The Last Part. Part 4:
Rachel watched as the group before hers performed as she waited in the winds. Her heart raced as the stage hand attached microphone to her face. Her song was going to be performed after this amazing group from Kentucky? How was she going to compete with this? The song after it was an original that the group had written together. It was another one of those cheery anthems but Rachel found it to be her favorite.
When the other group started doing these really complicated tricks, she suddenly felt more nervous than she ever had. Her breathing increased and she looked across the stage to see Noah standing there giving her a wave. If Noah wasn't nervous, then she shouldn't be.
Finally the group on stage concluded as the lights dimmed out. She knew that Mike and Brittany were ready for their chance to shine. In this song while Rachel and Noah would sing, Brittany Mike would do their dance to the song that would later be joined by the rest of the choir who'd sing back up at the end of the final chorus.
"From Lima, Ohio presenting New Directions."
Rachel took a deep breath as the music began to play and she stepped out onto the stage just as the spotlight hit her and Brittany who began at the same time.
Boy it's been all this time,
And I can't get you off my mind,
And nobody knows it but me.
I stare at your photograph,
Still sleep in the shirt you left,
And nobody knows it but me.
Everyday I wipe my tears away,
So many nights I've prayed for you to say.
Rachel sang to the audience, still feeling the emotion she felt when she wrote the song at her desk. She sang it and tried to reach that point, hoping to give the most authentic performance possible. With the whole room in silence without as much as a cough, she felt like she was doing it right. This was how her life was going to be, even if she still felt that empty feeling on the pit of her stomach.
I should have been chasing you,
I should have been trying to prove,
That you were all that mattered to me,
I should have said all the things,
That I kept inside of me and maybe,
I could have made you believe,
That what we had was all we ever need.
Rachel couldn't believe her ears. She blinked the tears that were starting to form in her eyes to the voice that was echoing her own. On the other side of the stage she saw Sebastian singing Noah's part, wearing a smile that nearly made her drop to her knees and sob. He sang the part perfectly on key, making Rachel wonder how much of her practice with Noah had actually been retaught to Sebastian.
That's when Noah's words echoed in her head "Today isn't going to go the way everyone probably planned".
Rachel watched as he began to sing Noah's verse. She smiled not only at him, but at the sight of Mr. Schuester who seemed to be angry at first in the audience. But as he sang, Mr. Schuester's frown changed into a smile that might have been bigger than her own. She understood exactly what his expression said. We had it in the bag.
"Just don't kiss him." He mouthed from the front row.
They sang their hearts out and even though she had written the song herself, he sang it knowing he had a huge part of the creation in the first place. They walked towards each other and Rachel resisted her urge to run into his arms. She wondered how many of her friends actually knew about this. Maybe it might have been just Sebastian and Noah, but she couldn't have been too sure. She was just so honored to be singing her last time for a competition with Sebastian on stage.
They continued the song, going through the movements as she had rehearsed with Noah. She never broke eye contact with him, even during the twists and lifts she didn't dare waste another moment without him. The last few weeks had been absolute torture without him and he filled the part that felt so empty.
As the key changed he placed her down as the other members took their spots on the stage, even Artie who waited in the background to make his debut in the opening number. Rachel finally allowed the tears that were falling from her eyes, not caring if they ruined the remainder of the song. The audience was sold.
"It was all we'd ever need." Sebastian placed his forehead against hers.
"Oh, I thought it was all we'd ever need." Rachel sang.
They sang through the remainder of chorus and as the song finally concluded the room had gone completely silent for a moment. With her hand holding tightly to Sebastian's she feared the worse. Instead the room all at once stood at their feet, cheering. Mr. Schuester sent them a whistle and Rachel glanced over her shoulder at Blaine and Kurt.
"You were amazing." Blaine mouthed.
As the beginning of the next song started Rachel looked at Sebastian and gave him a nod, signaling the start of the next song's music.
"Hello New York!" He yelled.
"We are the New Directions!" Rachel said motioning towards her choir.
She led the clap that audience eagerly followed. She went to her formation where she was now partners with Sebastian. Noah had partnered with Sugar as they did the pop number's dance. Though Artie lead the choir at this point, each of the seniors had their moment to shine. Every senior had their own short solo in this piece about being who you are.
When the song concluded and they exited the stage itself and into the waiting area for all of the teams Rachel tackled Sebastian in a kiss that put every other one they ever had to shame. She didn't care that there was at least another hundred people watching she wrapped her legs around his waist in a kiss as she cried.
"I'm so sorry." He whispered.
"I'm sorry." Rachel whispered as he placed her onto the ground. "I should have never helped him, I should have just accepted your apology when you came to my door. I shouldn't have ignored you. I'm so sorry."
She just stayed as tight as she could in his arms of his. When Mr. Schuester and Ms. Pillsbury came into the room, Rachel still held on nervously in a hug to Sebastian as he approached the two.
"What you did out there was completely idiotic and could have ruined our entire shot at Nationals!" He said loudly.
"But luckily you made it only better. Everyone loved you two. I would say never pull a stunt like that again, but there isn't going to be again for you two. For any of the underclassman, I expect nothing like that to happen. But I'm so proud of you all, let's bring it in."
The group pulled into a tight group hug. Rachel glanced to see Sebastian even hugging Blaine, making her believe that the last few weeks could be erased from everyone's memory. When they broke from the hug, everyone began to follow Mr. Schuester to their section in the audience where they would watch the after intermission portion of today's performance.
"Sebastian wait"
Rachel spun around to see Finn directly behind them.
"What Finn?" Rachel asked shaking her head.
"I'm sorry for everything. You guys were amazing out there." Finn extended his hand towards Sebastian.
They shook it and Sebastian gave Finn a genuine smile. "I really appreciate it."
"Take care of her."
Finn disappeared within the group of students and Rachel took Sebastian's hand as they sat in the chairs. The other groups performed but there was one thing that Rachel noticed. None of them had the same emotion. They all cared about their performance and they all wore smiles, but none of them truly seemed to show how much it mattered.
That's exactly why New Directions took First Place that year.
"I can't believe we really did it." Rachel whispered as she stepped into the empty elevator. "After all these years we finally not only went to nationals, but we took home first place."
It still shocked her as she stood in the eerily silent room. After all this time of trying to prove everyone that she was worth it, she finally did. After the performance she and Sebastian was stopped by an actual agent and not one that was a joke, asked if anyone was representing them. When they said no, each of them were given business cards and were told to call back when they returned to New York in the fall for school.
"I can." Sebastian answered. "What I can't believe is that my plan actually worked."
"Maybe you're not as much of Meer cat and more of a Romeo." She giggled.
"You're not so much of a Pinocchio Juliet as I remember." He placed his hands on her hips, pulling her tightly against his chest. "I'm never going to do anything that stupid again. I promise."
"You better not." Rachel glanced up. "Or I'll kick your ass like you did Finn's."
He cocked a brow. "Like you could even reach that far"
"Don't test me Smythe." She challenged. "You may be one of the tallest boys I know, but that won't stop me."
"Not only the tallest, but the strongest, the sexiest, the smartest, and the list just goes on and on." Sebastian smirked.
She rolled her eyes. "Somebody's full of themselves."
"You can be full of me if you want." Sebastian winked.
"Not with me around."
The elevator door just happened to open with Kurt and Blaine stepping in. Kurt had a red face from embarrassment and Blaine seemed to be disgusted with Sebastian. Blaine pulled him aside to the opposite corner of the elevator while Rachel and Kurt watched the exchange from their corner of the room.
"You will not as much think of doing anything besides kissing until she's at least twenty five and married to you. Got it Smythe?"
"Blaine we had sex already." Rachel said, finally letting her best friend know.
Sebastian chuckled and bent down so his mouth was right beside Blaine's ear. "And we've done it more than you can count on your hands and feet."
"Sebastian!" Rachel squealed.
Rachel sent Sebastian a look as Blaine seemed to grow more embarrassed. She marched over to the other side of the elevator and grabbed his hand, giving Blaine space from Sebastian. The door opened to their floor and Rachel began walking towards her room, dragging Sebastian from behind.
"Looks like we know who wears the pants in the relationship." Kurt said sending Rachel a glance.
"Not for long." Sebastian said towards the two boys.
"Sebastian Smythe I'm going to kill you."
Rachel held her laughter as she quickly opened the door of her hotel room and shut it behind her. Sebastian sauntered in, throwing his tie on a chair and taking a spot on the bed. He tried to lie seductively on the bed, reminding Rachel of that scene from Titanic. She kicked off her heels and undid her hair, taking a seat on the bed beside him.
"Well we have an empty hotel room and everybody won't be back until later. We could do something." Sebastian said.
"Whatever do you mean? You mean exercise?" She pretended to be naïve.
"I hear makeup exercise is the best." He whispered.
"That would be great, but there's one problem with that." She placed a single finger on her chest. "I still share the bed with Brittany."
"That's hot." He smirked.
She shoved him so he was flat on his back. She lay down beside him and just stared at the ceiling. "Can't we just cuddle?"
He groaned at the word she sent him a look. They moved on the bed so she was wrapped in his arms, feeling like this was so much better. He ran his fingers through her hair and shook his smile "Maybe this isn't so bad."
Rachel smiled. "Blaine would approve."
"Imagine if I had actually had gotten together with Blaine." He said with his eyes wide open. "I'd still be a tool and he wouldn't be a prude."
"Did you just admit that you were a jerk in the beginning of the year?" Rachel gasped.
He nodded. "Thanks to you I became who I am now."
"Sebastian Smythe, my cocky and charming boyfriend?" Rachel grinned.
"And…" Sebastian smiled, encouraging her to carry on.
"The most wonderful man in my life who I can't imagine living without."
There was knocking at the door that interrupted the sweet moment. Rachel groaned and sat up from her comfortable spot on him. She assumed that it was one of the girls who had forgotten the key; she knew that the majority of them were partying and enjoying alcohol now that they no longer had to deal with the glee club contract.
"Rachel, it's me. Can we talk?"
"One minute Jesse."
Rachel glanced over her shoulder towards Sebastian who seemed to be furious. Rachel placed a finger on her lips as she crept over towards him. She started to unbutton his shirt and she pulled it off of him. She wiped her hair around sending it into a frazzled mess as she placed the bathrobe that hung on the bathroom door on.
"Are you coming?" Jesse asked again.
"I'll be right there." She said in a sing song voice.
Sebastian followed her as she walked to the door and stood a few feet behind her, sensing her plan. With pats on her cheeks to make herself looked flushed, Rachel opened the door and saw the roses in Jesse's hand. She bit her lip and looked at him as she ran her fingers through her now messy hair.
"Hey, is this important?" She asked.
"I wanted to say I'm sorry." Jesse said. "Can I come in?"
"I think my boyfriend would mind." Rachel said.
"Come on Rich, let's get back to bed." As if on perfect timing Sebastian entered, wrapping his hands around Rachel's waist before placing a kiss on her. "Hey Jesse."
Rachel watched as the color from Jesse's face drop. "Hey Sebastian, you two did a nice job today."
"Thanks." Sebastian grinned before noticing the flowers in his hand. "For us? Thanks, they'll look great on the bed."
He took the flowers and shut the door, sending the two teenagers into a fit of laughter as they just took the last moment in. Sebastian passed her the roses and Rachel pretended to act surprised, placing them in the tall class that sat beside the melted ice bucket. She returned to the bed and Sebastian did as well.
"I can't wait for New York so we can do everything here." Rachel said placing a kiss on his lips. "Cause more trouble than we already have."
"That reminds me, I have something I wanted to give you now that you reminded me" He shrugged before reaching into his pocket.
It was another jewelry box.
"Sebastian, I will not accept that. You have given me everything already." She said, pushing it away.
"Rachel, this box costs more than the actual gift inside. Just open it."
She took the small silky box out of her hand. She gave it a simple shake and heard the sound of something moving. She opened the small red box and saw the shiny piece of metal. She examined it, wondering what it was for. It was a silver key with a single gold star that was bedazzled. Rachel held it up to him, lifting a curious brow.
"What's this, the key to your heart?" She teased.
"You already have that and had since the day I sang with you." Sebastian said genuinely. "That's the key to our apartment this fall in New York that is if you want to live with me here."
Rachel flipped over from her position on his lap into his arms. She squealed not caring that the neighbors could here as she pulling him into the tightest hugs her could manage. She gave him one last kiss that lasted as long as they could without oxygen. Sebastian rested his forehead against Rachel's.
"I love you Sebastian Smythe." Rachel whispered.
"I love you too Rachel Berry."
The end. This was the longest one shot I have ever written, but if I ever get time maybe I'll write a sequel with them living together in New York. Rates, Reviews, and Responses are appreciated but not necessary. I hope you enjoyed it and will check out some of my other work.
The songs mentioned were
"I Want You To Want Me" by Cheap Trick, sung by Sebastian Smythe
"Someday We'll Know" by Mandy More and Jonathon Foreman, sung by Rachel Berry and Sebastian Smythe
"You're the One That I Want" from Grease, Sung by Finn
"All We'd Ever Need" by Lady Antebellum, sung by Rachel Berry and Sebastian Smythe