Rated T for offensive language, mild sex themes, scattered violence, offensive language, and drama.
I'll post author's notes at the end of every chapter.
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Sexuality
"How could you do this to me?" Santana demanded, storming over to Brittany's locker.
"What did I do?" Brittany was curious to know.
"You put that you were my girlfriend on facebook," Santana replied.
"I thought you wanted me to," Brittany said innocently.
"And what made you think that?" Santana scoffed.
"You said you wanted a girlfriend," Brittany reminded her. "So I'm your girlfriend."
"But I've got over five hundred people on my friend's list, and now all of them are going to know," Santana said, shaking with rage and terror. "I wanted a little more time before everyone found out, and now anyone who ever used to like me (if anyone has ever liked me) is going to think I'm nothing but a repulsive dyke -"
"You are not, Santana," Brittany promised, grabbing her hand. "I don't have a very good memory, but I do remember telling you that it didn't matter that everyone would find out because at least you'd have me. And I never saw you look happier than you did at that moment, so I thought it would be okay to out you on facebook. I thought that was what you wanted. I should have realized you needed more time. I'm so stupid."
She was so sweet. Santana smiled. "You are not stupid. You are an amazing girl. The best I've ever known. And I want so badly to be with you."
Brittany smiled back, lifted Santana's hand to her lips, and kissed it. "I want to be with you too, Santana. I told you I would be your knight with the shiny arm."
Santana laughed, and then a bunch of boys and girls walked by and stared at them. They must have seen what Brittany had posted on facebook. Some of them laughed at the two girls. Some of them pointed, some of them whispered, and some of them looked disgusted.
"This is exactly what I didn't want," Santana groaned. "The looks, the gossip, the -"
"What does it matter?" Brittany asked, shrugging her shoulders. "We're not cheerleaders anymore. We're in Glee Club. We're not popular. We're losers. They aren't treating us any differently than they've already been treating us."
Santana smiled weakly and said, "You're right. Now, let's go to class, together."
They held each other's hand firmly, never letting go. Santana took a deep breath, and stared down at her feet. "I'm in serious shit. I feel totally lost. If I'm asking for help, it's only because being with you has opened my eyes. Could I ever believe such a perfect surprise?"
Brittany kept her eyes ahead, never caring who walked by. "I keep asking myself, wondering how. I keep closing my eyes, but I can't block you out. Wanna fly to a place where it's just you and me. Nobody else, so we can be free."
Then the girls looked at each other. "Nobody else, so we can be free. All the things she said, all the things she said, running through my head, running through my head, running through my head! All the things she said, all the things she said, running through my head, running through my head, all the things she said! This is not enough! This is not enough!"
Santana closed her eyes tightly. "And I'm all mixed up, feeling cornered and rushed. They all say it's my fault, but I want her so much. Wanna fly her away where the sun and rain
Come in over my face, wash away all the shame."
Brittany stayed strong. "When they stop and stare don't worry me. 'Cause I'm feeling for her what she's feeling for me. I can try to pretend. I can try to forget. But it's driving me mad. Going out of my head!" They continued together, "All the things she said, all the things she said, running through my head, running through my head, running through my head! All the things she said, all the things she said, running through my head, running through my head, all the things she said! Mother, looking at me, tell me, what do you see? Yes, I've lost my mind. Daddy, looking at me, will I ever be free? Have I crossed the line? All the things she said, all the things she said, running through my head, running through my head, running through my head! All the things she said, all the things she said, running through my head, running through my head, all the things she said! This is not enough! This is not enough!"
They stood in the classroom doorway, facing each other once more before they let go of each other's hand and walked over to their separate desks. All they gave one another was a smile, and as they parted, the only words each girl heard in her head was every word that the other had ever said to her. Ever since they'd met, become friends, best friends, and more.
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Trey didn't mind that Santana was a lesbian. He really didn't. What upset him was that the girl had dated him and then dumped him out of nowhere for another girl. She didn't have to be his girlfriend in the first place if she was a lesbian. She could have been honest with him and with herself, and just gone out with Brittany to begin with. He stared over at Artie, who was sitting all by himself. Brittany had dropped him like a pile of trash. Trey didn't care as much that Santana had blown him off as Artie cared that Brittany did. Artie loved Brittany. Honestly, Trey never really cared that much about Santana. He thought that she was overall hot and attractive, but there were other girls at McKinley High that did better for him. Brittany was so naïve that Trey wondered if she was even aware that she'd done any damage to Artie's heart. Next Trey looked over at Kurt, who was having a conversation about Katy Perry with Mercedes. Trey had seen Kurt around campus the year before. Last year Kurt was usually crying or looking terrified. Trey hadn't known Kurt personally, but he knew about his father's heart attack and about his bullying situation. He'd heard who won Junior Prom Queen. Kurt's bravery and openness about his sexuality had obviously inspired other students to come clean about who they are. He'd probably inspired Santana and Brittany to be who they are. Trey didn't hate homosexuals. He wasn't prejudice. However, he wasn't as cool with the idea of "gay" as Bryce or Sam were. They were both pretty laid-back and liberal on the subject. Puck told Trey that he used to be a total dick about it, meaning that he made Kurt's life a living hell. Wow. All Trey's life he'd been told that homosexuality was undesirable. Being in New Directions had taught him a lot of things, including the fact that gay wasn't such a bad thing. It meant a person was creative and unique. A person like Kurt got more attention than someone, say, Mike did because of his sexuality. That just wasn't a world that Trey was used to.
As much as he loved singing, Trey realized that his love for music wasn't enough to keep him in this universe. It wasn't enough to keep him in this topsy-turvy dimension where gay was cooler than straight and femininity was superior to masculinity. And that was when Trey decided that he needed to get out of this. Now.
"Mr. Schue," he said to the teacher.
"Yes, Trey?"
"Can I make an announcement?"
"Of course." Mr. Schue smiled encouragingly.
Trey stood up. "Hey," he said, getting everyone's attention. "I've got some bad news. My sports and grades have become real time-consuming, and I have to quit Glee."
Brittany gasped. Everyone looked startled. Why not? Trey was the fourth person to have quit Glee this year. Just Bryce, and the club would be back to where it started at the beginning of the year. Trey saw the look on Bryce's face when he said the word 'quit.'
Mr. Schue sighed seriously. "Well, if that's what you need to do, fine, Trey."
"Dude, why do you have to do this?" Puck wanted to know.
"I just said, sports and homework," Trey said with a shrug.
"But you're not even a junior yet," Mike pointed out. "And lots of us have sports too, but we still have time to do Glee."
Trey rolled his eyes. "I just don't want to do Glee anymore."
"Fine. Don't push it, guys. If he doesn't want to do Glee, leave it alone," Tina insisted.
"Let it go," Mr. Schue agreed with Tina. "We want people here that want to be here."
"Fine, but you suck, man," Puck said to Trey with a scowl on his face.
"Me too," Bryce agreed with Trey, standing up. "I quit Glee."
"Why, Bryce?" Mercedes asked, a genuine look of disappointment on her face.
"I'm not like Trey," Bryce explained. "I actually love Glee. And I've tried to stick around. I've been here a while since Quinn dumped me for Jesse. But I can't take it anymore. My heart's been broken for months, and now I've realized that there's no fixing it."
Quinn looked guilty. She stared down at her lap and fidgeted uncomfortably with her dress. She felt bad. Bryce was a good guy, much better than Jesse. Even better than Finn. But she and Jesse needed each other. They'd gone through the same thing: Finn breaking up with Quinn for Rachel, and Rachel ditching Jesse for Finn. They had the same pain.
"You don't have to quit Glee," Sam told him.
"Yeah, man, you can just sing about your pain and let it out," Finn agreed. "It works."
"Yeah, you'll feel a lot better," Sam assured him.
"No." Bryce shook his head. "I'm done here. It was great. With other people, I feel repressed. I have to hide who I am. Being in Glee allowed me to show everyone who I was, but now that I've showed everyone, all I have left to expose is pain. I want to forget. Glee pushes me to feel too much, and I want to go back to hiding it, and keeping it deep, deep inside where I can't access it."
"I've got nothing against Quinn or anything; I mean, she's the mother of my kid and all," Puck said, glancing cautiously over at the blonde. "But get over her, man! The whole world doesn't begin and end with her!"
Bryce turned to Trey and said, "Let's go, man." The two of them walked out the door.
"That's just great," Santana said bitterly. "Now we're back to where we started."
"Yeah, we never needed those auditions at the beginning of the year," Sam agreed.
"I can't believe all of our new members are gone -" Rachel began.
"It doesn't matter," Mr. Schue told her. "This is New Directions. This is all we need."
"We couldn't even hold on to a few underclassmen," Quinn interrupted. "Now we're just going to be ridiculed even more."
"You don't have to worry about that," Mr. Schue sighed, sitting up on the stool over by the piano. "You're in Glee Club," he said, observing everyone's faces. "And when you graduate this year, I don't want you to think of the slushees or the insults. I want you to leave McKinley with everything you learned here. From me, and from each other. We are a family."
And at that moment, everyone loved each other. They loved each other like they did on that evening at Mr. Schue's house when they thought that Sue was going to get their club disbanded after ruining them at Regionals sophomore year. They loved each other like they did when they sang "To Sir, With Love" to Mr. Schue. They loved each other like they did the day they won Regionals during junior year - the day they knew they were going to Nationals. It was one of those times where it didn't matter from what background any of them came from, or what sexuality they were. Everyone mattered to everyone, even Rachel to Quinn almost.
After Glee was over that day, everyone left the classroom quietly, humbled. Mr. Schue stayed where he was for a little while, thinking about everything. About everything that had happened today to the day he'd held his first auditions for Glee Club: Tina Cohen-Chang, Mercedes Jones, Kurt Hummel, Artie Abrams, and Rachel Berry were the original members of New Directions. He remembered how ridiculous the club was before he'd gotten Finn Hudson to join. He remembered how wonderful it was to have the other popular kids follow in Finn's footsteps and join: Noah Puckerman, Mike Chang, Matt Rutherford, Quinn Fabray, Santana Lopez, and Brittany Pierce. He remembered Sam Evans and Lauren Zizes joining the next year.
There was a knock on the door. Mr. Schue wondered if Sue Sylvester had arrived to make fun of him the way she'd liked to do since he started the Glee Club. But Sue wouldn't have knocked. She would have come in the room without asking permission. Will was hopeful that maybe it was Emma Pillsbury there, wanting to talk to him. Just to see him.
"Come in," he said eagerly, and then Shannon Beiste entered the room.
"Hi, Will," she said, and then her boyfriend went over to her and kissed her lips.
"Hey, Shannon," he said with a kind smile. "How are you this afternoon?"
"Can't complain, I guess," the football coach said with a shrug.
"We still on for tonight at Breadstix?" Will asked.
"That's what I want to talk to you about." Beiste took a deep breath.
"You want to talk about Breadstix?" Will asked.
"Us. Dating," Beiste sighed. "Will, you are the best man I have ever met, and I might love you. But I need to break up with you before we take this any farther."
"Why?" Will wanted to know. "You're in love with someone else," Shannon said. "And what kind of girlfriend would I be if I didn't do what's best for you? You love her, and she loves you just as much. Please, please go to Emma. It kills me to let you go, but I know you'll be happier with her."
Will put his hands on his hips. "You're right," he decided. "I do love Emma, but I care about you too, Shannon. So much. Thank you for being so honest with me. Can I have one more kiss before I leave?"
"Yes," his now ex-girlfriend replied, and they kissed one more time.
Will hugged her, and left the room. He ran across the hall to get to Emma's office, but she'd left only a little while ago. She was gone for the day. Will wasn't ready to call her on the phone. Not today.
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"Today I was more in love with you than ever before," Rachel told Finn. The two of them were sitting on her bed in her room. "The way you tried to convince Bryce to stay in Glee, the way you told him to sing what he felt in his heart. I could see how much you loved Glee; you were so open about it. You became that much more perfect to me."
"You don't love me as much as I love you," Finn challenged, intertwining his fingers with hers.
"What makes you so sure about that?" Rachel asked, giving a small smile.
Finn shook his head. "No one can love anyone as much as I love you."
Rachel took her boyfriend's face in her hands and kissed him on the lips. Finn wrapped his arms around his girlfriend's back and held her close. The two of them kissed passionately for the next few minutes. When they stopped for air, they were both breathing hard. Finn stroked Rachel's dark brown hair, let go of her, and stood up. "Guess I'll be going now," he said. It had been a few hours since Glee Club had let out, and Finn was here since then. "I have a lot of homework, and I should probably get started on that."
"No, stay," Rachel insisted. "I think I want to try something."
"What?" Finn looked confused.
"I think I want to give myself to you, tonight," Rachel said slowly.
Finn shook his head. "Why would you want to do that?"
"Because I love you," Rachel repeated.
"I don't deserve to be your first," Finn scoffed. "I'm not a great boyfriend."
"No, you're right." Rachel stood up and wrapped her arms around her boyfriend's waist, possibly since that was the highest she could reach. "You're the best boyfriend."
The two of them kissed some more, and Finn stayed in Rachel's bedroom for the rest of the day - and through the night.
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Author's Note: I apologize about the author's note at the end of the chapter before this. I knew that Cameron didn't win The Glee Project; I was just tired when I wrote it. I meant to say Damian. Only a few more chapters and I'm done posting this ancient fic, and then I can work on more current ones like "TwiLight It Up!" I'm sorry it's taken me so long to update that one. I got writer's block on it, and I want to address everyone who alerted, reviewed, and added it to favorites at the beginning of its next chapter, so that's also gonna take me a while. I am so grateful to all of those that did review, favorite, and alert it though! It made me so happy! It's much more popular than this old thing, and I must say that I do understand why. This one's just… old. I can't say it enough. Celebrity appearance in the next chapter!