Wonderland in another life

by glowlyinthedark

A rewrite of Quinn and Sam's relationship through the seasons of glee.

27. Chapter 27

Ahhh I know, it's been so long I apologize! I just started summer term classes (and kind of had no motivation to write) because I'm planning on starting the next chapter like tomorrow so hopefully that chapter doesn't take me too long to write and get out. That being said, my birthday is this weekend so I can't promise an update 2-3 days the way I used to, but I will try my absolute hardest to make sure it does not take as long as this chapter did. To make up for it I wrote a super long chapter so I hope this helps.

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City of Angels

She meets Biff at work. He walks in wearing a sweater that probably costs more than she makes in a month and a pair of khakis. He looks like he's too important to be waiting behind two other people to put in his coffee order, and for some odd reason she just feels drawn to him.

She turns around quickly before he walks up to the counter to fix her hair and any smudged makeup, but she guesses it doesn't matter because he doesn't bother looking up from his phone when he orders.

She scrunches her nose in disgust when he orders a plain black coffee and just hands her his credit card carelessly when she tells him the total, again, without looking up from his phone.

She's beginning to grow a little annoyed with this guy's attitude. She hands him back his credit card, but he still seems to be distracted with his phone. So she clears her throat, still nothing. She's about two seconds away from throwing it at his face when he looks up at her, causing her breath to catch in her throat.

Blue eyes. He has blue eyes. His hair colour is a tad bit too dark and his lips are smaller than the ones she's used too, but those eyes. Pools of ocean blue that she could drown herself in if she looked into them for too long.

"Miss? My card?" He nods his head at her hand that is still holding his card.

"Oh right, sorry." She says, completely embarrassed. She can feel the heat begin to creep up on her cheeks while she directs him where to wait for his coffee.

He comes in again, which surprises her. Once he notices that she is managing the tables this time instead of taking orders behind the register, he takes a seat at a table once he's got his coffee.

"Hi Quinn." He says to her, once she begins to clear a dirty table next to his. She freezes for a moment wondering how he knows her name, but then sees that he's looking at her nametag.

She smiles at him. Pondering for a moment where she should take this. She can either flirt with him and hope it goes somewhere, or wait until he makes the first move. She decides to go with the former, she is an independent woman after all.

"Now you're at an unfair advantage because I don't know your name." She says playfully and she gets a smirk in response.

"Biff." He introduces, and she thinks he must be really rich as she wipes down the table after placing all the dirty plates and cutlery in a bin she has on one of the chairs.

He doesn't stay long. He looks at his watch after about five minutes of staring at her and leaves before they can talk more, but she doesn't mind, she knows he will be back.

She begins to realize he comes in on a schedule. Every Tuesday and Thursday and 12:15 he comes in, sits at a table by the window and chats with her while she cleans or stocks the cafe. Susan doesn't mind if they chat with the customers while it's dead, as long as they get work done while doing so.

He mostly talks about himself, but she doesn't mind. She hates talking about her past, and he loves telling her stories about the private school he went to, so it works for them. He asks her about what she's learning in school, but doesn't ask her much other than that. She notices his surprise and interest peak once she briefly mentions the female secret society she is a part of, like she is now someone on his level rather than just some sorority chick he was planning to sleep with. She also takes notice to his shock when she tells him, no, she is not a part of a sorority.

He's studying law, and he tells her all about how Yale Law is one of the most prestigious law schools, like she doesn't know anything about the school she is attending.

The men in his family have been attending Yale for law for centuries. His family was actually the first family to plant a McIntosh apple orchard in Pennsylvania - which is his last name -, which she questions is actually true, but realizes it probably is since he seems to reek of old money. But even if it is, she doubts anyone today cares.

But still, she sits at the table and listens to him go on and on about his family with her cheek in her hand, mindlessly twirling a piece of her hair around her finger with her other hand.

"Let's go to dinner." He says out of nowhere and her hand slips out from under her in surprise. She catches herself right as she's about to smack her head on the table and looks up at him confused. He's just blinking at her, looking a little unimpressed.

"I'll pick you up at seven tomorrow from here." He tells her, not even giving her a chance to answer while getting up from the table. "Wear something, nice." He says while giving her a once over and she looks down at what she's wearing as soon as he leaves. She's at work, so obviously she's not going to be wearing a gown, but she does realize that he's probably not used to dating girls who wear jeans and a faded grey t-shirt. So she makes a mental note to ask Kurt for advice once her shift is over.

She guesses Kurt has moved up the Vogue social ladder, because as soon as she tells Kurt about her date with who she thinks is this super rich guy, he tells her not to worry and he has everything covered. And the next day, who she assumes is an intern at Vogue, drives all the way to her dorm in New Haven and gives her two boxes.

The first box consists of a red dress that probably costs more of all of her dresses combined. It's tight fitting and goes down to her knees. It's one of those dresses that only has one long sleeve, leaving her other shoulder bare. In the other box is a pair of black glossy heels that she just knows are going to make her feet blister five minutes after wearing them. At the very bottom is a silver clutch and a pair of silver dangly earrings with a matching necklace and she rolls her eyes because she could have easily done the jewelry herself.

She wears more makeup than usual, and wears red lipstick to match her dress. She also gets Sarah to drop her off at the cafe because she really does not feel like walking in those heels for very long. He's there at seven on the dot, and she's about to walk to the passenger side of the car when he gets out from the back and she bites her bottom lip from keeping her jaw from dropping because holy crap, of course he has his own personal driver.

She doesn't miss his hum off approval once he sees what she's wearing, but she decides not to comment on it. He takes her to the fanciest restaurant she's ever been too.

She's always had this secret talent of being able to read people well, and it's because she not only pays attention to what they say, but also how they act. He gets impatient fast, which causes him to be a little rude to their waiter, so she makes sure she's extra nice. He talks about himself the entire time, but she's used to it by now. She's figured out when to add a supportive nod and a look of interest when he mentions one of his many accomplishments.

They go out again, she's not really sure why she agrees to a second date, but he's nice. She's not exactly sure if they're dating or not and doesn't want to ask him. They go out a lot, but they haven't really met each other's friends or families, so she doesn't want to assume.

But then he meets Alex. The two of them are at the library studying for an upcoming exam when he walks in with a group of guys she's never seen but is sure he's mentioned once or twice. He stops when he sees her, and the other guys soon follow, but he nods for them to get a table while he walks over to the one she and Alex are sitting at.

"Hi babe." He says when he approaches the table, kissing the crown of her head and her eyebrows furrow in confusion. Babe? That's new. She braces herself once he turns to introduce himself to Alex. "I'm Biff, Quinn's boyfriend."

Well she guesses that settles it, they are dating. She doesn't like the way he says boyfriend, like he owns her or something, but she doesn't say anything as Biff extends his hand. "Alex." Alex says with a nod, shaking Biff's hand firmly. Biff just smiles a little too tightly at the both of them before leaving to join his friends.

She bites her lip in anticipation while waiting for Alex to say something, but he doesn't, just goes back to looking over their notes. She rolls her eyes.

"Well?" She asks him, discreetly nodding her hand to the direction Biff left in.

Alex just shrugs. "Seems like a real charmer." He says sarcastically and she kicks his shin.

After meeting Alex, Biff wants to introduce her to his friends. They go to what she swears is a ball because everything reminds her of the ball scene in Cinderella, but he swears it's just a formal event. Whatever that means. He still buys her a royal blue gown to wear to match his bowtie, formal event her ass.

His friends aren't too bad, they all like to talk about themselves which makes her see why they're such good friends with Biff, but they're friendly to her which she appreciates. Their girlfriends are awful. They're stuck up and act like she's not worth their time because her family didn't plant the first potato in Lima.

But still, she stands with them, twirling her straw in her drink as Biff and his buddies go talk to some important people. One of the girls brags about how her boyfriend just got an internship at the governor's office. She snorts at what she imagines their reactions would be if she told them she once dated a homeless stripper after having a baby in sophmore year.

He takes her back to his apartment after, and it's bigger than her entire downstairs floor. He tells her how thankful he is that she came tonight and how much he likes her, and it makes her feel really good about herself. So she sleeps with him.

She regrets it as soon as she does it. It felt wrong the entire time, but she ignores the nagging voice in her head telling her it's because it was with the wrong person.

She waits for him to fall asleep and then collects her clothes with tears streaming down her face.

xxx

He sends her a text in the morning, telling her that hopefully she won't have to work next time, and she realizes he thinks that's why she left. Because she had work, not because she was disgusted with herself.

She decides that now it's her turn to introduce him to her friends, so she brings him to Bushwick for their annual monthly games night. She told him to dress casual, yet he still picks her up while wearing a sweater with a collared shirt underneath and a pair of dress pants. But he doesn't seem that bothered to see her wearing a pair of leggings and a navy Yale crewneck with her hair thrown in a bun.

His driver takes them even though she told him she could drive because she's planning on sleeping over anyway and his driver could have just picked him up, but he had refused and she didn't have the energy to argue, knowing Adam wouldn't mind driving her back to New Haven.

Her friends are loud, a lot louder than his. Santana is already yelling as soon as she sees her, a little drunk off of red wine that she knows Adam got for them since he's the only one that's of legal age. Rachel is just loud in general so she's squealing to hug her as well. She introduces him to Santana, Dani, Kurt, Adam, and Rachel and he just nods and smiles.

He looks around the apartment as they settle onto the floor to play the stack of games Kurt has set up. "Your apartment is..homey." He tells Rachel and she flinches as Rachel just blinks blankley back at him.

Kurt offers him a glass of wine, but he just takes the bottle to inspect it. "I don't recognize the label, what winery did you get this from?" He asks Kurt who just looks at him confused.

"Uh, Walmart?" Kurt answers back and Santana mouths to her what the fuck. She pretends not to see it.

It's awkward and tense and Biff is on his phone most of the night, causing her to have to elbow him lightly when it's his turn. He decides to sit out of charades because 'childish games' aren't 'his thing'. She's pretty sure her face is beet red by that point.

He leaves thirty minutes after that because of some law thing she's sure he's told her about but she hadn't paid enough attention too to remember. It's silent for about five minutes after he leaves, and then Kurt says "okay raise your hand if you hate him."

Her jaw drops as Kurt, Rachel, and Santana's hands shoot up. At least Dani and Adam have the decency to give her apologetic looks before slowly raising theirs.

"Q, I'm a bitch, but that guy is way worse. He's an asshole." Santana tells her and she rolls her eyes.

She huffs while crossing her arms over her chest. "Seriously guys? He's not that bad."

She gets a course of "he's awful" and "why would you even go out with him" in response. She looks to Adam in support but he just shrugs his shoulders and gives her a thumbs down.

"No, you're right Quinn, he's not that bad." Rachel tells her while laying a supportive hand on her shoulder.

"Thank you!" She says while waving her hands to Rachel to indicate to everyone they should listen to her.

"He's worse." Rachel finishes before hysterically laughing. She mumbles curses at all of them before telling them she's heading to bed.

She heads to the washroom and washes her face and changes into the set of pyjamas she has here and tries to convince herself that they're wrong, Biff is actually a nice guy, but even to her it sounds fake.

She slips into Rachel's bed because it's the only one without a bunkmate already in it and listens as the rest of them clean up the empty bottles and glasses. She feels someone slide in next to her.

"I've been on one date since Finn died." She hears Rachel tell her so she rolls over to face the brunette who is on her back staring at the ceiling. "He was a jerk. And I knew it too. I think that's why I agreed to the date. Because it made me feel less guilty, like I wasn't betraying Finn by going out with someone who I knew wouldn't treat me right."

She doesn't understand why Rachel is telling her this, but she guesses that even in the dark the confusion must be evident on her face because once Rachel rolls over to face her she laughs quietly.

"I heard about you two at Finn's funeral." She curses Santana for never being able to keep her mouth shut. Finally it dawns on her, she knows exactly what Rachel is talking about. "I know that you and I aren't the closest, but I still know you Quinn. And I know you're doing this for one of two reasons. You're either trying to punish yourself for letting Sam go more than once, or because you want to feel less guilty about going out with someone who isn't him. So you chose a guy like Biff."

She ponders on what Rachel has said for a minute, and realizes that it's a little bit of both, but of course she isn't going to tell Rachel that.

"It wasn't because of me this time." It's the first time she's allowed herself to think about him since what happened at the funeral. She does all the rejecting and the heartbreaking (which sometimes causes her to break her own in the crossfire), but this time it had been him. So she hadn't allowed her mind to think about him since.

Rachel waits to see if she's going to say anything more, and once she realizes she isn't, she says, "I went to therapy after that date because I realized getting help was better than punishing myself for things that weren't my fault."

She's not sure what to say to that, so she doesn't say anything. She knows what Rachel is trying to suggest. She stopped going to therapy after she graduated because her therapist was in Lima and she didn't think she needed it anymore. She guesses time doesn't heal everything. So makes a mental note to look into therapists in New Haven because therapy does sound like a better option than self-sabotage.

xxx

They decide to sing Finn's favourite songs for nationals. After Finn had passed, nothing had felt right. Rehearsing their previous chosen songs just seemed like a chore instead of something that got them excited. Which had caused Artie to suggest maybe it's the songs; if they don't love the songs how can they perfect them. Which had inspired him to suggest they do this for Finn.

Each year, the New Directions had some form of motivation. The first year before he had transferred their songs were stolen and they had used that fire as motivation. Nationals two years ago they had to prove to Ms. Sylvester and everyone else that they weren't the losers everyone thought they were, and last year had been half of their team members last year to win. They were missing that drive, that motivation, that fire.

He knows Mr. Shue is a stickler about their setlist. Once the songs are chosen they're usually concrete, especially this close to competition, but to his surprise Mr. Shue had no issue changing some of the songs. He knew one of Finn's favourite songs from the time he spent living with the Hudson-Hummels. Artie and Tina had remembered Finn always wanting to perform another one of his favourites as a group number, and they had called Kurt for their third choice.

They all knew it could have been a lot easier if they had just called Burt or Carole and asked them what Finn's favourite songs were, but Tina had suggested making it a surprise for them.

xxx

Mr. Shue sends him an email Sunday night that he wants to see him early tomorrow morning. He racks his brain for possible things he's done that he could be in trouble for, but nothing really comes to mind, leaving him feeling puzzled.

He knows he's probably overreacting by jumping to the conclusion that he's done something wrong, but Mr. Shue doesn't usually email him saying he just wants to see him. Usually it's him or Blaine, or all of the New Directions, and if Mr. Shue ever wants to talk to him one on one; he just waits until glee club.

So he's a little on edge walking into school Monday morning, but he tries his best not to show it. He figures there's no point avoiding whatever Mr. Shue wants to talk to him about, so he heads straight for his office and knocks on the wall.

"Hey, you wanted to see me?" He asks Mr. Shue once he looks up from the papers he is grading.

"Yeah. Have a seat." Mr. Shue tells him while gesturing at the seat across from his desk. Okay, now he's starting to panic. Is there something he's done wrong? Maybe Mr. Shue is upset with him because of how much he's been focusing on getting ready for university in New York and hasn't been paying as much attention to nationals as he should be.

"I know it looks like I've only been worrying about Stony Brook and not nationals, but I'm totally committed to Glee Club. I've had Artie and Blaine drilling me, like, nonstop on the rights and lefts of the choreography, and I've recruited three Cheerios to get us to twelve." He tells Mr. Shue to reassure him that he is still completely devoted to nationals.

"You don't have to prove yourself to me, Sam. Finn transformed this club when he joined up. He wasn't just a male lead, he was the captain of the football team. He was the coolest kid in school. I mean, a real dude, you know?" He nods although he's not exactly sure where Mr. Shue is going with this. "He was our secret weapon at those competitions. Other schools might have had their version of a Rachel or a Kurt, but no one had Finn."

He still doesn't understand where Mr. Shue is taking this, but he does appreciate Mr. Shue sharing some of the memories he has of Finn that no one else does. "Yeah, he made it seem pretty cool." He adds.

"When he recruited you, he wasn't just looking for another voice in here. He was looking for someone to take his place after he graduated. Someone to help lead all of these wonderful misfits." Mr. Shue jokes lightly but he doesn't laugh. He gets what Mr. Shue is trying to say now, that he has taken over the role of Finn, but he hasn't. No one could ever replace Finn.

"I'm not Finn, Mr. Shue. Finn was, like, a real leader, you know?" He'll admit, he has done some things for the glee club, but so has everyone else. Marley writes songs and Blaine is his bossy self and Tina does costumes. He only does a small portion compared to what they do.

"And you are you." Mr. Shue tells him, but he doesn't agree. "And I'm gonna need you to be that guy when we get to L.A. The kids want you to be that guy. They're all waiting for you to see yourself the way they see you. The new kids love you, and so do the older ones. I'm sure that everything is gonna be fine once we get there. But if the time comes, and you need to step up, I'm gonna be counting on you to get it done."

He wants to tell Mr. Shue he's not sure he can do it. Finn used to joke with him that he was the next him just like Blaine was the next Rachel, but it didn't weigh as much when Finn was still here. He can't ask Finn for advice anymore, he's stuck with his own conscience and he doesn't think that will be enough.

But before he can open his mouth, Tina walks in and tells the both of them that Burt and Carole are here. They had invited them to the choir room for some advice, knowing they would talk to them about Finn. Further motivation for them, even if Burt and Carole don't know it.

"We just wanted to come in and say that Finn really cared about you guys." Burt starts once they've all settled into their seats. "More than you know."

"Finn always said that winning nationals was the greatest accomplishment of his life." Carole adds. "But I honestly believe coaching you guys to winning would have meant even more to him."

"We're not saying go out there and win it for Finn." Burt cuts in. "That wasn't his style. Um, what Finn would have said was this is the time of your lives right now. You're never gonna forget it, and in a moment, it's all gonna be over."

"So no sad faces." Carole lectures causing a few sad laughs. "No regrets. Just go out there and have a blast, and, you know, it'll be okay if you won the damn thing." She jokes causing all of them to laugh.

"And the best part about it is that Burt and Carole have agreed to come with us as chaperones." Mr. Shue tells them, which they already knew because it was a part of their plan to surprise them, but they act shocked and cheer anyway.

xxx

She and Biff had quite the awkward conversation when she had told him she was planning to go to L.A. to watch the New Directions perform at nationals.

"You're going to L.A., during finals week, for a..high school show choir competition?" He had asked her with one eyebrow raised. Okay yeah, when he puts it that way it does sound a little stupid, but he doesn't get it.

"They're my friends." She tries to explain, but he doesn't look like he understands it any better. "I'll only be gone for the weekend. I took my finals early." She adds.

He just shrugs. "Okay."

She's not looking for his permission, she tells him to inform him that she won't be in New Haven for the weekend just in case he wanted to do something. Yet somehow she still ends up feeling like she's doing something wrong after they finish talking about it.

xxx

They had all arranged to fly to L.A. for nationals because of course none of them would miss it for the world. Mercedes and Puck are already there, making it a lot easier for them because at least this way none of them need to spend money on hotels.

Mike is flying in from Chicago, and she, Santana, Kurt, and Rachel are all planning to fly together from New York. Thank God Santana and Rachel's feud is over and done with because she can't imagine how horrible and awkward this trip would be if the two of them were still fighting.

She had suggested to Kurt to just lock them in a room together so they can hash it all out and move on. Once Rachel had realized her diva attitude was only harming her friends and Santana had realized she had maybe crossed the line auditioning as Rachel's understudy, Rachel had helped Santana get a role as a dancer on some smaller-scale Broadway shows and Santana had helped Rachel move back into their apartment.

She wakes up early the morning of her flight to get all the last minute details sorted out. This is the first competition they're all going to see without Finn, and it breaks her heart all over again, so she tries her best to distract herself from thinking too much about it.

Their flight is at two in the afternoon, and it's a six and a half hour flight so they're planning to do all their sightseeing on Saturday and staying in the first night because those of them who are flying in don't really feel like going out immediately after, at least her and Kurt don't, if it were up to Rachel and Santana they probably would be drinking all night, despite none of them being the legal age yet.

She was planning to get Sarah or Alex to drive her to New York since there's really no place to park her car, but Biff had insisted on driving her. He picks her up early because he has some sort of presentation later, but she doesn't mind. She knows Santana probably isn't packed yet so she can help her with that.

Biff picks her up at 10:30 and she spends the first hour of the ride making sure she has everything she needs. She knows she's really only going to be there for two and a half days, but she can't forget anything, especially not for something as important as this trip. Other than the essentials, she brought her camera, different outfits, a couple of formal ones and a few casual. She only brings a little bit of makeup because she knows Santana is probably going to bring a whole carry-on worth of makeup.

She also put her old promise ring on a chain so she can wear it as a good luck charm for Sam during their performance. She gave up the cross necklace after she had sex with Santana, figuring she's probably outgrown it now. She's still religious, but after having a baby as a sophomore and having sex with a Latina Lesbian she's decided she can at least retire the necklace.

She's about to plug in her headphones for the last half an hour of the ride, but Biff shifts his body to her so she decides she can wait a few minutes after he's said he's wanted to say.

"You're going on this trip to support your high school right?" He asks her, and she nods her head, a little confused as to where he's going with this.

"Are there any ex-boyfriends I should be worried about?"

She feels herself pale a little bit, but hopes he won't notice. They haven't exactly had the exes conversation yet, or least she hasn't. Biff had mentioned a few girls he had dated from the private school he had attended, but none of them had really gone anywhere.

She had told him about Finn because she tells everyone about Finn. She wants to continue his legacy for as long as she can. But in regards to Puck and Beth and Sam, Biff has no idea any of them even exist. Not that it matters, it's not like she's that close with any of them anymore anyway.

She's never really been close to Puck for obvious reasons, she hasn't spoken to Sam since the funeral. She's never kept in that much contact with Beth, not wanting to get too attached because she may be Beth's birth mother, but she is not her mom. She was devastated when Shelby told her she was moving to New York with Beth last year. At the time she didn't care and just wanted Shelby gone, but then she realized how much she missed spending time with her daughter.

Rachel had told her that Shelby had reached out to her when she had moved to New York and had heard from Mr. Shue that she had gotten into Yale, so she extended her offer to Rachel that she can visit Shelby and Beth whenever she wanted to Quinn as well.

They've only gone like two or three times. Recently for Beth's third birthday, and then once before that when she, Kurt, and Rachel had been slammed with studying for finals and were desperate for a home-cooked meal.

After pondering on her answer for a little bit, she answers Biff. "No, not really."

If he wants to ask her about the not really part, he doesn't go ahead and do so, which makes her internally sigh out in relief.

She tells herself that she wasn't lying to him. His question was if there were any ex-boyfriends there that he should be worried about, not if there would be any there.

He kisses her cheek once they arrive in front of Kurt, Rachel, and Santana's apartment.

She just gives him a small smile as she leaves the car, collecting her small suitcase from his driver and thanking him before walking into her friends' apartment building. Adam opens the door for her and hands her a cup of coffee and she gratefully gives him a side hug before leaving her suitcase by the door and walking further into the apartment.

She greets Dani who is sitting on the couch watching reruns of Friends and walks into Santana's section of the apartment which has clothes and toiletries scattered across the floor, some of them making it into the open suitcase laying in the corner of the room.

She rolls her eyes and walks into the bathroom where Rachel and Santana are fighting over mirror space. She leans across the room and laughs at their antics. Only the two of them would be worried about how they look for a flight. Meanwhile she's wearing grey baggy sweatpants and a black faded McKinley hoodie.

"Where's Kurt?" She asks them. Rachel tells her he's inside of his room printing off the tickets without looking away from the lipgloss she is applying. Santana looks at her through the mirror and opens her mouth to say something, but she already has a good feeling as to what it is.

"Which ones are going in the suitcase?" She asks Santana smugly who just rolls her eyes.

"Just put in whatever fits." Santana tells her before going back to curling her hair. She walks away from the bathroom and back into Santana's section of the loft. She places her half empty coffee mug on the bedside table and sits on the floor, gathering the items closest to her to put inside of the suitcase. When she's done she rolls the suitcase to the door and places it next to hers. Kurt and Adam have also put theirs there.

"You're going as well?" She asks Adam. He nods.

"I figured I might as well come watch this glee club Kurt speaks so fondly of." She laughs and before she can ask Dani if she's planning on going as well, Dani tells her she has to cover everyone's shifts and she's going to be watching the apartment.

They leave the apartment soon after that because it's a thirty minute car ride from Bushwick to JFK airport and New York traffic is the worst, especially in the afternoon. She and Santana get breakfast sandwiches for everyone while Kurt gets them checked in.

"So," Santana starts as they wait in line to order. "How does Biff feel about you going to see your ex perform?" She rolls her eyes.

"He doesn't know." She tells Santana quietly who just smacks her arm. "Ow!"

"Quinn! You haven't told him about Sam?" Santana asks her, shocked.

"There's nothing to tell! It's not like we talk anymore." She justifies, but Santana doesn't look at all convinced.

"He still deserves to know. I told Dani about Brittany before we even started dating." She huffs, but thankfully before she can answer they reach the front of the line.

Santana thankfully lets it go when they return back to the group. She sits between Rachel and Santana on the plane to prevent any catfights from happening because it's not like she can separate them while they're in the air. She guesses she didn't really need to worry since Santana falls asleep forty minutes into the flight and Rachel watches Broadway Musicals she downloaded on her iPad the entire time, giving her peace and quiet to read some of the books she brought.

xxx

She's sweating by the time they get to the baggage claim area. She takes off her hoodie, leaving her in a pink tank top and ties the hoodie to her suitcase as they walk into the lobby.

Kurt points towards a woman holding a sign saying Retired New Directions members dressed in a fur coat holding a stuffed chiwawa. Despite the woman having black sunglasses on, she can already tell it's Mercedes. And a dead giveaway is that she's standing beside Puck. To all of their surprise, Puck is wearing an Air Force uniform.

She runs up and hugs her while squealing. Mercedes had called her and told her all about her record deal, and she could not be more proud of her friend. She releases her so the others can hug her. She gives a quick side hug to Puck.

"Um, what the hell?" Santana asks, referring to Puck's uniform. Well that explains why he hasn't been messaging as much as he used to in their group chat.

"Oh yeah, I joined the Air Forces. Needed something to do after, you know, Finn." He trails off quietly and none of them ask him any followup questions. The atmosphere grows heavy at the mention of Finn, all of them thinking the same thing, that he should be here too with all of them.

Kurt changes the subject. "God Mercedes, what are you wearing? This is awful." Kurt tells her pointing at her coat and she swats his hand. She and Rachel giggle as Kurt criticizes her outfit further, telling her it's a good thing he's here to get her fashion sense back on track. As they trail behind them, Rachel tells them all about this one time when it was still just the six of them in glee club Mercedes and Kurt had both shown up wearing the Zebra pattern and argued about it for their entire rehearsal.

They all wait for Mike who arrives shortly after and step out to Mercedes and Puck's cars. Puck has a black jeep and Mercedes brought a driver and a limo. Kurt gasps and complains that it is pure torture that he can't ride in the limo and they all laugh. Deciding that Mercedes will pick the four of them up the day of the competition from Puck's since they'll all fit in the limo and there's no point in bringing two cars.

Mercedes mainly talks about her record deal, the ride to her apartment and none of them really mind, she knows enough about Santana and Rachel and she knows they would say the same thing about her.

Mercedes' apartment is bigger than her dorm and the loft combined, but still tells them it isn't much. The three of them gape at her. She explains that Sony bought it for her as a congratulations type gift. There are only three bedrooms, so she and Rachel offer to bunk together since that's usually what happens at their loft in New York anyway.

L.A. is three hours behind, so they watch romantic comedies and Mercedes ends up falling asleep way before they do. But it's still a nice feeling having most of the girls back together, it reminds her of the sleepovers they used to have back in high school.

xxx

Mercedes wakes them up all around eight the next morning and they groan. She's the first one out of bed, wanting to get to the bathroom before the two other divas. She puts on a yellow sundress with small white flowers and slips on her white tennis shoes. She puts on light makeup because she knows it's going to be hot outside, and grabs the small white purse she brought with her that will hold her phone, wallet, and clear lip gloss. She plans to just wear her camera around her neck. She can't be bothered to do anything with her hair, so she ties it in a ponytail. She's gotten bangs since she graduated, so a few strands fall out to frame her face.

She meets Mercedes in the kitchen and Mercedes just laughs when she sees her. "God girl you would fit right in here. You dress like a model."

She blushes at Mercedes' compliment as she pours herself a cup of coffee. They talk about some of the celebrities Mercedes has seen so far as they wait for Rachel and Santana to come in. Rachel comes in first, wearing a red romper and a dark brown fedora. Santana follows shortly after wearing a pair of cutoff jean shorts and a black tank top.

They meet the boys at a nearby restaurant so they can all have lunch. They visit Hollywood Boulevard and she takes a picture of Rachel leaning close to Barbra Streisand's star. From there they walk all the way to Sunset Boulevard and Rachel, Kurt, and Santana complain the entire time, not used to walking this much due to taking the subway or a taxi everywhere in New York. From there they walk to Rodeo Drive, causing a lot more complaining, but she doesn't mind. She's used to walking. She loves walking to work and around campus, and walking allows her to stop everyone more often so she can get tons of pictures.

Mercedes gives in a few times and takes them on a few bus tours. She gets a bunch of great pictures of them posing next to famous celebrities at the Hollywood Wax Museum. They go shopping on the Sunset Strip and she buys a few summer items. They continue to shop through Rodeo Drive, although she can't afford anything from most of the shops there but Rachel does buy her a Ralph Lauren polo dress which she is grateful for.

They take a forty-five minute from Rodeo Drive to the Hollywood sign and they get a random tourist to take a picture of all of them on her camera.

Since it's still decently early in the evening, Puck suggests they go to Santa Monica Pier for a few hours, so they take a bus there and buy some tickets. She, Santana, Puck, and Mike ride the West Coaster while Adam, Kurt, Rachel, and Mercedes go on a scrambler ride. They try to go on most of the rides, Santana her partner for each one. They finish the rides off with the ferris wheel and carousel before trying some arcade games. She wins a stuffed dolphin while playing whack-a-mole and Santana wins a giant stuffed monkey holding a banana playing a basketball game against Puck, Mike, and Adam. Rachel questions how Santana plans to get that thing on their flight, Santana just rolls her eyes.

They eat dinner at a restaurant on the pier and watch the sunset on the beach. From there they have dinner at a nearby restaurant before heading the separate ways to retire for the night.

xxx

Rachel complains of blisters on her feet as soon as they enter Mercedes' apartment and she teases Rachel and tells her that it's her own fault because she was the one who chose to wear wedges. Santana heads straight to her bedroom, telling them she'll shower tomorrow and immediately goes to sleep. She allows Rachel to shower first as she begins to organize her clothes for tomorrow.

As soon as she grabs her dress, Mercedes knocks on the door. She looks up at her and sees Mercedes is wearing the same outfit she was wearing when she picked them up from the airport.

"Mercedes, that outfit is horrible, why are you wearing it again?" She laughs. Mercedes just rolls her eyes.

"Tina sent me the address of their hotel, they all just got in. Their hotel isn't far from here, I was just gonna stop by and say hi. Wanna join me? We both know Rachel is going to take like an hour in the shower." Mercedes jokes.

She debates it, but then decides she's probably better off staying here. "I think I'll pass and just get my stuff ready for tomorrow. Thanks though, tell them I wish them the best for tomorrow."

Mercedes hovers in the doorway for a bit, looking like she's going to say something more, but then nods and leaves and she feels herself feeling relieved Mercedes didn't call her out on what they're both thinking about

xxx

He's mindlessly flipping through Twitter when he hears Unique and Kitty freak out over some celebrity that has just walked in. He cranes his neck to see if he recognizes who they're talking about, before realizing it's Mercedes. He listens admirably about how she tells them while selling CD's in a parking lot she happened to sell one to Kanye West's housekeeper who forwarded it to Kim who forwarded it to Ryan Seacrest who forwarded it to Sony and here she is.

Before any of them can ask her more questions, Blaine recognizes one of the members of a competing group. Some Canadian by the name of Jean something. He's not all that bothered by this guy, so he can speak French and does gymnastics. He has a southern accent and knows stripper moves, he and this guy are not that different.

But he and Blaine do not seem to be all that fond of each other, and before he knows it they're starting to get in each other's faces so he takes it upon himself to step in.

He steps between them and shakes Jean's hand. "I'm Sam Evans, and I'm the leader of the New Directions. And I know you guys are really good and stuff, but that's just going to get us out of our comfort zones and send us over the top." He tells Jean, hoping to intimidate him.

"Well, it's really great to meet you, Sam." Jean tells him, sounding unbothered. "Best of luck, New Directions. We really can't wait to see your set. And crush you like a bug." He spits in Blaine's face. "Bye!" He sings while pushing through all of them.

"What's with all the turtlenecks?" He asks Blaine who is still gaping.

"Oh how I missed show choir drama." Mercedes tells them while chuckling.

"What are you doing at our hotel Mercedes?" Tina asks her.

"I wanted to come say hi. I tired everyone else out today with the amount of walking we did." She jokes and he gets a sinking feeling in his stomach. Of course all of the alumni are here, why wouldn't they be here for the competition? He kicks himself for forgetting.

"Everyone else?" Kitty asks, and he gives her a questionable look. How has she not pieced together that it would be the alumni, they come for every competition.

"Mike, Kurt, Adam, Rachel, Santana, and Quinn." He looks over at Blaine whose face has fallen due to hearing Kurt has brought Adam.

"Where are they staying?" He asks, trying to sound like he doesn't care that much, but he's really hoping he won't have to share a hotel with Quinn.

"Rachel, Santana, and Quinn are staying with me, and Mike, Kurt, and Adam are staying with Puck." She answers before receiving a text message. She looks down at her phone. "Got to go guys. Good luck tomorrow! Hopefully we'll see you all before you go on."

He really hopes not.

xxx

He and Blaine decide to ease some of the nerves of their fellow members, they should do something fun with them, which leads to suggest they should break into the theatre that the competition is being held at tomorrow, which is walking distance from their hotel anyway.

They round everyone up and supply them with flashlights and walk seven minutes to the theatre. They get a lot of hesitation from their younger members, but he figures Blaine will deal with that. He's more intrigued with how old this place looks.

Blaine tells them all about how when he was a Warbler they stuck onto the stage all the time as a tradition, which he adds to.

"We're not doing anything wrong. We're just, you know, getting a feel for the stage, our stage." He tells them. "All right everybody, circle up. I have a surprise." He instructs, and then begins to walk around them as he gets ready to say his speech.

"Finn Hudson made us a promise at the beginning of the year: that we were all going back to nationals together. Even when we lost sectionals, which was totally not Marley's fault, Finn told us that it wasn't over." Now maybe you're thinking, 'Finn isn't here.'" He walks over to the case where they stored Finn's plaque. He had convinced Mr. Shue to allow him to bring it as both motivation and a good luck charm. "Well, he is. I made sure of it." He says, holding up the plaque.

Their moment is ruined when Jean Baptiste walks onto the stage and tells them that apparently they all had the same plan. Jean tells them that he and his group plan to use the stage from midnight until dawn and that they need to leave. He just rolls his eyes.

One of the members of Throat Explosion asks who Finn is, and if he's their spirit guide. He shoots the guy the dirtiest glare he can muster. Jean scolds his friend and stops in front of him.

"Look, everyone knows you're that show choir. And everyone knows it's been a very tough year for you. And now everyone is just waiting and watching..you. Tonight, you have our condolences, New Directions. But let's just be very, very, clear. Tomorrow, you will not have our mercy, pity, or restraint. We are Throat Explosion. Expect us!" They then begin to do some feet stopping thing like they're members of a cult or something so he guides his team off of the stage and out of the theatre.

Burt promised him he would teach him how to tie a bowtie. He would have asked Blaine, but Blaine has enough on his plate with this Jean guy and Kurt bringing Adam so he figured Burt might be the best way to go.

xxx

He and Tina head to their hotel room early the next morning and Burt shows him the steps. "How did you learn to do that?" He asks Burt, amazed.

"Have you met my son Kurt?" Burt jokes and they both chuckle.

"I cannot believe this is our last competition, I am not ready for this to end." Tina says where she is helping Carole with her costume.

He whips around to face her. "Do not start crying again." He lectures and she rolls her eyes.

"I'm not gonna cry. It's just that some of my best memories from Glee Club are from these competitions." Well, he guesses she has him there because he agrees.

"Yeah, well, you know what? That's why guys love playing sports so much. It's not so much about the winning and the losing. It's about going to war with your buddies. You know? The camaraderie." Burt tells them and he nods, knowing exactly the feeling he's talking about.

"I just still can't believe this is our last competition. My life's gonna be so empty from now on." Tina says sadly.

"At least you get to have one." Carole says from the corner of the room and his heart stops. "Oh my god, I can't believe I said that. I am so sorry."

Tina frantically shakes her head. "No, I'm sorry. That was totally insensitive of me."

"It's fine, honey, really. You didn't do anything wrong." Carole tells her, but he can still tell Carole's a little bit upset about it.

"You know what guys? Why don't you go and uh, practice or something, and I'll have Carole finish up the sewing, and I'll drop the dress by your room okay?" Burt suggests and he nods in agreement and ushers Tina out of the room.

As soon as the door closes Tina stops and lets out a shaky breath. "I can't believe I just said that." She slides down the wall as a few tears slide down her cheeks. "I can't believe I said that to Finn's mom." She says and he takes a seat next to her.

"She knows that wasn't what you meant." He tells her, trying to ease some of her guilt.

"But it's what I said, Sam. There are so many things I've said and done this year out of spite or just sheer carelessness, and now, thinking about Finn, I just want to take them all back." She says while looking over at him.

"That's the thing about death, it makes you realize there is no space in life to live with regrets. We can't worry about the past, all we can do today is wake up every morning and hope to be a better person than we were yesterday." He tells her while grabbing her hand and lifting her up.

"Now come on, we really should get some practicing done." He says while dragging her down the hallway.

xxx

After they're done practicing he and Blaine head onto the bus to collect their costumes and Finn's plaque. Blaine grabs the costumes and he goes to open the case, but Finn's plaque isn't in there. He looks around and underneath the seat to see if it somehow fell out, but it's nowhere to be found.

"What's wrong?" Blaine asks him, probably noticing him frantically searching around the bus.

"Finn's plaque, it's missing." He tells Blaine, completely freaking out.

"Don't panic, I'm sure it's here somewhere." Blaine tells him, remaining completely calm. He looks at Blaine like he's crazy.

"It's not in here. I put it right here. It's gone." By now everyone else has also entered the bus. He sees Jean Baptiste outside, and then everything clicks. They're the ones who stole Finn's plaque.

He runs off of the bus and stops right in front of Jean. "Give it back!" He shouts in his face.

"Give what back? Your talent? Because you obviously left that in Ohio." He clenches his teeth, he is two seconds from socking this guy in his face and showing him how talented his fists are.

"Alright, just give us the plaque back." Blaine says from behind him.

"Gentlemen, let's get serious. You've got zero chance of winning. You lost your sectionals, so you're on here on a technicality. And everyone knows all your decent singers graduated. And a little piece of wood with a picture of a guy isn't gonna change-"

He shoves Jean and calls him a tool and he's right about to start swinging when Blaine holds him back. "Sam, just let it go." Blaine tells him as Throat Explosion walks away. "They're just trying to psych us out; they're being idiots. We got to get our game faces on and win this thing, okay?" Blaine asks him and he nods.

"Okay guys, look, the plaque doesn't matter. You know why? Because I believe with all my heart that Finn is here. He's here with us, right now. And he's holding our hands, and he's telling us, 'the show must go all over the place.'." He gets a few sad laughs and smiles. "And when we're up there onstage, he's gonna be sitting right next to Mr. Shue and everyone else cheering us on. And when we win our second nationals trophy, he's gonna be cheering us on even louder. All right? So let's do this! Let's go!"

xxx

When she wakes up the next morning Mercedes is already awake. Breakfast is made and the two of them chat over coffee while they wait for Rachel and Santana to wake up. When they realize that probably isn't happening soon, Mercedes heads to her room to get ready in the connected bathroom and she uses the other one, figuring it will definitely be a lot better than sharing it with the two divas.

Rachel walks in while she's curling her hair. Rachel whistles at her outfit and she rolls her eyes. She's not wearing anything too special. Her dress is a violet bodycon type with a slight in the side that stops right above her knee and has thick spaghetti straps. Santana offered to do her makeup so she sits on the toilet seat and talks to Rachel while she gets herself ready. Rachel wears a v-neck short sleeved navy floral print dress with pink flowers. It's one of those dresses that you have to tie at the side or else the dress will open up and she teases Rachel that she better be careful around Santana who will definitely try to undo the bow so Rachel accidentally flashes everyone.

Santana comes in complaining about how early it is and downs the rest of Quinn's coffee. She showers and gets herself ready first. She wears a tight fitting white dress with small red and pink flowers on it with green leaves and stems connected to them. The dress has ruffled spaghetti strap sleeves and is ruffled at the bottom as well. The neckline is also a little ruffled, although there is a tie that reveals some of Santana's dress. Quinn rolls her eyes, but cannot deny, Santana looks amazing.

Santana does smokey eyeshadow, but nothing too dark and extreme, and red lips. She gives Quinn light brown and gold eyeshadow and pairs it with nude lipstick. By the time they're all finished it's time for them to go. She grabs her purse and matching white stilettos before following the girls out the door.

xxx

They pick up the guys from Puck's apartment and then drive to the Orpheum theatre. They sit in the row behind the New Directions with Mr. Shue, but before she can sit down Blaine tells her Tina is waiting for her in the washroom.

She tries not to get lost as she walks backstage to where the New Directions' green room is and heads into the bathroom assigned to them. "Tina?" She asks, knocking on the door.

"In here!" Tina says, and she opens the door to see Tina with a half face of makeup on. She giggles.

"Oh Tina." She says, picking up the faux eyelashes so she can apply them onto her eyes. She helps Tina with her blush and lipstick before they exit the washroom together.

"You know, this is the last time we'll be able to do this." She tells Tina who just shakes her head and grabs her hand as they walk back to their seats.

"You're going to marry my best friend, we'll be doing this forever." Tina tells her casually and her heart drops, thinking of Biff and how none of them know about him yet.

"Tina, I have a-" Tina shakes her head again, cutting her off.

"I know. I do talk to Kurt every week you know." Tina tells her and they both laugh. Curse that boy and his inability to keep a secret. "It's okay Quinn, sometimes we date people because we want a for now type of relationship, rather than a forever."

She ponders a bit about Tina's words, but decides not to respond to them. Another thought does cross her mind. "Did you tell him?" She asks Tina.

Tina just smiles at her. "I figured you would want to be the one to do that."

xxx

He peers underneath the curtain to see if Burt and Carole have arrived yet, and feels his heart sink a little when he sees the two seats beside Kurt are still empty. "They aren't here." He announces when he gets back to the group.

"Well, if they were coming, they'd be here by now, so-" Mr. Shue starts, cuts himself off when he hears Tina say 'I can't believe I said all that stuff in front of her'.

"They're with us in spirit. Just like Finn. Let's bring it in." Mr. Shue tells them. "Okay. We're not like the other teams here. We don't have the big budget or the giant pool of students to choose from. We're also different from those teams because we didn't come here to win. We came here to sing and dance our hearts out-"

"Oh that's horse poop Schuester." He hears Carole say from somewhere behind them and looks up to see her and Burt walking towards them. "We were halfway down to Laguna before Burt convinced me to turn around." She tells them while hugging Tina.

"I never said a word." Burt objects and he smiles.

"Oh, you didn't have to. None of you did. I could hear Finn's voice in my head. 'This is nationals, mom. I coached those kids. You leave them and you're leaving me. You guys are his legacy. Which means, I don't want to hear any garbage about doing your best or giving it the old college try. Go out there, and wipe the floor with the other teams!" Carole shouts.

"Wipe it!" Burt echos.

"Yes!" Carole cheers and they all laugh. "You guys are the reigning national champions. Okay? Go out there and show them how it's done."

"Perfectly said." Mr. Shue says. "Hands in everyone." He instructs and they all cheer before getting ready to perform the last competition of their high school lives.

xxx

She sits between Rachel and Santana as they wait for the New Directions to go on. Kurt just looks nervously at the two empty seats beside him who she assumes are for Burt and Carole.

Before she can ask Kurt if they're coming they appear from backstage and she can hear Kurt's sigh of relief. Carole hugs them all and she hugs Burt too because the two of them are quite close. Carole asks all of them how they've been doing and if they've been eating and sleeping okay now that they're all living on their own. Carole has this look in her eyes and tone in her voice that she can't quite recognize, and then she realizes it's joy because she can't do this with her own son anymore.

She knows they both still have Kurt, but even she's lucky if she can get Kurt on the phone once a week and they live two hours away from each other. Kurt's so busy with Vogue and NYADA and his job and Adam.

She recognizes the first song More Than The Feeling only from the times Finn would blast it in his truck while the two of them were dating. She smiles and looks over at Rachel who has tears in her eyes, also recognizing the song. She grabs Rachel's hand and looks back to the stage.

She recognizes their next song America as another one of Finn's favourite and furrows her brow in confusion, sensing a pattern. She apparently isn't the only one who notices because she hears Rachel gasp from beside her. She's also pretty sure she hears Carole do the same.

And then she hears I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For and she knows for sure they're singing all of his favourite songs. She hears Rachel sob quietly from beside her and she squeezes her hand as the two of them cry quietly together. Santana grabs her other hand and she turns to see Santana wipe some of her own tears away.

They all jump to their feet as the song ends and she lets out a watery laugh when she sees Sam raise a set of drumsticks. Kurt passes some tissues down the row and she watches as Mercedes, Puck, and Mike also wipe their eyes.

xxx

He runs to a secluded section backstage as soon as they're done performing and thinks about how if they don't win, it'll be his fault. Mr. Shue told him to be the leader, and he'll be disappointing Finn if they lose. Not only would he have lost Finn's plaque, but he'd have cost them nationals.

He breaks down quietly while sitting on a storage box. He hears the curtain pull back as Mr. Shue appears. "Hey, you okay?" He asks him.

"I did my best, Mr. Shue." He tells his teacher, getting up to hug him.

"Hey, you did great." Mr. Shue tells him, but he doesn't quite believe him.

xxx

She clutches Santana and Rachel's hands as they wait for the winners to be called, sighing in relief each time the New Directions name isn't called.

"Second place goes to...Throat Explosion. Which means for the second year in a row the New Directions are the national show choir champions!" She screams and jumps and hugs everyone she possibly can. Burt and Carole run backstage to celebrate with them and all of them follow. She hugs and holds Tina as she cries and lays a congratulatory hand on Artie's shoulder. She notices Sam sitting on a storage box in a corner, looking like his mind is elsewhere so she walks over to him.

"Congratulations." She tells him, giving him a soft smile that is returned. She takes a seat next to him. "What's on your mind?"

"He should be here." He tells her, and she purses her lips because there's nothing she wants more than for Finn to still be here.

"He would be so proud of you." She says, looking at him. He looks at her, both of them having tears shining in their eyes. "He loved you Sam, you were like a brother to him."

She remembers during her accident, whenever Finn would come to visit her after he had found out she and Sam were together, he would update her on how Sam was holding up, how he was worried about him. Finn had cared about all of them so much.

She hears Sam suck in a breath and she knows he's doing it to keep himself from crying. "It's going to stop hurting so much eventually." She says softly, grabbing his hand and squeezing it.

"But it won't ever stop." He says and she shakes her head softly in agreement.

"No, it won't."

They sit in comfortable silence for a few minutes, watching the rest of the New Directions celebrate in front of them. She feels him staring at her, so she looks over at him. He looks down at her lips, and before she can even register what's happening, he kisses her.

She pushes away softly and he looks at her confused. "Sam, I have a boyfriend." She says quietly with her head down.

"Oh." He says, the hurt and anger evident in his voice.

"I met him at the cafe, and we just-" he shakes his head and jumps off the box, cutting her off.

"Don't. You don't need to explain, it's okay Q." He tells her, walking back to the group.

"Sam, I-" She tries, but he's already too far away to hear her.

When she returns back to the group Mr. Shue ends a phone call that caused his face to fall.

"Mr. Shue?" Rachel asks. "What's wrong?"

"Sue didn't think we would win so she spent all of our money and gave away the choir room. She disbanded the glee club."

---

100

He picks up right as she's about to give up and hang up the phone, catching her a little off guard.

"Biff?" She confirms. She has to cover her other ear with her hand so she can hear him properly inside of the noisy airport.

"Hey. About to get on your flight?" He asks her and she nibbles on her bottom lip nervously.

"Kind of." She chuckles, he doesn't laugh. "Look, apparently the principal is planning to disband the glee club despite their nationals win due to money costs, so me and the other alumni are planning to go down to Lima for a couple of days to help sort things out." She tells him all of this in one breath, a little nervous as to what his reaction will be.

He's quiet for a while, and she's about to ask him if he heard her when he responds. "I'll come with you."

"What?" She asks him, thinking she must have not heard him clearly.

"I'll come with you. That way I can meet your parents and that teacher you speak so fondly of." He tells her.

"My mom." She corrects. "My parents are divorced." Completely shocked he would want to come with her to Lima to help restore her old glee club.

"Whatever. Lima, right? I just bought my ticket. I'll see you there tomorrow." he tells her before hanging up the phone.

She walks back to the rest of the group of alumni (plus Adam) a little dazed, causing Santana to look at her oddly.

"What is it?" She asks her, causing some of the others to look over at her.

"It's Biff, he's coming." She says, still not believing it herself.

Santana just laughs. "Well this is about to get interesting."

xxx

She feels like she hasn't been home in so long, but it definitely feels good to be back. She missed Lima, she missed all the little shops and restaurants she used to visit, she missed her mom.

She unlocks the door, exhausted from her flight, but so excited to catch up with her mom. Lima is three hours ahead of L.A., and they only managed to get tickets for all of them for a 3:30am flight on such short notice. The New Directions already had their tickets so they've been back in Lima already, along with Burt and Carole.

Even though it's only two in the afternoon by the time she gets to her house, all she wants to do is take a nap. Burt and Carole had been nice enough to pick them all up and drive them to their respective homes so thankfully she didn't need to call a taxi, which also would have been super awkward because she fell asleep as soon as she took a seat in the back.

"Quinn?" Her mom asks, shocked to see her.

"Hi mom." She says, dropping her suitcase so she can give her mom a hug.

"What are you doing here?" She asks her. "Have you eaten anything?"

She shakes her head and her mom ushers her into the kitchen. "Sue disbanded the glee club, so I'm here to help." Her mom just hums as she makes her a quick snack, her mother was never too fond of Sue.

"My boyfriend will also be joining us while I'm here." She tells her mom as she eats and her mom starts clearing the dishes.

"Sam?" Her mom asks her, confused, as if she doesn't understand why Quinn didn't just say it was Sam. She scoffs and rolls her eyes.

"No, mom. His name is Biff and I met him while at Yale. He's studying Law, and he's rich." She says, hoping the rich part will intrigue her mom, but she just continues to stare at her blankly.

"Oh, okay." Her mom says and she grumbles. Whatever, she's going to take a nap.

xxx

Biff lands shortly after she wakes up from her nap and she quickly changes into a black skirt and a white blouse. She applies a little bit of makeup and walks downstairs where her mom is watching some soap opera show.

She takes a seat next to her on the coach and her mom looks at her questioningly. "Why are you dressed like that?"

She glares at her mom. "Dressed like what?" She asks, as if she has no clue what she's talking about.

"All fancy like that. You never dress like that at home." Judy tells her, sounding a bit unimpressed. She rolls her eyes.

"I felt like changing it up." She says, but her mother doesn't look convinced. Before either of them can say anything, Quinn gets a text. "He's here!" She tells her mom while jumping up from the couch.

She opens the door and invites Biff in, blushing as he leans down to kiss her on the cheek. Her mom just stands there with her arms crossed.

"Mrs. Fabray." He greets her mom. "I'm Biff, nice to meet you."

"It's just Judy, I left my husband." She chokes on her spit.

"Oh." Biff says awkwardly and she feels heat creep up her neck.

"Mom." She sneers, but Judy just shrugs.

Dinner is just as awkward. Biff mainly talks about himself the entire time which he's used too, but her mother just looks bored all the time. Any time her mother has the opportunity to talk, she brings up how well the Evans' are doing and how Mary Evans has seemed to finally get back on her feet. She clenches her fist the entire time.

Biff tells her he'll see her tomorrow at McKinley and as soon as he leaves, she waits for her mother's opinion on him.

"He reminds me of your father."

She throws her dinner up.

xxx

The next day at McKinley is awkward, Mercedes and Rachel are both acting like divas because they both think they're the most famous alumni from McKinley.

She takes a seat next to Sam because it's the only one available and he doesn't look at her when she sits down. But she doesn't pay attention to that, she pays attention to whether or not Rachel and Mercedes are going to go into a full blown cat fight, she pays attention to how Brittany is back, she pays attention to how April Rhodes is back. Anything but him.

Yet somehow they end up dancing together in Raise Your Glass. It feels natural, it's always felt natural and comfortable dancing with Sam. At the end of the song she gets a text from Biff and slips out of the choir room early so she can meet him in the parking lot.

"Hey!" She says, skipping up to him and hugging him.

"You went to a public school?" He asks her as soon as they break apart, sounding unimpressed.

"Uh, yeah?" She asks him, not understanding what the big deal is. She was pretty sure he knew that about her.

"Oh." He says and he rolls her eyes, hoping he doesn't see. She grabs her hand and gives him a tour of the school and once they lap around to where they started, he tells her he's just going to head to the washroom.

She waits outside the washroom for him, but then sees Sam turn the corner and runs up to him so they can clear the air. "Hey Sam!" She calls, running up to him.

"Oh, hey." He sounds like the last thing he wants to be doing is talking to her, and she doesn't blame him, she would be upset with him too if the roles were reversed.

"Look I just wanted to say-"

"There you are." She freezes, oh God no this can't be happening. She was planning to just give Biff a tour and then push him out of McKinley so she could avoid what is happening right now.

She watches Sam's jaw clench and his fists ball at his sides and she screws her eyes closed and prays this won't go as horribly as she thinks it's going to.

"Uhm, Sam, this is Biff, my uh, boyfriend." She stutters out as Biff joins them in the middle of the hallway.

"Biff McIntosh." Biff introduces, extending his hand for Sam to shake. Sam firmly shakes it and she flinches.

"Like the apple?" Sam asks, although it sounds like he doesn't care at all about the answer.

"Yeah, exactly like it. My family planted the first McIntosh apple orchard in Pennsylvania. So, every time you have one of our apples, we get a nickel." Biff tells him, but Sam just stares at him like he could not care less about him or his apples.

"This is my friend Sam." She introduces, Sam doesn't even break a smile.

"How long have you been going out?" He asks.

"About three months." She answers. "Well, Sam, I need to go show Biff the auditorium, but it was nice seeing you." She says, dragging Biff to the auditorium before either of them can start asking her more questions.

xxx

Mr. Shue had told them early his lesson and plan to save the New Directions, so while waiting for their flight Santana had taught her choreo for a potential number. Santana had filled Brittany in when the two of them had gone for dinner last night, just to 'catch up'.

They decide to go first, set the bar high before anyone else. They perform Toxic and year their old cheerios uniforms just for kicks.

She tries not to pay too much attention to how Biff is on his phone texting the entire time.

"This is what I'm talking about!" April cheers, and then asks Biff what he thought.

"Oh, I thought it was very, um, energetic." Biff answers, clearly caught off guard.

"Dude, you were texting the whole time." Mike says and she glares at him.

"He's very busy. He's um, president of a, of a secret society and also captain of the water polo team." She explains, completely embarrassed that none of her friends are fond of Biff.

The bell rings and everyone clears out of the room. She walks into Biff's arms and smiles when he tells her she was great. She thanks him and they head their separate ways because he wants to change for dinner with her at Breadstix later on in the evening.

xxx

She takes her mom's car and picks him up from his hotel. She ignores his looks of disgust when he sees her mom's car isn't a BMW or Rolls Royce or something.

She gets a table for two and they talk a bit casually before he tells her he really likes her and wants to get to know her.

"Well, what do you want to know?" She asks him. "I can tell you so many things, like the time that I-" He cuts her off.

"Aren't those some of your friends? This is perfect, they can tell me all about you." He tells her and she feels her blood run cold. Oh God no.

"Hey guys, come here!" He calls and she pales. Puck, Mike, and Santana slip into their booth and Artie parks himself at the end of the table. She gives Santana a look that says please don't ruin this for me. Santana just smirks at her.

"Hi Biff, nice to see you again." Santana says and she elbows her friend.

"Santana." Biff nods.

"Mike Chang." Mike introduces, extending his hand for Biff to shake.

"Artie Abrams." Artie says, following Mike in shaking Biff's hand.

"Noah Puckerman." Puck introduces.

"So, what about Quinn? How would you describe her in one sentence?" Biff asks them and she holds her breath.

"She's constantly surprising you." Mike answers. "Like, one year, she showed up to school in the fall and decided she wanted to be a skank." She kicks Mike's shin from across the table.

"She dyed her hair pink, she got a temporary Ryan Seacrest tattoo, and lit a purple piano on fire." Santana adds and she elbows Santana in the stomach, hard.

"Piano?" Biff asks her, slightly alarmed. She begins to panic. But then she starts laughing and realizes she can play it off like they're joking.

"They're messing with you. Hey, I forgot my purse in the car and I'd really love my wallet." She whispers to him and he nods.

"Oh, absolutely. I'll go get it for you, sweetheart. No worries." He tells her before exiting the booth.

"What the hell was that?" Puck asks her and she glares at him.

"So maybe I don't want my boyfriend who comes from a traditional family to know I fell off the rails a few times in high school." She explains to them, but they all look at her like she's crazy.

"Does he know about Beth?" Puck asks her.

"Did you tell him about Sam?" Artie questions and she sighs.

"Look, guys, I will tell him everything when I'm ready." She says, but none of them look too happy with her.

Dinner is tense and awkward, but at least this time Biff listens as her friends share their high school experiences and how their lives have been since they graduated. None of them bring up how she was like in high school again, other than to mention she was the bitchy blonde head cheerleader. Somehow hearing that makes her feel worse than them calling her a skank.

xxx

She heads to the school without Biff today. He's planning on driving to Columbus to visit some extended family so at least she doesn't have to go through anymore awkward encounters.

Or at least she thought. Of course Rachel and Mercedes are planning to have a diva off. They're supposed to be here to bring the glee club together again, and they're all here rehashing old drama that should have left this room when they did.

She applause and cheers for all of them, not really wanting to vote. She's best friends with all three of them, she really does not wanting to be further fueling this feud.

Thankfully, they don't have to vote. Instead, Santana performs a number to get Brittany out of her funk of no longer wanting to dance. She lays a hand on Brittany's shoulder as Santana performs the first part of the number without her. Brittany shoots her a small smile and eventually gets up to dance with Santana, leading her to dance next to Sam, not thinking of the consequences.

She goes to lunch with Tina and Mercedes at the Lima Bean. They talk a little bit about what Tina's plans are once she graduates, and Tina tells them she's going to Brown which makes her squeal because that means Tina will be a lot closer. She refrains from asking Tina where the others are going because she knows what Tina will think, and why she's asking.

"Quinn, I don't want you to take this the wrong way or anything, but I think Biff is kind of a jerk." Tina tells her hesitantly and she grits her teeth. She is so tired of everyone telling her how much they dislike her boyfriend, it's not like they have to date him.

"Yeah girl, I just can't see this guy being the right fit for you. We don't mean to offend you or anything, you just deserve better." Mercedes adds and she paints on her best fake smile.

"I appreciate you guys looking out for me." She tells them in the cheeriest voice she can muster, but even to herself it sounds fake.

They must notice her annoyance because they change the subject to possible song ideas they have, but just because they've stopped talking about it doesn't mean it's left her mind.

xxx

They head to the auditorium after lunch for Sam's performance. He has a guitar strapped across his shoulder and a carpet with a bunch of pillows sprawled across it for everyone to sit on and she's praying to anyone who is listening that he doesn't start recreating one of their duets or one of the songs he dedicated to her while they were dating. The last thing she needs is Biff asking her how today was and the words 'my ex dedicated a song to me despite knowing I'm with you' on the tip of her tongue.

And it looks like she doesn't have to worry because she doesn't remember either of them singing the song he starts strumming. But that doesn't mean she doesn't recognize the song, and then he starts looking at her, and she pales because just because it's not a previous song that's been performed, he's still dedicating it to her.

Ever wonder 'bout what he's doin'

How it all turned to lies

Sometimes I think that it's better

To never ask why

She pales. He's not looking at her from where he's standing at the back of the stage, but she knows him. She knows where he's going with this, and she doesn't like it at all.

Where there is desire there is gonna be a flame

Where there is a flame, someone's bound to get burned

But just because it burns doesn't mean you're gonna die

You've gotta get up and try, try, try

And finally, he looks at her. She immediately looks away, she doesn't want anyone to get the wrong idea. She looks around to see if anyone notices what is really going on, but they're all just swaying around and singing along to the lyrics. She would be doing the same if she wasn't internally panicking so much.

Funny how the heart can be deceiving

More than just a couple times

Why do we fall in love so easy

Even when it's not right?

Just as she suspected, someone figures it out. Kurt looks over at her from where he's sitting between Blaine and Rachel and she tries not to breathe too hard to give off any indications that she's aware of what's going on.

Where there is desire there is gonna be a flame

Where there is a flame, someone's bound to get burned

But just because it burns doesn't mean you're gonna die

You gotta get up and try, try, try

Gotta get up and try, try, try

You've gotta get up and try, try, try

She sees Tina turn to look at her from beside her and she stills. Sam, she thinks to herself, hoping he can hear her because he has always been so good at knowing what's going on inside her mind. What on Earth do you think you're doing?

He begins to walk forward and she screws her eyes shut so she doesn't have to see whether or not he's walking towards her. When he begins singing again, there's no way she can tell because he's still at the other end of the carpet, but she isn't ready to look just yet.

Every worry that it might be ruined

And does it make you wanna cry?

When you're out there doing what you're doing

Are you just getting by?

Right as she opens her eyes, he begins walking closer to her. She wants to look away, she doesn't want him to think that this is affecting her, but she can't. She's drawn to him, she's always been drawn to him.

Everyone has now figured out he's singing about her, to her, and some part of her is nagging to herself that they always knew, everyone can see how some part of him has always been in love with her, everyone but her.

She looks down as her eyes begin to fill up with tears, but he kneels in front of her and lifts her chin up so she can continue looking at him.

Tell me are you just getting by, by, by?

Where there is desire there is gonna be a flame,

Where there is a flame someone's bound to get burned

But just because it burns doesn't mean you're gonna die

You've gotta get up and try, try, try

Gotta get up and try, try, try

You've gotta get up and try, try, try

Gotta get up and try, try, try

Gotta get up and try, try, try

You've gotta get up and try, try, try

Gotta get up and try, try, try

He stands up and she watches him, clutching her pearls hanging from her neck as some sense of balance and control as he walks backwards a few steps so he's not standing right over her.

You've gotta get up and try, try, try

Gotta get up and try, try, try

She can see out of the corner of her eyes everyone clapping around them, but she can't hear them. She can't hear anything, for some reason she feels like there's only two of them in the auditorium, her sitting in front of him watching him perform a song just for her. She's taken back to when the two of them had just started dating, when she would sit in his bedroom doing homework and he would just get up and start strumming his guitar. "A brain break Q, we need to take brain breaks or else our heads will explode! I'm only looking out for you, you know." He used to tell her. Back before she had stolen his innocence and boyish charm. Back before the two of them had broken each other's hearts.

Noticing the tension between them, everyone clears out of the auditorium leaving just the two of them, him standing above her, her still clutching her pearls as an anchor as a few tears stream down her cheeks.

"Why are you doing this?" She asks him, her voice barely above a whisper.

"Why are you Quinn? You don't love that guy." He tells her as he takes off the guitar and puts it on a nearby stand.

"I could." She tells him, but even to her it sounds like a lie.

"Maybe." He shrugs, and then goes to sit across from her. "But you won't, not with the history we have." He takes the hand that is still holding her necklace. It feels so much smaller in his than it used to. Has that much time really passed? "Maybe in a different life, but not in this one."

"Why not?" She asks, raising her voice a little and snatching her hand away from his while standing up quickly, searching the room for the quickest exit.

"Because you know you and I are meant to be together!" He yells just as loud.

She runs her hands through her hair, probably messing it up but she's too frustrated to care. "We're not kids anymore Sam! We loved each other sure, but it's time to move on now."

"LIke you have?" He snaps at her and she looks away.

"Yes." She tells him, but it comes out sounding quiet and unsure.

"Bullshit Quinn. If you had moved on you would have told Biff about me." He bites at her. His cheeks are red and his breaths are heavy. He's so angry with her, but she doesn't think she's ever adored him more.

"I haven't told him about any of my past." She tells him, pointing an accusatory finger at him like he's wrong, like he's a liar who has no idea what he's talking about.

"Because you haven't moved on." He says slower, like she wasn't smart enough to process it the first time and it makes her grit her teeth harder.

She wants to scream at him, wants to tell him to go fuck himself for trying to punish her because she was able to move past their relationship that ended years ago and he hasn't. But just as she's about to start screaming at him, she realizes that he's right. She loves the people they once were, before they grew up and realized the world was nothing but disappointment and heartache.

"I'll tell him." She says, her voice soft again. They're both still breathing hard, his chest still pushed out and her fists still balled at her sides, but she's ready to surrender, throw in the white flag.

"What?" He asks her, his voice just as soft, taken off guard that she didn't have a bunch of insults ready to fire at him.

"I will tell him everything about my past." She says, walking the few short steps towards him to close the distance between them. Their chests are touching and if she were to lean forward, she would be able to push her lips against his. "If that will prove to you I have moved on, then I'll tell him." She whispers to him, but she doesn't know if he heard her because he closes his eyes and leans his forehead against hers.

She allows it for a second, but then she walks away and out of the auditorium, leaving him standing there, his heart in her hands, crushed to pieces, just how he had years ago when he left her in that hallway.

Just because she ended the war, doesn't mean she's willing to admit she lost.

xxx

The next day starts off better. Any thoughts of Sam she has and their argument she takes out of her mind. Biff is planning to join her after lunch in glee club where she plans to tell him everything about her past. Today is good.

They don't end up doing the stupid diva vote because Kurt somehow convinced both Rachel and Mercedes that they are both stars in their own way, Sam hasn't tried to talk to her at all today, although he did sit beside her in glee club. She knows he did it just to annoy her.

Now all she needs to do is tell Biff everything. She meets him in the parking lot after lunch once he's texted her that he's arrived and she takes a deep breath before stopping in front of his car.

"Hey." He greets her while giving her a kiss on the cheek. She gives him a tight lipped smile in return.

"So you wanted to know everything about me right?" She asks him, rushing the words out because she just wants to get this conversation over with.

He looks at her like he has no idea what she's talking about, but she doesn't care. She doesn't wait for his reply.

"All the things my friends told you at that restaurant we went to, were true." She tells him and he looks at her like she's grown two heads.

"Woah, wha-"

"And I had a baby with my then-boyfriend, who has just recently passed away, best friend and was kicked out of my house." She takes a shaky breath, but feels slightly liberated, like some weight has been lifted off of her chest.

"A baby?" Crap, he sounds angrier than she expected. "I mean, what happens if we got married and this kid shows up looking for money? Are you crazy" He snaps at her.

She bites her tongue from snapping at him for talking about Beth that way, convincing herself that he doesn't mean it, he's just upset.

"I am looking for acceptance here, okay?" She begs him, hoping he will see how hard it was to carry this with her and keep it from him.

"You are the worst kind of hypocrite." He tells her and she blinks at him. A hypocrite? How the hell is she being a hypocrite?

"You walk around like you're Snow frickin' White-"

"When have I ever-"

"- but you're really just a dirty little slutbag." Her jaw drops. He doesn't seem to care at all about what he's called her which makes her even angrier. Okay, now she's had it.

She grabs his nose and twists it. "You shouldn't have said that."

"Ow, ow, ow, ow! God! Am I bleeding?" He asks once she releases him.

"Ohmygod Biff, I have no idea what came over me. I'm so sorry." She tells him, trying to sound as apologetic as she possibly can as she walks over to him and cradles his face.

"Really?" He asks, kind of surprised.

"No, go fuck yourself." She tells him before walking away, hoping he gets the hint that they're done. Well there goes three months of her life she can never get back.

xxx

She doesn't quite feel like going into the choir room yet, so instead she walks to the boys locker room where she hears they framed and hung up Finn's jersey. She stands and stares at it, her eyes filling up with tears because she knows if Finn was here he would know exactly what to say.

He probably would have given her so much crap for going out with someone like Biff. She lets out a watery laugh and traces his name that is engraved below on the frame as a few tears spill out of her eyes. If there's anything she's learned from her past, it's that it's okay to cry when you feel like crying.

"Hey." She hears from behind her. She turns around to see Coach Beiste smiling softly at her. "You know this is the boys locker room right?"

She smiles and nods as the last of her tears fall to her chin.

"He was a good kid." Coach Beiste says, turning to face the jersey. "One of my favourite players, always teaching me new things, a real special guy." She follows Coach Beiste in looking at Finn's jersey as a new set of tears form in her eyes. "But you know the most important thing he's taught me?" The coach asks. "Don't waste any time you have with the people who are with you right now. Life is too short."

The locker room opens and they both look at the door. Sam walks in, but stops in his tracks when he sees the two of them teary eyed staring right back at him. "I'm here to get those papers." He says to Coach Beiste.

"Right, let me get those." She tells him and then walks to her office.

"What are you-" He begins to ask her, but she cuts him off.

"I broke up with Biff." She tells him and he seems unphased, like he knew it was coming.

"I'm going to school in New York." He tells her and her face breaks out in a grin. She runs into his arms and he catches her with an oof. She kisses him. She kisses the hell out of him, cradles his face in her palms like she used to, him still lifting her up with his arms around her waist, her bending her leg the way they do in the movies. Her wondering why the hell she always ran away from this when it makes her heart so happy. When they pull apart he looks at her with an eyebrow raised.

"Life is too short."

xxx

When they all return back to the choir room Mr. Shue tells them he wants to show them something in the auditorium. She walks with Santana who looks a little distressed.

"I kissed Sam." She tells Santana who just looks smug and unsurprised.

"Brittany kissed me." She gasps and smacks Santana's arm who jumps and yelps. "Q what the hell!"

"You have a girlfriend." She reminds Santana who just rolls her eyes.

"I don't know Quinn, I think Brittany might be my soulmate." Santana tells her while biting her bottom lip. She just smiles at her best friend.

"Yeah, I know the feeling." She says, looking at Sam who is walking ahead of them with Blaine. "How are you going to tell Dani?" She asks Santana who just looks at her like she's a moron.

"I'm just going to call her and explain to her that I'm not over Brittany, she'll understand." Santana shrugs and she falls into a fit of giggles. "Ohmygod Q, what?"

"Santana, she's watching over your apartment." She reminds her and Santana's eyes widen.

"Oh shit."

She laughs harder.

Mr. Shue shows them where he's hung the plaques now that the choir room is no longer theirs, and there is a sadness that hangs over all of them. Santana grabs her hand and she leans her head against Santana's shoulder.

"Their new and final resting places. For as long as McKinley's around, all the students who travel through this auditorium are gonna see these." Mr. Shue tells them.

"And have absolutely no idea who they are." Artie points out, but they ignore him. No more negatives, none of them have the heart for any more.

"You know what? This is crazy." Santana says. "Because I could really give two poops about this place, but this is really getting to me." She squeezes Santana's hand who leans her head overtop of hers.

"We were all raised by different parents. But we grew up together in the glee club. It's a part of all of us. Of course you're sad about it." Mr. Shue says and before she can stop herself, her eyes fill up with tears for the hundredth time since she's come back.

"I don't know Mr. Shue." Mike says. "With this and Finn, it's kind of hard to believe that anything lasts." And that does it, the waterworks have started. But at least she isn't the only one, she can feel Santana's tears land on the top of her head and she's pretty sure she can hear Rachel crying softly into Kurt's shoulder.

"I don't have any more pep talks. I just have you guys. And the memory of the people on this wall. My friends. I mean, we share this special bond. We're the only ones in the world who know what this glee club meant to us. What it felt like to sing together. To be together. And what it feels like to say goodbye to it. I didn't come here to cheer you up. Just to thank you. To thank you for going on this ride for me." She can hear a few sniffles and knows there probably isn't a dry eye in this auditorium right now.

Tina runs to hug Mr. Shue and she pulls Santana's hand so they can join the two of them as Mr. Shue softly cries. One last group hug for all of them to share.

"All right, come on. We've still got a few days until Sue shuts the lights out on the choir room, so let's make the most of them." Mr. Shue tells all of them, but none of them answer or move, allowing him to have this moment to hold onto for a little longer.

---

New Directions

They meet the next day in the auditorium and she takes a seat next to Sam who grins at her and wraps an arm around her shoulders. They get a couple of wolf whistles and cheers, and one "thank God, Biff was the worst!" causing her to turn around and glare at Santana.

She leans her head on his shoulder while Kurt and Mercedes start singing I Am Changing.

"I don't think I've ever sat next to you in this auditorium." He whispers into her hair and she looks up at him.

"What? Yes you have." She tells him.

"Well like once when you were in your wheelchair, but other than that, no not really. You always sat with Santana and Brittany or Kurt." She ponders over it for a minute and then realizes that he's right, and for the life of her know she cannot figure out what she was so afraid of.

"If I could do it all again I would have done it so much differently." She tells him and he chuckles and kisses her hair.

"No point in thinking about the past, we have the rest of our lives together to focus on."

The rest of their lives together, she likes the sound of that.

xxx

Ms. Holiday comes up with an idea that they should try bringing music into different clubs and she thinks it's a great idea, this way they can also recruit new members since there's only a number of days left until Blaine, Artie, Tina, and Sam graduate anyway.

She dances around with Kurt as they travel from club to club laughing at the mortified expressions on the students faces.

"Blaine got into NYADA." He says into her ear as Mr. Shue and Ms. Holiday sing a duet to the Anime club.

She raises an eyebrow at him as she twirls around him. "Oh?" She asks, looking over at Adam who is spinning Rachel in circles.

"I think I'm going to start working at Vogue full time. I don't know if I want to be some Broadway star." He tells her and she squeals.

"My very own personal stylist!" She cheers and he rolls his eyes but celebrates along with her.

xxx

They decide to sing a duet together because why not, everyone else is doing it. He teaches her the first few chords on his guitar the way he did for Lucky, but this time she doesn't run away scared and savours the feeling of love between the two of them.

All I knew

This morning when I woke

Is I know something now

Know something now I didn't before

And all I've seen

Since eighteen hours ago

Is green eyes and freckles in your smile

In the back of my mind making me feel like

I just wanna know you better, know you better, know you better now

I just wanna know you better, know you better, know you better now

I just wanna know you better, know you better, know you better now

I just wanna know you, know you, know you

'Cause all I know is we said, "hello"

And your eyes look like comin' home

All I know is a simple name

And everything has changed

All I know is you held the door

You'll be mine and I'll be yours

All I know since yesterday

Is everything has changed

And all my walls

Stood tall painted blue

But I'll take 'em down, take 'em down

And open up the door for you

And all I feel in my stomach is butterflies

The beautiful kind, makin' up for last time

Takin' flight, makin' me feel like

I just wanna know you better, know you better, know you better now

I just wanna know you better, know you better, know you better now

I just wanna know you better, know you better, know you better now

I just wanna know you, know you, know you

'Cause all I know is we said, "hello"

And your eyes look like comin' home

All I know is a simple name

And everything has changed

All I know is you held the door

You'll be mine and I'll be yours

All I know since yesterday

Is everything has changed

Come back and tell me why

I'm feelin' like I've missed you all this time

And meet me there tonight

And let me know that it's not all in my mind

I just wanna know you better, know you better, know you better now

I just wanna know you, know you, know you

All I know is we said, "hello"

Your eyes look like comin' home

All I know is a simple name

ANd everything has changed

All I know is you held the door

You'll be mine and I'll be yours

All I know since yesterday

Is everything has changed

All I know is we said, "hello"

So dust off your highest hopes

All I know is pouring rain

And everything has changed

All I know is newfound grace

All my days, I'll know your face

All I know since yesterday

Is everything has changed

They finish holding hands and staring into each other's eyes the way they had two years ago, completely oblivious to the sound of cheers and applause around them. He leans down to kiss her and everyone's cheers get louder, causing her to start laughing.

"Well, in many ways, that brings us full circle, which is perfect because that was officially the last song that will ever be sung in Glee Club." She frowns, and leans into Sam who wraps an arm around her waist as they listen to Mr. Shue.

"We all have more songs to sing. We just can't sing them in here anymore. Glee Club...is officially over. Thank you guys, it's been an honour." Mr. Shue says before dismissing them for the last time.

xxx

Artie tells them all about the video collage he has planned to do for Mr. Shue and she thinks it's a great idea. They all decide to make the video for Mr. Shue's unborn child and Artie gives them an hour to think of what they want to say before leaving and tells them to text them their locations so he can film them there.

She decides to film her part in the gym. She sits and waits on the bleachers for Artie and once he arrives she takes a deep breath and smiles as he begins filming. "It was here that Mr. Shue, your dad, taught me there was more to high school than just a cheerleading uniform and pom poms. That the feeling of standing on top of a pyramid was nothing compared to the one you got performing. But for me, the best feeling was that your dad made each and every one of us feel like we were never alone, that we were special."

Artie smiles at her and gives her a thumbs up and they exit the gym together, talking about their futures and ignoring that glee club will no longer be a part of it.

xxx

She waits backstage with the rest of the members, old and new, for their collage to start playing. They watched it all together as a group once and she made Artie send her a copy because this is definitely something she wants to have forever.

It seems like a lifetime ago when they were rehearsing Don't Stop Believin' for regionals. Way back when she was still pregnant, before Matt had transferred and Sam and Blaine had been introduced into their lives. It just seems so crazy now.

She can't believe it's all over now. She thought she would be coming back for years. She thought she would take her (and Sam's) kids to go watch the New Directions nationals competitions under the coaching of Finn. But if there's anything she's learned this year, it's that nothing lasts forever.

She blows Mr. Shue a kiss when her cue comes around and can't believe her body still knows most of the choreo. Brittany and Mike had been spending afternoons in the choir room teaching the newer members the choreography and offered any of the older members to come join them, but she just hadn't found the time. Her mother had been bugging her nonstop after she found out she broke up with Biff. Her and Mary had been practically planning her and Sam's wedding. They're not even together officially yet.

She waves over to Adam who is sitting in the audience once their number is over. He runs up the stage steps once the group hug ends and they break off into little groups. Sam, Kurt, Adam, Santana, and Rachel are joking around and laughing and she takes it all in. Lima will always be home, but some part of her cannot wait to get back to New Haven.

xxx

She sits in the audience between Santana and Kurt during the graduation ceremony, feeling an odd sense of deja vu. She looks over at the chair they left empty beside Rachel and smiles.

She stands with Mike and Rachel holding part of the Queen T 4-Ever sign when her name is called, the flowers she bought for Tina sitting below at her feet. She remains standing and jumps up and down, cheering extra loud when Sue calls Sam's name. Santana nudges her to stop embarrassing him, but she doesn't care, she knows both his and her mom are sitting together doing the same thing with Carole.

She looks over when Brittany's name is called and smiles. Sue might have hated Santana, but she loved Quinn, so the two of them convinced her to call Brittany's name and let her walk across the stage.

She puts on Quinn's robe as Santana puts on her cap and the two of them shed a few tears as Brittany walks onto the stage and collects her diploma.

She takes a million pictures with Santana and Brittany and a million more with Sam. She hands Tina her flowers and tells her she'll visit her all the time. Brown and Yale are only an hour and a half away and there's no way she's letting this friendship end.

Adam takes a group picture of them, it's a lot of their last day before they have to leave for the various different paths they've gone on. Mercedes back to LA, Mike back to Chicago, Puck back to his base.

As they stand around and chatter amongst themselves, she notices one person missing. She turns back to see Rachel standing away from the group, quietly observing them all.

She walks over to Rachel and grabs her hand. Rachel just continues to stand and stare at everyone else. "Sometimes I close my eyes and think he's right here with us." Rachel tells her.

"He is." She answers. Maybe not the way he used to be, but she knows Finn's here, watching over all of them.

"I can't believe it's all over." She tells Rachel. If she's being honest, she doesn't think Sue would ever win. Part of her always believed they were invincible.

"You know, I'm not so sure it is." Rachel says and she looks over at Rachel confused, but Rachel doesn't elaborate, she just smiles.