars
She rolled my hair and put my lipstick on
In the glass of her boudoir

There's nothing wrong with loving who you are
She said, cause He made you perfect, babe
So hold your head up, girl and you'll go far
Listen to me when I say

I'm beautiful in my way
Cause God makes no mistakes
I'm on the right track, baby
I was born this way
Don't hide yourself in regret
Just love yourself and you're set
I'm on the right track baby
I was born this way

Don't be a drag, just be a queen
Whether you're broke or evergreen
You're black, white, beige, chola descent
You're lebanese, you're orient

Whether life's disabilities
Left you outcast, bullied, or teased
Rejoice and love yourself today
'Cause baby you were born this way

No matter black, white or beige
Chola or orient made
I'm on the right track baby
I was born to be brave

As the camera panned across the stage, revealing to the audience a close up of the words printed on the tee of each cast member, Lea thought she would lose her mind when the screen got to the last actor. On his big short-sleeved t-shirt were the inscribed letters that spelled out, LOVES LEA MICHELE.

I'm beautiful in my way
Cause God makes no mistakes
I'm on the right track, baby
I was born this way

As Cory danced along to the next line, he pointed to her on the floor. The crowd erupted with applause, cheering at Cory Monteith's confession.

Don't hide yourself in regret
Just love yourself and you're set
I'm on the right track baby
I was born this way

Harry Shum Jr. ran off stage and pulled the tiny girl up, inviting her to dance with the rest of the cast. When the congregation noted her presence, every single spectator was on the balls of their feet.

Ooo there ain't no other way
Baby I was born this way
Baby I was born this way

Then, the cast circled Lea, and Cory whipped out a piece of fabric from his pocket. He handed it to the tiny brunette, and she unraveled the object. On the shirt, it was stamped with the words, LOVES CORY MONTEITH. She looked at him, and there it was. That special Monteith smile that had disappeared over the past couple of months was finally back. She slipped it over her head and held unto his hands.

Ooo there ain't no other way
Baby I was born this way
I'm on the right track baby
I was born this way

I was born this way hey!
I was born this way hey!
I'm on the right track baby
I was born this way hey!

When the cast was done with the dance track, the crowd was expressing their admiration for the couple, chanting their names over and over again. Amber pushed her two best friends closer to the edge of the podium. They deserved this.

Cory wrapped his arms around the brunette and kissed her forehead, sending the crowd on another rampage. Lea dove into his chest, finally able to share her love for him with the rest of the world.

"Will you still be with me even if this means going against everyone else?"

She looked up at his question and said,

"There's no place I'd rather be."

So with that, I've 'ended' Stay Beautiful! My heart was beating really fast whilst writing the last parts, making this one of the longest chapters ever written! (I mean, it's nearly as long as my Quick one shot!) Featuring Jason Reeves' "The End", Amber Riley's version of "Ain't No Way" and of course, New Directions' "Born This Way". A whole lot of references if you asked me, following S02E18 as they performed the last number and the tiny Finn/Puck scene from S03E03. And of course, the sequence of the songs from their tour is the one from their setlist of the Glee Live 2011! Stay tune because I'll definitely cover the Ryan office scene with Cory in my epilogue, so I guess technically, you're not done with me yet! :')

Of course, a million thanks to CarCarBeepBroom, PaochiCute, noro, bananappancakes, Finchel21, finchel-frankenberry-gleek and a HUGE WELCOME HUG to meganlovesglee! I'm already starting on another essay of gratitude to each of you, so I apologize that I can't thank you like how you should be appreciated for in this chapter. Nevertheless, you guys are amazing, and I love you with all of my heart!