The Next Direction Chapter 2: Timothy and Jace, a glee fanfic

*throws entire body in the air* [yells] FINALLY!

I have no excuses for why it took me 8 bloody months to write this chapter. I think I just... let it go for a while, you know. Around a month ago, I realized how much I want to finish this. I love my OCs too much to leave them hanging.

So I made a table with all the stories mapped out and the years too (since all the stories exist in one universe, it's really handy to have them all next to each other) and that only took me quite a while.

Then I basically started going over all the stories. I've been listening to the songs a lot (there will be twenty songs) and today I just sat down and thought: "I need to finish this chapter." I don't know how long it will take me to write the third chapter, but we'll see.

As stated in the first chapter, Mea and Jace's stories cross each other. Don't be surprised if you see a lot of Mea's story and its dialogue in this one. Timothy is a different story and that was the hardest for me (I mean, Jace's was basically already written) and well... here it is.

Who on earth is Marcie?

Why did Jace sleep with her?

And what actually happened between Timothy and Jace?

Why am I here?

That's the first thing that always pops into Jace's mind when he wakes up every morning. He lives with his boyfriend Timothy in New York City. They share a small apartment, close to the apartment their friends share.

Jace knows that Timothy adores every minute of it. Jace doesn't. They both attend class at Columbia and NYU and once again, Timothy loves it. Jace doesn't. Hence, he doesn't even attend the classes.

College just isn't it for Jace. He wants to get out of the city and into the world. But every time he sees Timothy smiling like that, he remembers why he's here in the first place. Timothy David. The boy that has ruined Jace's life.

The boy he loves.

But things are changing- also between the two of them.

Timothy is barely home. He's always out working for school and his career. Jace often falls asleep alone and wakes up alone. Jace knows that Timothy loves him, but Timothy clearly doesn't notice Jace's change in behaviour.

He is more reserved and less bitchy.

The latter is kind of a big deal, since he and Mea Statsons are the biggest bitches among the glee club members. Everyone knows that.

Months pass like this. The fights with Timothy are getting worse. Lulu, who lives in the other apartment, has noticed that something was wrong between the two of them and she has told Timothy.

"Why can't you just accept that I'm finally happy here?" Timothy shouted a few hours earlier.

"Better question: why can't you accept that I'm not happy here at all," Jace retorted.

And here he is. He's walking the streets of New York City, alone as always. It's almost midnight and Jace knows he has to go home. Timothy must be worried sick.

Jace laughs bitterly.

Yeah, sure.

He can't go home. He can't face Timothy. He can't go to Kevin, Lulu and Damian's apartment either. They'll probably tell Timothy that he's there. He seriously doesn't want to face Timothy. He knows that they will make up – they've had worse.

But this time, it feels different. Who is Jace to Timothy? Is he just an accessory to Timothy's success? Does he even care about Jace simply loathing the city? Does he even love him?

Of course he loves me, Jace quickly thinks and shakes his head. But he still has nowhere to go.

So he does what he always does when he's not in the mood for anything. He finds himself a local pub (his mother is British- he can't help it!) and starts drinking.

"You look horrible," a random guy says and Jace snorts. "Thanks," he says. He's not even interested in the guy.

"Need to talk to someone?" the guy asks and Jace shrugs. "I need to get out of the city," he admits, "But I don't have any money."

"Sucks, dude."

Jace just nods and starts humming. He has no idea why. He is drunk, but he is sober enough to know what he's doing and what's going on. The guy seems to notice.

"You could sing on the streets?" he suggests. He winks and leaves. Jace watches him disappear and he realizes that the guy has a point. He can sing on the streets.

He pays for his last drink and leaves. The air is cold and Jace regrets leaving his coat at the apartment. He is still drunk, and still sober enough. He starts swirling around.

Sober enough to sing, apparently.

Mmm, now I don't want to make this hard
But I don't want to make you stay
Don't wanna be the one who's got to watch you walk away
And maybe we can make it better
Start out once again
Do you even care whether if it works or if it ends?
So I'll wait for an answer

Jace can't help it, but he basically cringes at the lyrics.

I'll need another love affair to hold me down
I need somebody there to be around
I'll need another love affair to hold me down
I need somebody there to be around

He swirls around. It's really silent out here. He doesn't know where he is, but he does know that he's not in the heart of the city.

It's not like I don't know
What you really need
I just wish that in this situation it was me
So shut up, shut up
I know what you're saying
And it's breakin' in my heart
I'm tryin' to pick up the pieces
And put 'em back before it falls apart
So I'll wait for an answer

But he wants to be done with waiting. Another swirl.

I'll need another love affair to hold me down
I need somebody there to be around
I'll need another love affair to hold me down
I need somebody there to be around

Swirl, swirl, swirl… He's drunk and he knows it. He likes it.

And I don't love you more than anyone my dear
But I need you more than anyone 'round here
And I'd love to say that, say that you love me
But that ain't enough
We tried so hard

Oooooooh oh oooh oooooh ooh ohhh

And I don't love you more than anyone my dear
But I need you more than anyone 'round here
And I'd love to say that, say that you love me
But that ain't enough
We already tried so hard

Maybe they should just… stop trying? Jace doesn't want that, but maybe it's for the best. Yes, it probably is.

So I just got to find
Myself another love affair to hold me down
I need somebody there to be around
I'll need another love affair to hold me down
I need somebody there to be around

I'll need another love affair to hold me down
I need somebody there to be around
I'll need an-n-n-n-nother love affair to hold me down
I need somebody there to be around

When he's done he hears someone sobbing quietly. He decides to take a look, maybe he can help. He follows the sobs and stops when he sees someone sitting.

A woman is sitting alone on an old looking (and extremely randomly placed) bench and she is crying. Jace needs to do something, right?

"Uh, hello?" he tries. The woman looks up and tears are streaming down her face. "Fuck off," she says and turns away.

"I was just wondering," he continues, totally ignoring the 'fuck off', "if you're okay. And if not: is there something I can do to help?"

"Thank you," the woman says, clearly relieved that Jace isn't a sort of mugger, "I just went through a bad break-up, that's everything."

"Can I help?"

The woman shakes her head. "No," she says, "He was very harsh. He spat in my face and just left. Gosh, I was so stupid. And I was planning on moving to the city for him…"

"Wow, I'm sorry," Jace sits next to her.

"Not your problem, whoever you are," she tries to smile, but fails miserably, "Who are you actually?"

"Jace," Jace answers, "Jace von Maes." He extends his hand and the woman happily shakes it.

"Nice to meet you, Jace," she says, "I'm Marcie Stevens. Going my way?"

The name 'walk of shame' is painfully accurate. Entering his own apartment at eleven o'clock in the morning and seeing Timothy sleeping on the couch is hard.

He must've been up all night, waiting for Jace to come home.

Now, here he is and he has never felt this miserable in his life. He cheated. With a girl. He cheated on his boyfriend with a random girl. He still can't believe it.

To his horror, he sees Timothy moving. Then he hears him groaning. Then he sees him opening his eyes.

"You came back?" Timothy says, barely audible. Jace can only nod. "We need to talk," Timothy says, "I know it's been a while since we properly talked. It's time."

"I'm sorry," Jace blurts out, but Timothy stops him. "No, I am," he says. For what? "I know, Jace." No, you don't. "And I've been thinking about something. I'm quitting the extra curriculums, because we need to spend more time together." What?

"What does that mean?" Jace asks, too hopeful. Timothy stands up and kisses him. "That I'm free for the evenings."

Life is good after that.

Jace wakes up with next to Timothy, he walks him to class, he has dinner with him and he goes to sleep with Timothy.

Except for the fact that Mea has disappeared, things are quite normal. Jace has never understood 'normal', but he does now. He has never been happier. He totally forgets about the 'incident' with this Marcie Stevens girl.

But after almost four months of the perfect life, reality hits him. And it hits him hard.

"Jace?" he hears Timothy, "Did you hear the doorbell ring?" Jace shakes his head. "Nah, I'm busy working on my stuff for school, remember?"

"Well, there's a woman for you at the door," Timothy enters the room and a woman is following her. Jace drops his stylus when he sees Marcie, who is crying.

"Marcie?" he asks in astonishment. He hurries to gets up and catches Marcie in time. She is sobbing in his arms. Timothy has no idea what is going on.

"Marce, Marce?" Jace tries, not knowing why he calls her Marce, "Marcie, what- why are you here? Didn't you live in- What is going on?" "J-Jaaaaace, we need to t-talk," she sobs, "It went all to shit. Everything. It is all so wrong."

"Jace, what is going on here?" Timothy asks in shock, "Who is this woman?"

"Tim, honey, you need to leave," Jace tells him, "Marce and I need to talk."

"But-"

"Timothy, please." Timothy huffs something, but grabs his coat and leaves. "I'll text you," he yells when he leaves.

Jace helps Marcie and gives her something to drink, but Marcie doesn't seem to care.

"Marcie, are you okay? Why are you here instead of LA?" Marcie doesn't answer. She just stares into nothing. "Marcie, did something happen?" Jace urges, "I know, I basically disappeared out of your life after… that night, but remember before we did… that? I told you that I'm here for you. Hang on, how did you even find me?"

"Google," Marcie says half-absently, "There's only one Jace von Maes in the States, y'know." "Glad to hear that," Jace says stiffly, "But seriously, Marce, talk to me."

Oh, how he wishes she didn't.

"Jace… I'm pregnant."

And at that moment, Jace's perfect life falls apart. "Me?" he squeals.

"Yes, of course you! I'm almost four months," she yells, "I wanted to leave you out of it, because no one knows yet –not even Alicia, my best friend. But I- I needed to tell someone. And unfortunately, you're the only one who I can talk to."

"But- mine? I am gay!"

Now, Marcie looks surprised. "Well, you should've told me that before we slept together." She stands up, because she is mad. Obviously, she's mad.

"This is useless," she says, "Enjoy your life in New York. I remember you saying how much you disliked it."

And that is how she leaves. Jace doesn't think, he goes after her. "Marcie!" he yells, but Marcie doesn't turn back. "Marcie, we need to talk. You need help!" He hurries past Timothy, who is on his way back home.

"Marcie, you can't do this on your own!" he calls out, but Marcie shakes her head and leaves the building. Jace slumps back upstairs, where he meets Timothy.

"Care to elaborate?" Timothy asks sternly, "Who the hell was that woman? And please don't lie. I can tell when you're lying, remember?"

Suddenly, something breaks.

"No you can't," Jace says coldly. He is done with lying. Even worse: he is done with Timothy. He is done with following him around like he is everything that is good in the world. He knows that a part of him still believes that Timothy is everything that is good in the world, but another part is filled with unexplainable rage.

"I can," Timothy says.

"You can't, Timothy," he continues, "I've been lying to you for weeks now, months even. Things have been okay, but only because I pretended it will be okay. Later. For us. But the truth is that that was Marcie Stevens and guess what? Apparently I knocked her up."

Timothy laughs. "You didn't," he says, but Jace can see that there's something in his eyes. It looks like fear.

"She's four months," Jace shrugs, as he always does, "I'm the first to know. I offered her my help and support, but she left. And so am I." He didn't mean to say the last part. Timothy is frozen. "Leave?" he asks, voice extremely high.

Like, Kurt Hummel high.

Jace suddenly remembers the song he sang four months ago. Maybe they should just… stop trying? Yes. They totally should.

"Yeah, I guess I'm leaving," he says, like it's nothing. Timothy is still gaping at him. "Look, Timmy," he says and Timothy shakes his head, "Maybe it's for the best, okay? Well, maybe not the 'me knocking up a girl' part, but us breaking up part."

"Jacey…"

"Timmy…" Jace sighs, "It's not working out. Can't you see it? It. Is. Not. Working. Out." Timothy's eyes start to water. "B-But… I thought…" "I thought too," Jace smiles weakly, "But we both thought wrong."

"Y-You cheated on me," Timothy chokes out.

"I guess I did," Jace shrugs.

"I trusted you!" Timothy suddenly yells. Jace is taken aback. A few moment ago, Timothy was clearly upset. Now, he's in rage.

Well, that escaladed quickly.

"Get out," Timothy says icily.

"Tut, tut, Tim. Just, let us talk as normal and rational human beings before I leave-" But Timothy cuts him off. "I SAID GET OUT!"

Timothy keeps glaring at him. "WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR? GET THE FUCK OUT." "Tim, I think we should-" "GET THE FUCK OUT!" Timothy yells, "YOU HAVE FIFTEEN MINUTES TO GET YOUR STUFF. NOW GET OUT OF MY FACE!"

He turns around and slams the door. That was the last time Jace saw Timothy David.

Jace is completely alone. He can't think straight. He quickly gathers his all his stuff and leaves. He opens his laptop when he's outside. Now that the whole world is automatically connected to free wifi, he has no problems with googling Marcie Stevens.

Fortunately, he finds her.

His plane lands in LA the day after. He's exhausted and basically has nowhere to go, but he needs to see Marcie.

But first, he needs drinks. He enters the local 'pub', carrying his three suitcases and orders a drink. He sits there for quite some time, until he hears the music playing. It's open mic and someone's singing Bitch by Meredith Whateverhersecondnameis.

He recognizes that voice.

He turns around to watch Mea Statsons owning the stage. When she's done, he applauds politely with the others. He watches her talking to some guy and waits. The man leaves and Jace gets up.

"Isn't it Amelia or Mea Statsons," he says to Mea, who turns around. "Jason von Maes," she grins when she sees Jace, "What on earth are you doing here? I thought you were in New York with Tim."

Jace shrugs. "Tim and I- things didn't work out. I messed up badly," he sighs deeply, "But now I'm here. I just arrived this morning."

"And why did you come to the West Coast?" Mea asks, "What are you plans?" Jace shrugs again. "Like I said, I messed up," he says, "But I'll tell you later. I mean, I hope- If I'm ready to tell. Long story short: I messed up with someone and that someone lives in LA. I hope she lets me stay in her apartment, because I'm not planning on leaving."

"Wait, with someone?"

"Yeah… But I better get going. I need to talk to that person as soon as possible, otherwise I'd be homeless," Jace tries to laugh it away. Mea blinks a couple of times.

They exchange numbers and Jace turns around. He has to go to Marcie. But then Mea suddenly stops him.

"Jace!" Mea calls out. Jace stops in the doorway. "Yes?" Mea quickly texts him something. "That's my address," she says, "I don't know much about this someone, but if it doesn't work out I just want you to know that I need a roommate."

"Really?" Jace asks in disbelief. He really didn't expect that from Mea Statsons, from all people. "Really," Mea says, "Now go to that someone and I guess I'll see you."

He leaves.

He finds his way to Marcie's apartment – after hours - and knocks on the front door. A woman with short, blonde hair opens the door.

"Hi," he says awkwardly, "I'm looking for Marcie Stevens? She lives here, right?"

"Who are you?" the woman says, eyeing him closely, "And yes, I'm her roommate Alicia Hopkins." "I'm Jace," he answers, "I'm a… friend. I need to see her."

"Jace?" Alicia suddenly snaps, "The gay guy who knocked her up?"

Oh, nice.

"I assume that's me," he shrugs, "And now I'm here." Alicia reluctantly steps away to let him in. The apartment is not much, Jace can see that. When he enters the living room, he sees Marcie lying on the couch. She's been crying.

"I told you to leave me alone, Licia," she mumbles.

"Not Licia," Jace says and Marcie shoots up. "You!" she hisses, "What are you doing here?" "Okay!" he throws his hands up, "Before you go all bitchy on me, hear me out. I left New York and now I'm here to help you."

Marcie laughs humourlessly.

"Help me? Why would you help me? You're the one who did this to me, remember?" "In my defence, it was consensual," Jace says and Marcie huffs something, "And I know you're about to point out that I was drunk, but there's drunk and there's drunk. I knew what I was doing."

"Whatever. And now you left that guy to help me. How noble," she rolls her eyes, "What if I don't need your help?"

"Look," Jace starts, quite irritated, "I know that we both made a mistake. We were both stupid, but now you're pregnant with my child. I want to be a part of that child's life. I want to help you raise her if needed. I want to help you by supporting you. I could've just ditched you and 'Licia', y'know. What would've happened, then? You pregnant and your roommate working a shit ton more shifts? Is that really what you want?"

He sees Alicia standing in a corner. She seems impressed.

"Just- let me help you, okay?"

But Marcie doesn't look at him. Instead she says to Alicia: "Licia, please show our guest the door and tell him not to come back."

He knocks on Mea's door and rings her bell, but no one answers. Defeated, he sits down. What if she's not home? What if she was kidding? What if I'm homeless now?

He waits for one more hour before giving up. His ass is already aching. He's about to stand up when he hears footsteps approaching.

"I guess it didn't work out, uh?" Mea gives him a reassuring smile. Jace is tired. He nods sadly.
"Come on then," Mea opens the door, "Let's get you in then." Jace protests, but Mea doesn't listen. She shows him the spare room and leaves him there.

Jace falls on the bed and sleep hits him. When he wakes up, he's delighted to see that Mea's still asleep. He quickly goes through her kitchen and finds a frying pan and some eggs. He knows Kevin's instructions by heart and starts preparing.

"Morning," he says when he sees Mea, "I hope you don't mind, but I wanted to repay you for letting me stay. Eggs?"

They sit down and eat in silence. After a while, Mea decides to talk.

"Okay. Spill."

Jace swallows and it just blurts out. "I got a girl pregnant," he confesses.

"What?" Mea is confused, "But… you're gay, right?"

"Yes, that is the worst part," Jace says bitterly.

"And I assume Timothy didn't take the news well?" Mea asks and Jace hisses. "Can we not talk about Tim?" he asks, "But yeah. He didn't really like his boyfriend impregnating a random girl."

"I just… how? I mean, are you kidding me? A random girl?" Mea has seen a lot of shit, but this was unbelievable. Jace shrugs. "Her name is Marcie. But can we not?" he begs, "Just not now."

Mea hums in agreement.

"How about you?" Jace starts, "How is LA treating you?"

"Badly," Mea spits, "I try every time. And they always reject me."

"Still trying out for showbiz? Really?"

"Really-really," she says.

"And what happened with you and Kev?" He briefly explains her the whole egg-incident.

"I couldn't do it, okay?" Mea hisses, "He was gone and I needed him, but he wasn't there. Not anymore." "I know how you feel, because that's how I felt about Tim," Jace says back, "But I didn't do it because I wanted it. My 'accident' just happened and look where I am now? Chasing the woman I knocked up to help her."

"That is very… wow, very honourable of you."

"Honourable?" Jace laughs bitterly, "Wow. That's a new one. Only Marcie and Tim know and they both hate me for it. But back to Kevin…"

...

"Fine, don't tell me if you don't want to," Lulu snaps, "You and Kevin need to start a support group. People who are left behind with no reason."

"Correction," Damian says, "Tim has a reason, but refuses to tell us."

"This is between me and Jace, okay?" Timothy snaps back. Seriously, he can't tell them what happened. When he came back home that day, it was empty. All Jace's stuff was gone. Not that it minded. Timothy was the one who wanted Jace to leave. He was furious.

Still is.

"I just wanted to tell you that Jace left me, but I think you guys already gathered that after my week of silence," he says and stands up. Kevin is about to protest. "Kev, leave me be," he says, "I need to- I need to clear my head. Take a walk."

Damian nods and Timothy can hear him saying to Kevin: "He just broke up with his boyfriend. They dated for four years, Kevin. He needs time." Kevin mumbles something.

Timothy starts walking around the block and he remembers everything that has happened the past week. The first two days have been horrible. He didn't leave the house at all. Damian has stayed over for the rest of the week.

And even though Timothy trusts Damian, he hasn't told him what happened.

After a few hours, he enters campus. He's bored and he has nowhere else to go, so why not? Maybe he runs into some of his college friends.

He does.

"Timothy!" James Harper says, "Well, well, well. Where have you been? You missed a full week of class, man!"

Sydney Murray nods. "Not good, Tim, not good," she shakes her head disapprovingly, "You are in Columbia, Tim, you cannot afford to miss a whole week of class unless you have a valid reason to do so-" "Calm down, Hermione," James shushes her, "I'm sure he has a valid reason, right?"

Timothy nods. He, at least, thinks it is a valid reason.

"Why are you here? I know your schedule, you don't have classes now," James asks, "Where is Jace?" Timothy winces.

"You okay, Tim?" Sydney asks, clearly worried.

Timothy shakes his head and tells them what happened. "Jace and I broke up. Cheated." His two friends' eyes almost pop out.

"I was rooting for you!" Sydney shrieks in horror and James just keeps shaking his head. "He cheated?" James asks in disbelief. Timothy nods and James's shoulders slump. "Oh, I'm gonna kill the dude who slept with your man!" he groans.

Timothy decides not to tell them that Jace cheated on him with a girl.

"Where is Jace now?" Sydney, who finally stopped shrieking, asks him, "I assume he moved out. It's that why you were absent for the week?"

"Yes," Timothy answers, "And yes, he moved out. I have no idea where he is now. Not that I care. He can suck it," he adds bitterly.

"Tim, are you-"

"OF COURSE I'M NOT OKAY, SYDNEY!" he yells, "I LOVED HIM. I REALLY, REALLY DID. I THOUGHT THAT WE WERE FOREVER, BUT APPARENTLY, WE WERE NOT." He can feel himself crying.

"I thought that too," Sydney whimpers silently, "But you just need to let it all out. It's okay, you can do that."

"We're here to help you, if needed," James adds, "I suggest a song. I mean, you singing a song."

Timothy firmly shakes his head. "I'm not interested in singing a musical song that fits the situation," he says, "I know, I'm from a glee club, but seriously. No."

"Then, maybe you should not sing a musical song," Sydney suggests, "Maybe, you should do a different a genre. One you never use. One you might even hate. Fight hate with hate. Negative and negative is positive."

"Well said, Hermione," James rolls his eyes, but Sydney's right.

There's one music genre Timothy usually dislikes. He has never seen himself as a part of a boy band or as a guy who sings pop songs all the time.

But maybe that's what he needs.

I, I'm feeling your thunder
The storm's getting closer
This rain is like fire
And my, my world's going under
And I can't remember
The reason that you got off the line

Sydney smiles at him.

You're moving on, you say
Here I stay
I'll take this pain
Yeah, I can't, I can't

And she was right. It still stings, but he needs to let it out.

But what about love?
What about our promises?
What about love?
You take it all and leave me nothing
What about love?
What about us 'til we end?
What about love?
You cut my wings, now I am falling
What about love?
What about love?

The lyrics is so true, it hurts.

Why are you colder than winter?
You're switching the picture
You used to be perfect, yeah (yeah)
Once you're hot like the summer
Please help me remember
The reason that you said, bye bye bye

James still looks worried, but Sydney shoots him a glare.

You're moving on, you say
Here I stay
I'll take this pain
Yeah, I can't, I can't

Timothy can see that students stop to watch him.

James, who is also a talented dancer, takes Sydney by the hand and swirls her around. More students come to watch.

Uh uh uh uh uh uh uh uh
What about, what about love?

You're moving on, you say
Here I stay
Watching every night get colder
You're moving on, you say
Here I stay
I'll take this pain
Yeah, I can't, I can't

Sydney and James decide to sing the background.

What about love?

The students all applaud him and Timothy, James and Sydney bow.

...

Jace knows Marcie told him to leave her alone, but he wants one more chance. He wants to show Marcie that he isn't one of those guys who just leave the girl behind.

So he tries.

"I thought I made myself clear," Marcie says when she opens the door, "I-"

"Please, let me explain!" he cuts her off, "Please, Marce, I'm only here to help you. I just- I want to be your friend if needed. I don't have to be a father to your child, if you don't want to. But let me at least help you, the baby and Alicia out."

Marcie is staring at him with wide eyes. Said eyes start to fill with tears.

"Oh, no, no, no!" Jace jumps away, "I-I didn't meant to make you cry, Marcie. I just- I dunno. Never mind. Pretend I don't exist, I'll leave you now. I-"

But then something unexpected happens. Marcie basically jumps on him and hugs him.

When Alicia gets home later that day and sees the two of them talking enthusiastically about baby names, she asks: "What changed?"

"I was just high because of the hormones," Marcie says and Jace snorts.

Jace finds a job after that. It doesn't pay exceptionally well, but it is good enough. Mea, on the other hand, is still waiting for news. He tries to cheer her up by taking her to Marcie and Alicia.

Weeks pass.

"I still don't understand why you want to name our son Tim," Marcie says and Alicia's eyes widen. "It's a boy?" she asks, but Jace shakes his head.

"No, we don't know yet. We're talking about possible baby names. For girls we have Julia, Alicia-" Alicia beams "-and a couple of others."

"And apparently, we have Tim as a possible boy's name," Marcie says, "I just found out." They go out shopping after that.

It goes all wrong when Marcie starts yelling at him without reason. He puts the blame on the hormones, but he can't help it. He leaves after that and cries, because he does not want to lose her. He mentally punches himself for crying, but continues.

He's on his way home when the phone rings.

"Yeah?" he says when he enters the building.

"At what time will you be home?" Mea asks and Jace opens the front door. "Uh, now?"

Mea has landed a role and Jace can smile again.

When she leaves that weekend, he stays in his room. He hasn't contacted Marcie and Alicia since the shopping trip. He's about to call her when his phone rings. It's Marcie.

He picks up and before he can even say anything, Marcie starts rambling. "Jace? Jace, please don't hang up. I just- I am sorry for what happened. I was under a lot of pressure, because Alicia kept telling me to drop you, because she doesn't trust you. So I was agitated and let it all out on you, since you are basically the reason why I was agitated. But Licia and I had a long, long, conversation about you and she wants to apologize herself-"

"Woah, Marce, calm down!" he stops her, "It's okay. I'll talk to Licia another time. I mean, she just wants to protect you-" he hears a door open "-and I know, I messed up. We both messed up-" Mea starts yelling "-and, oh hang on!"

He bonks on the door several times, but Mea keeps on yelling. Something must've gone wrong. "Hey, Marce, Mea just came home and I think it's not good."

"Not good?"

"Not good, so I gotta go. I'll call you."

Turns out that Mea's audition was one big joke. Mea ends up in a depression and Jace can't take it. He decides to leave after weeks of insanity.

...

He should call Miles.

Yes, he should definitely call Miles.

But… no, he shouldn't call Miles. Miles is busy with his own career.

Timothy doesn't know what to think. It's been weeks and he's still furious, but he also wants to know where Jace is. He's getting desperate.

Yes, he should call Miles.

He tries four times and Miles picks up when he rings for the fifth time.

"Tim, man, how is life?" he sounds happy, "And please, do not say 'Great!' because I know you're a lying asshole."

"Well, I'm not great, no," Timothy snaps, "I am turning insane. It's been weeks, Miles, weeks and he- I don't- I mean, I don't love him anymore."

"I'm not surprised," Miles says, "He shouldn't have impregnated a random woman."

"Yeah, thank you for reminding me of that, Miles," Timothy groans in agony, "I called you for a reason, y'know. I know that you're busy with football and stuff, but I need a favour. Can I count on you?"

"Ask away, bro."

"I need you to find Jace for me," he blurts out and Miles doesn't answer.

"You need me to find Jason von Maes for you?" Miles asks in disbelief, "What the- How am I supposed to do that? And most importantly: why would I do that? That fucker broke your heart, man!"

"I know what he did, Miles," Timothy says, "I was there when Marce whatever rang our doorbell. I've told you."

"Do you remember Marce? I can track her for you."

"No and I don't care about her. I want to know where Jace is, not Marce. Her last name started with an s, though," he adds, just to please his best friend.

"Marce S. and Jason von Maes, I'm on it," Miles sounds satisfied, "I'll see what I can do. But can I say one more thing before I hang up?" Timothy hums in agreement.

"Move on, Timothy," Miles says, "Seriously."

...

Jace knows he has to go back. The past week with Marcie and Alicia has been hectic and he's even longing for his own bed, but the girls appreciated him being there.

He says goodbye and makes his way to his apartment. He stops at the door and sighs. He is so not ready for Mea's shit.

So when he opens the door and sees Mea, dressed beautifully, smiling at him, he almost shits himself.

"Welcome home," Mea smiles genuinely.

"What?" is all he can say.

At dinner, Mea tells him the full story. Her dad has left Mea and her mother when she was a child. Apparently he still loved Mea, but Mea's mother stopped him from contacting her. He got sick and wrote a will. He passed away last week or something.

Mea is rich.

Jace is impressed and actually kisses her on the cheek. "I'm glad you're back, bitch," he says and Mea laughs.

"Oh, and I bought some stuff for the baby," she claps her hands and shows him three full bags of baby clothes and other essentials.

"Some stuff?"

"And I got you this," she hands him an envelope, "Please, take it. It's my way of telling you that I love you and that kind of emotional stuff."

Jace starts laughing out loud when he sees it's a weekend at the spa. At least it's not a nudist spa. Together, they go to see Marcie and Alicia. When Mea offers them money, they obviously refuse, but they cannot refuse the huge amount of presents for her kid.

Their kid.

Jace has never seen Mea look so happy. When he leaves for the spa (really, a spa?), he trusts Marcie and Alicia with Mea.

And even though Jace still thinks it's a weird gift, he really enjoys himself. Especially when his eyes land on a certain someone.

Owen Porter is handsome and funny and smart. It's been quite a while that he felt this way about someone. Because of all the stuff with Marcie and the baby, Jace didn't really have the time to flirt. But now that she isn't here, he feels unstoppable.

When he gets home, he feels like everything is right in this world.

And when a month later, Mea wakes him in the middle of night because Marcie called, his life changes.

Since Jace is too numb to drive, Mea drives them to the hospital. Alicia is already waiting for them in the waiting room. When she sees them, she ushers Jace inside.

That morning, Marcie is holding their little girl Julia.

...

Miles never found out what happened to Marce S. and Jace, or maybe he did but he just never wanted to tell Timothy.

"Again, man, move on."

And Timothy listens. Sydney and James are of course happy for him when he starts attending class again (he never stopped, but he skipped an awfully lot).

A year later, he meets Mason Lewis.

It is too rom-com, but Timothy seriously runs into him one day in a coffee shop.

"Holy shit, I'm sorry!" Mason says in panic when he sees Timothy on the floor, "I'm such a klutz, I wasn't paying attention." He helps Timothy up.

"Well, at least you didn't spill coffee on me," Timothy jokes and when he looks up to greet the man's eyes, he almost falls back again.

Mason isn't like Jace at all, in fact, he's better. Timothy used to think that Jason von Maes was everything that's right in this stinky-ass world, but Mason proved him wrong.

After that fateful day, he keeps on meeting Mason in that coffee shop. He wonders if Mason is doing it on purpose. When Lulu is with Timothy one day, Mason looks incredibly sad.

"Is that the guy?" Lulu whispers, "Your bump-in-guy?"

"Bump-in-guy?" Timothy shoots her a judging look, "Really, Lulu? You are a fashion designer, you're more creative than that."

"My creativity tends to fail me when it comes to love," she smirks, "Have you seen me around Julian? He can be my bump-in-guy."

"I don't even know how to justify that with an answer."

Suddenly, Lulu perks up. "He looks quite sad today, I should ask him to sit with us."

Timothy turns red. "Lu, no-" But it's too late. A smiling Lulu is making her way to Mason, who is sitting alone, and when she returns, Mason is with her.

"I'm Lulu, by the way, Lulu Chang."

"Mason Lewis," Mason says as he settles down, "And I, of course, already know Timothy David." He's less flirty, Timothy notices.

"Yeah, who doesn't know him," Lulu laughs.

"Well, you're lucky to know him. How long have you two known each other."

"High school," Lulu says proudly. Timothy just remains in his seat, sipping his coffee. "We went to New York together with a couple of our friends."

"And how long have the two of you been a thing?" Mason asks and looks slightly pained.

Lulu starts laughing like crazy and Timothy chokes on his coffee.

"We- uh," he is red, oh my god, "We aren't a thing."

"No no no no no," Lulu adds, still laughing, "He's too gay for me." "Yes, she misses some very important body parts," Timothy says shyly.

Out of nowhere, Mason throws his fist in the air. "So you are gay! You had me worried for a while, m'lady!"

Lulu's laughs are getting louder and louder.

"So you wouldn't mind me asking you out?" he says to Timothy.

They start dating officially after their third date. Lulu loves retelling the very detailed story.

A year later, he graduates from Columbia with honours. By the time 2037 rolls around, he makes his Broadway debut. He knows Damian is envious of him, but they can't help it that Damian is stuck in the Devon drama.

Miles is in the city for his debut and Mason proposes. Everything is perfect.

They get married in 2038 (as everyone does) and Timothy looks back on the past years. Sure, when Jace left, he got hurt pretty badly, but he can't see himself marrying Jace. Mason is everything and everywhere.

...

Mea and Jace make a deal. They have to be dating Clark and Owen by the end of the year. Only Mea succeeds.

Sure, Owen and Jace dated a couple of months, but even though Owen was almost perfect for Jace, he wasn't for Marcie and Julia. He always referred to Julia as the accident that Marcie's the blame for. Jace kept reminding him that it was also his fault, but Owen wouldn't budge.

Family goes first, so Owen was gone after a couple of months.

When Clark moves in with him and Mea, he moves out. Marcie and Alicia welcome him with open arms and even though they aren't living together anymore, Mea is still often at their place and Jace visits her on a regular basis.

A few weeks later, he meets Nathaniel Woods. It's love at the first sight. Not that Jace actually believes in that, but when they start dating, Nathan loves saying that.

And after a while, Jace starts to believe it too.

He proposes to him in 2037 with a song he has written himself. (Okay, Mea might've helped him). He then realizes that he really does love singing. He remembers the guy from the pub who told him he could sing on the streets.

He doesn't end up singing on the streets, but in a studio. Mea knows the right people.

Mea and Kevin reunite, but Jace and Timothy don't.

Years pass like that. Jace is happy. He has Julia, he has Nathan, he has Marcie, he has Mea… he has all the people he cares the most about. When he's 30, Julia gets a little brother Peyton.

He doesn't think about Timothy anymore. Jace has slowly accepted that he will never see Timothy again. It's not like they don't get a chance to meet. Jace, Mea and Kevin attend several events with other A New Direction members and therefore he and Mea reunite with almost all of them, but they never seem to run into Timothy.

He knows that Kevin does meet up with him and because of him, Mea does too. Mea never mentions Jace though, and he's grateful for that.

And when they do attend the same thing, Jace always makes sure to avoid him like the plague (Weddings like Kate's wedding, Damian's opening night on Broadway).

When he hits forty, he doesn't even mind anymore. But then, in 2058, he gets a call from Gloria from all people.

...

Timothy has made a big name for himself. He and Mason David-Lewis are probably one of the biggest couples in the Broadway community.

He'd been offered several movies and television series, but he never accepted. He never liked the thought of LA.

He obviously does take some time off.

When he's 33, his surrogate gives him and Mason big news: she's expecting twins. Luis and Samantha David-Woods are both beautiful.

Luis's second name is Jason.

It wasn't Timothy's idea, but Mason. Mason knows about Jace, obviously, but Timothy has never told him that Jace's full name is Jason. When Mason suggested it, he'd been a bit reluctant, but then he explained that he wants to name Luis after his grandfather Jason who died when Mason was still a kid.

So that's also how Samantha ended up with the name Adria as her second name, since that's Timothy's grandmother.

Even though his own child has the name of his ex, Timothy doesn't care about Jace. He knows it might sound a bit childish, but after all these years, he's still mad.

He never sees Jace and he has no intentions of doing so.

So when they meet again in 2058, he doesn't know what to do.

When Timothy enters the very improved choir room, he isn't that surprised to see Jason von Maes sitting in one of the plastic chairs. He's not alone. Another man is holding his hand.

It doesn't hurt.

Most of them have brought their partners with them. Kevin and Emily, Mea and Clark, Lulu and Julian and Damian and Alice are all sitting next to each other, clutching each other. Karina is just staring into nothing. Phoebe is filling Gloria who has just arrived from Australia.

Miles is here too and when he sees Timothy, the two guys- no, men- hug each other. Miles nods to Mason, who nods in return.

Tyler and Carla enter the choir room too.

Kate is standing in front of a plague with her back turned to the others. Her husband, Jasper, is sitting with her students.

Old New Direction members enter the choir room too, but even though the room is filled with familiar faces, Timothy can't stop staring at Jace, who is now hugging Kate tightly.

The day is one big blur. Most of the time, it is just sharing condolences and memories with others. That evening, when everyone's in Kate and Jasper's houses, it is time to really talk.

Jace is sitting in a corner with his husband (his name is Nathan) and Mea. He doesn't know how or why, but apparently, he and Mea are very close.

Timothy is just mostly with Miles, cooing over their High School time. Miles is drinking a lot, but Timothy just lets him be. The day is emotionally draining for everyone.

Suddenly, Miles gulps and he looks away, looking guilty. Timothy is about to ask him what's going on when he feels a hand on his shoulder. His first instinct is to push it away, because he can feel by the grip that it isn't Mason, but then he realizes it's Jace.

He turns around.

"Jason Woods-von Maes."

"Timothy David-Lewis."

He assumes Jace found out his full name the same way he found out Jace's. Karina still is a walking gossip machine.

The two of them are just staring at each other. Jace has gotten old (of course, he's 46!) and he looks tired. Timothy feels tired too. Everything is tiring.

"The last time we saw each other we were twenty. No, you were nineteen," Jace says. Timothy nods. He doesn't know what else to do.

"How's Marce?" he eventually says.

Jace looks puzzled. Then he says: "Oh, Marcie! Uh…" he trails off. Then he shakes his head. "We're in our forties now, we can have a normal conversation. She's good. She and Alicia are back in LA, probably waiting for me and Nate to get home."

"And your…" Timothy doesn't know how to say it.

"Daughter? Julia, she's- gosh, she's 25 already. And Peyton is 16. I'm getting old."

"Aren't we all," he emphasizes and he's surprised by how calm he is. He's never really forgiven Jace for what he's done, but he doesn't hate him. Not anymore. "The twins just turned twelve. They're young compared to yours."

"I was young."

"W-Would you like to go somewhere private?" Timothy manages to croak out. "That'd be nice." So together, they ask Kate and Jasper if they can somewhere private. Kate directed them to the master bedroom. Years ago, they would've blushed, but now they don't care.

"Our talk is long overdue," Timothy says as they settle down, "It's been more than two decades and some days I still wonder why."

"Because it wasn't working out," Jace tells him, "I was drunk and I know it isn't an excuse – it was consensual, mind you -, but that is seriously what happened. Marcie and I were both hurt and we had nothing to lose."

Timothy just nods to himself.

"What happened after that?" he can't help but ask, "I asked Miles to locate you, but he couldn't find you."

Jace looks amused. "You asked Miles to track me down?"

Timothy actually blushes out of embarrassment.

"Marcie lived in LA- still does, so that's where I headed to." Suddenly, Timothy can understand why he's so close with Mea.

"Mea," he says, "You and Mea seem awfully close."

Jace smiles weakly. "Of course, Marcie and Alicia didn't actually like me, so I was basically homeless. I happened to run into Mea and she offered me a place to stay. I was one of her best men." Mea's wedding is one of the only weddings Timothy missed.

"I am happy, okay," Jace suddenly says, "I don't even know what you must be thinking right now about, well, all of this and it's been shitty, but I am happy. I have Nath, I have my kids, Marcie and Mea. I got some fame and sorry for hurting you, Timmy-" Timothy's breath stops when he hears his old nickname "- but sometimes I don't regret it. Sure, I absolutely fucking hate myself for doing that for you, but if I hadn't done that, were would I be? Where would we be?"

"Maybe we'd be Jace and Timothy David-von Maes."

Jace stops and stares at him.

"I- I can't see that happening anymore, Timmy," he admits.

"Neither do I, Jacey," Timothy agrees and Jace too is surprised by the use of his old nickname, "I am happy with Mason and the twins, I'm happy with Broadway, I'm happy with my college friends I'm still talking to." Although he really needs to call James and Sydney. "I- I am happy too."

"Maybe what I did really was for the best," Jace shrugs –he still does that.

"Maybe."

Maybe, I can finally forgive you.

"You know what's funny," Timothy says, "I've spent so many years hating you for what you did, but I never stopped to think that all my luck, all my happiness, has been possible because of that fateful night."

"It's been over two decades," Jace says, "We'll never go back to all that, but can we at least try to be friends again. A New Direction isn't complete without you."

And for the first time that day, Timothy genuinely smiles.

"I'd like that."

...

A year later, Jace gets a call in the middle of the night from Mea.

He immediately knows something's wrong. Mea is crying like crazy and she tells him how Kevin got a call from Lulu, who got a call from Mason.

Timothy has been sick for a couple of months and every A New Direction member has known it, but no one saw this coming.

On Timothy's funeral, the only thing Jace can think of is that he's happy that they made up after all, right in time.

And he knows Tim is too.

TBC

Apparently my killing spree continues. I originally wanted Tim to die at 60 or something, but Marley's funeral-reunion felt like the perfect time to reunite them too.

Songs used:

Another Love Affair - Darren Criss (I know that putting a Darren Criss original is like one of the worst things ever in a Klaine fic, but this isn't a Klaine fic and the song really fit the storyline)

What About Love - Austin Mahone (this is one of the songs dedicated to my sister, since like Timothy, I do not like this genre very much)

Next: Karina Cara and Phoebe Hartig, our two dancers.

Where will they go?

Will Karina ever get over her feelings for Phoebe?

And what will Phoebe discover about herself?