And here's chapter two, my lovely readers! I've jumped a head a little in the story. School has already started and West Side has already been cast, and that's pretty much where the original Glee story line ends. I'm sorry. It just wasn't going to fit very well with all the changes I'm making. The major points will probably still happen, but a lot's going to change. I'm excited for this story. It's going to be a lot longer than the previous one, and any holes I left in W. I. T. S will be filled in this one.

I'm bluntly opening up which ship I'm going to make happen for this story, and I hope all you fellow Faberry lovers out there will like that little side-show I'm going to put in this fanfic. (Trust me, there will be plenty for them. I plan on doing POVs from Rachel, Quinn, Santana and maybe a few others in this story later on.) Bare with me if I'm slow on updates. I started college classes last week and it's been hectic, but I'm already working on the next chapter so stay tuned! Let me know what you think! Seriously, you all need to review more. I love feedback.

Enjoy! ~BraveGirl

Ch:2

Logan

"I appreciate you taking the time to meet with me, Mr. Shue. I'm sure you're probably very busy."

The curly-haired teacher simply smiled at me before taking a seat in his office chair. "It's no problem, Logan. It's not like the New Directions are very busy right now anyway. Not with Shelby starting up the Trouble Tones and everything that's happened since. But, that's my problem to worry about. You said you needed to talk to me about something important?"

I nodded, folding my hands in my lap before letting out a sigh. "I would like to talk to you about rejoining the New Directions."

The man raised an eyebrow, the strip of hair almost disappearing into his hairline. "What? I thought you were living in Chicago now?"

"My mothers and I have decided that Lima is the best place for me to finish out my high school career, and it coincides with some family business that was going to bring us back next year anyway, so we're moving back now. We're visiting for the weekend to get things settled, and it's not all completely set just yet, but I should be starting classes back here next week."

The look of surprise never left his face, the look itself combining with what I could only describe as relief and excitement mixed together. "Well, that's great news, Logan. And of course, you're more than welcome to rejoin the New Directions. I'm sure those who are left would be more than happy to welcome you back with open arms. Does anyone else know you're coming back?"

There had been no doubt in my mind that the New Directions would have welcomed me back into the group. They needed me just as much as I needed them, but it would never get old hearing that I was wanted by a group of people who considered me family, and it was reassuring to know that this year would be shared with those who

"Rachel knows, obviously. I'm meeting with Quinn later and telling her, but that's also what I was wanting to talk to you about. My first day back, I want it to be a surprise, so I was kind of hoping that we could work something out? Rachel has already agreed to it and is supplying the sheet music to the jazz band and everything. Plus, I hear that Sam is coming back, too, so I figured we could kill two birds with one stone."

Mr. Shue leaned back in his chair, his smile growing with every second. "What exactly did you have in mind?"

I couldn't help but return the smile he was giving me, my own growing as I outlined my plan to him down to the very last detail. "…and it the end, you've showcased the talent of the New Directions and introduced the newest, or in my case, returning members. All we have to do is get it passed by Ms. Corcoran and the rest of the glee club members without anyone knowing about me coming back."

Before I could even finish the sentence, Mr. Shue's smile had grown into a smirk. I could practically see the gears turning and the passion flowing in him as he stood and held his hand out to me. "I'll talk to Shelby immediately about it. She's always saying that competition is healthy for the kids, so I shouldn't see a problem with it. I assume I'll be talking with you through Rachel?"

After shaking his hand, I nodded, feeling less nervous about restarting back at McKinley now that things were starting to fall into place. "Until I'm back, I'll be living and communication vicariously through my sister. And I should probably be getting back to her. We're supposed to be meeting Quinn in a few minutes."

"Of course. If you need anything, you know where to find me. I'll see you soon, Logan."

I sent the teacher a half wave as I started out of his office and into the crowded hallway, the sea of red and white sending a feeling of melancholy through my body. While I was happy to be coming back, this would also be my final year here, and I was bound and determined not to let this year go to waste. I had spent my first two years of school in such a horrible state of mind after Nicole's death and last year acting my sister's guardian, and I never stopped and allowed myself to just be a teenager, to be myself. So that is what I intended to do with this year. I wasn't going to allow myself to be held back because of my fear of my past. I intended to live a little this year.

With a new-found surge of happiness, I strode off down the hall, accepting the few hellos I was given. It wasn't often I visited Lima, and to be honest, it was because I didn't want to have to face Santana. Seeing her would have been another blow to the armor that I worked so hard to build so strong, and I had a feeling she would always be the one that got away, and she was just as much as my past as anyone. I would have to face her eventually.

As I rounded the corner, all thoughts of the Latina were scattered from my mind as I finally made it to the auditorium where I could faintly hear the songs from this year's musical attempting to seep through the closed doors. Call my opinion biased, but they sounded good. Like, really, really good.

No one paid much attention to me as I slipped in through the doors, smiling at the sight of my sister standing center stage, completely in her zone as she ran through the scene with the rest of the cast members. It would never get old to see her on stage doing what she was born to do. It was where she belonged, anyone could see that, and I would forever be honored to say that the petite brunette belting out I Feel Pretty on a high school stage with so much passion was my baby sister, and one of the most important people in my life.

"Logan!"

I tore my attention away from my sister's performance to see a whirl of blonde hair in front of my face before I was almost knocked over by a hug, my mind only registering it was Quinn for a split second before I returned the hug just as tightly, chuckling slightly. "Hey, Q."

The blonde finally released me, keeping a hold of one hand as she started to pull me back stage, where most of the missing glee club members were either in costume or holding scripts, all of them halting to stop and give their own hellos.

Kurt was the first, dropping his script to give me a hug before thanking me for helping him convince Rachel to try out a new wardrobe this year that didn't include argyle or animal sweaters, the comment making me laugh as I hugged him back. Blaine was just as enthusiastic in his greeting, only opting to hug me much less tighter than Kurt or Quinn had. Tina and Mike somehow managed to give me a group hug, both saying how happy they were to see me. Artie of course stopped mid direction to give me a high five before yelling at everyone to take a five-minute break, giving cause for the rest of the glee club members to finally join in the reunion. Brittany's hug was filled with mentions of Lord Tubbington and her online show, which I made a promise to appear on before I returned to Chicago Sunday night. Rach gave me a one-armed hug, keeping said arm around me as she and Quinn started to chat away about our plans for tonight. I do believe the word "slumber party" was thrown around by my sister, and had I been able to get a word in between the two of them, I would have made some snide remark about feeling like I was in middle school again, but I would let them have their fun. After all, tonight was going to be a celebration when I told her I was coming back to Lima.

As the two girls continued to babble on, my eyes roamed around the group of people I had come to know and love and consider family, a frown forming on my face when I noticed that one person was still missing. Not that I should have been surprised by it. I halfway expected to be ignored, again, by her.

"She's here. She took one look at you and mumbled something about going to change. You should go see her."

I snorted at my sister's comment, shaking my head as I followed her back to the girl's make-shift dressing room off to the side of the stage after promising to say goodbye to everyone before leaving rehearsal. "She doesn't want to talk to me, Rach. You know that."

The diva shrugged, stopping long enough to grab the next scene's costume before shouting off to one of the stage hands about getting her warm honey water with lemon, earning an eyeroll from me. She certainly deserved to be called a diva. "I know just as much as you do, Logan, which is miniscule. I do know, however, that she misses you and she hasn't been the same since your attack and since you left. No one has heard from her all summer save for the few times I called her and Quin managed to free her from her house. She's miserable, and so are you. You tried last year to talk to her, but you both were still emotionally strung out because of your accident. So, sister dear, what is stopping you now? If it had been me and if I had been as in love with her as you are, I wouldn't be standing here talking to you. I would be over there talking to her."

My eyes followed her line of sight before finally resting on the center of our conversation, who was sitting at one of the dressing mirrors, frowning down at a copy of the script. As my mind gave thought to what my sister said, I smiled to myself, finally tearing my eyes away from Santana to raise an eyebrow at my sister. "In a not so subtle change of subject, when are you planning on declaring your love for the girl you've so madly fell for?"

My sister paused halfway through changing into her costume, a deep red blush forming on her cheeks. "I have no idea what you're talking about, and you're right. It wasn't a subtle change in conversation. You should go and talk to her."

After rolling my eyes at my sister and opting to stare down at the floor instead, (mostly because I would feel like a creep if I kept staring at Santana) I leaned myself on the wall opposite the diva, a knowing smile resting on my face. "Oh, so I was imaging things when you busted out in tears a few years ago when you told me you had fallen for-?"

My sister's hand reached up to cover my mouth, stifling my laugh as her eyes widened in panic. "What are you doing?! People can hear us! She could hear us!"

After I removed her hand from my mouth, I chuckled, pulling out my phone when it chimed. "Relax, Little B, your secret is safe with me."

"Would you just shut up and go talk to her already?"

I returned my phone back to my pocket before pushing myself up and off the wall of my sister's make-shift dressing room. "Will you stop bothering me about it if I go and try?"

My sister nodded, using one hand to wave me off as she proceeded to start a few vocal warmups. I waited a few seconds, noting when she began to belt off higher notes that I started to walk away from her. "Oh, by the way. Quinn has requested your presence over in her dressing room, something about not being able to get the zipper up on her dress. She needs your help."

At the sound of my sister's high note turning into a squeak and then a string of profanities, I smirked and began to make my way over towards the direction of Santana, not at all guilty about making my sister squirm a little, but instead growing nervous at the prospect of confronting the girl who had been occupying most of my thoughts since I met her last year. My feet halted a few feet from where she was sitting, and I took a second to take deep breath before taking the last few steps and putting on a small smile.

"Santana?"

The girl's head snapped up from her copy of the script so fast even I could feel the oncoming signs of whiplash. She obviously wasn't expecting me to say something to her. Either that or she had become an exceptional actress over the past several months. "Logan. Hey."

I ushered to the empty dressing room seat next to her, slightly more at ease now that I knew she wasn't completely ignoring me still. "You mind if I sit?"

She quickly shook her head, placing the script next to her. "Yeah. No. I mean, no, I don't mind if you sit."

After watching the girl struggle for a few minutes, I smiled before easing myself into the seat. "Santana, shut up. You're rambling."

The girl across from me narrowed her eyes at me, my heart rate quickening at the familiar sight. For a few seconds, it still felt like last year. Before I kissed her. Before the attack. When we were friends.

"I don't ramble."

The snort that escaped from my lips only caused the girl to glare at me further, which in return only made my smile broaden. "You ramble when you get nervous, Santana. And you don't have to be nervous around me. We were friends once, remember? I'm still the same girl I was last year. I've not changed."

Santana's eyes darted away from mine as I could have sworn a light blush spread across her cheeks, mumbling out a "we're still friends" before she slumped down in her chair. My stomach lurched slightly at her declaration, and although part of me was dying to hear her say we had been more than just friends, I was going to take what I could get.

"Look, San. About last year-."

"I don't wanna talk about last year."

It was my turn to glare at the Latina, mostly because she was being insanely stubborn, and although I cared for the girl dearly, that sometimes overshadowed her other positive features and attributes. "Well I do, and I think you need to as well. I know you blame yourself for what happened, but if you would let me explain-."

The girl's expression caused me to halt mid-sentence. Her usually brown eyes darkened to an almost black shade, and it frightened me. I knew she was carrying around guilt about the attack, and that she wasn't okay, Rachel and Quinn had made that clear, but I never imagined it would be this bad. That she would look this emotionless and hallow.

"Explain what, Logan? You almost died last year. Your family almost lost you. I almost…you almost died and it was because of me. You or Rachel or Quinn or anyone else can't tell me otherwise. Because that's what happens when people get involved with me. Brittany was always made fun of because I didn't take people's crap so they targeted her. Q was my best friend and because of my bitchy attitude she fell from her freaking high pedestal. You…you kissed me and you were attacked because of it. You almost died, Logan. Died. As in I would never get to talk to you again. How the hell am I supposed to act like nothing ever happened? I couldn't look at you last year because I couldn't stand to see you hurt because of me. And right now, that scar that runs across your eyebrow, it's killing me to look at you because I know I caused that. How the hell can you explain anything to me that will stop me from thinking that?"

I simply stared at the girl for a few seconds before sliding out the seat to stand in front of Santana, who's darkened eyes were now brimming with tears. "I wanna talk to you about this, okay? I do, but I can't do it here and neither can you because you're not gonna let anyone see you that vulnerable."

The girl finally looked away from me, wiping at her cheeks as she picked up her copy of the script again. Before, her distance would have hurt, but now that I had gotten a glimpse inside of what she was feeling, I understood all this better, and after taking a deep breath I placed a hand on either side of the arm rests of her chair, forcing her to look up at me since my face was only a few inches from hers. As soon as my eyes met those familiar brown ones, I melted, letting out a sigh. "Quinn is coming over around seven to hang out before I have to go back to Chicago. If you want to, you can come over tonight and we can talk, and before you come up with some lame excuse to avoid me until I'm gone again, I'm asking you to do this. I need to talk to you about this."

After a few seconds of what would probably end up being a never-ending staring contest between the two of us, I broke away first, letting my head hang slightly before building up enough courage to lean forward slightly and brush my lips across her cheek, not bothering to look at her reaction as I pushed myself away from her. "Please come."

Within a few seconds, I was walking away from her, my hands shoved into my pocket and my bright mood from earlier dampened slightly, but that didn't stop me from smiling when I caught up with my sister and Quinn, both of whom were finishing the plans for tonight. I nodded along with their suggestions for movies and snacks, my mind too distracted by my conversation with the Latina to form any coherent answers that wouldn't come out as gibberish.

Artie called everyone in the scene back on stage, and as the two excited girls took their respective places, I glanced over my shoulder to see Santana staring down at her script, one hand rubbing the spot where I had kissed her, my last words echoing through my thoughts.

"Please come."