A/N: They're all coming back together now. I'd meant to write this in one chapter but didn't realize how long it would take to get them all together in one place and do each of their reactions justice, so this will be a multi-chaptered scene. Thanks for the support. Please review (and don't worry - I didn't forget Quinn. She'll be back, too.)
The middle of the summer isn't a normal time to be in school. This is the thought running through Sam's head as he, Brittany, and Artie approach the front doors of McKinley, but then he sighs. He doesn't know why he can't stay focused, but he thinks maybe it's easier this way. He doesn't want to focus on why they're at school in the middle of summer. If he does, he won't be able to handle this. And he needs to be able to handle this. The others rely on him; he can't let them down. Taking a deep breath, he reaches for Brittany's hand, and she looks up from her own misery in surprise, but she takes it. This, she hasn't expected. She knows Sam needs something that he's not willing to ask for or maybe even take if it's offered, but maybe - hopefully - this is a first step. She glances over to see if Artie has noticed, and she sees that he's staring straight ahead, unblinking. She moves her hair back to her mouth, her old nervous habit. She doesn't know what else to do as they make their way down the long quiet hallway, but she wonders what they'll find when they go into the chorus room. She's afraid of that, too.
As it turns out, Mr. Shue is the only one there when they walk, and he turns from his contemplation of the piano keys to see who are the first to arrive. The first thing he notices, with a pit in his stomach, is how tightly Sam is holding onto Brittany's hand and how pale Artie is. But for a moment, none of them speaks. They just look at one another, and Will knows he's going to have to be the first to step forward, to break this silence, so he does, and he reaches for Brittany because she's the only one who's made eye contact, but as she releases Sam's hand and stumbles toward her teacher, her eyes fill almost against her will, and she collapses into him, the tears running down her face and soaking into his shoulder. He holds her tightly, not saying anything, afraid that if he tries to, he will also break. That's the last thing any of them needs right now.
Brittany takes a long time to pull back, and when she finally does, she rubs a hand over her eyes and says, her voice shaking, "how - how are we supposed to do this, Mr. Shue?"
He shakes his head, and his voice sounds unnaturally deep when he says, "Britt, I really don't know. But we're going to try to do this together, ok?" And he looks not at her, now, but at the boys, who have not moved from where they stopped when Brittany stepped away. Sam is staring at the floor, and Will remembers the day of the shooting, when he and Shannon had to wrestle with him to keep him from trying to find Brittany, but now, he seems lifeless, and this is almost scarier.
"Sam?" he asks, and Sam looks up almost involuntarily. And then he wishes he hasn't because Mr. Shuester is looking at him with more sympathy than he can possibly handle, and he looks back down quickly but not before both Brittany and Will have seen the tears welling up. He just hopes they know enough to stay away right now and leave him alone. He just needs everyone to leave him be. But he hadn't counted on the voice in the doorway behind him.
"I'm back." It's shaky, and it's a voice he hasn't heard in a long time, but everything he's ever missed about Mercedes suddenly comes rushing back, and he turns to the sound, hating how her eyes widen with surprise when she sees his face. But then the understanding quickly replaces it, and she's doing what everyone else has been too afraid to and walking over and just putting her arms around him. For a moment, he stiffens, and then it's too late to fight it anymore, and the sobs that have been bunching in his chest for two days now come roaring to the surface, and he starts to shake against her even as he knows she's shaking, too. They hold onto one another, and Sam can't bring himself care that he's supposed to be helping everyone else. Right now, he doesn't even know how to help himself. It's a long time before he's calm enough to even back away.
Artie has shut down against all of this. Just as he was before they walked into the school, he's staring straight ahead. He hears Brittany's sobs as Mr. Shue holds her. He hears Sam's as Mercedes seems to know what he needs more than he's even willing to admit. But none of it penetrates his numbness. He doesn't want it to wear off, but it doesn't seem right now like he's in much danger of that happening. He wheels himself away from the others, and he's staring off into space when he's suddenly aware that Mercedes has managed to detach herself from Sam and come to sit with him. He tries for a smile - if he doesn't look over at where Brittany and Sam are now clinging to each other, Mr. Shue sadly looking on, he might even be able to manage it. And he does. But then Mercedes takes his hand. It's the first time anyone has dared to touch him since he heard the news, and he feels a chill course through him.
"I'm - I'm ok," he tries to say, and she nods, but he knows she doesn't believe him. Which is fine. Because they both know he's lying, and he's just hoping she'll let him. For a moment, it seems like she will because she doesn't say anything. But then she says, "I'll never forget the way you dedicated that Beatles song to Finn when we were all saying goodbye before graduation last year. I know - I know that meant the world to him."
No. She did not just say his name. Artie had thought her touch was bad, but this - this does something to him that he isn't prepared for, and now, he's not staring into space. Now he's blinking quickly, and he's grateful for the glasses that might just mask how watery his vision suddenly is. He thinks she might be waiting for a response, but she has to know that she's not going to get one. Her pressure on his hand increases, and she sighs shakily. "I"m glad you said it," she goes on. "He really did sacrifice so much for this club - for all of us. I just - I just can't believe that this really is goodbye."
And Artie has to take his hand away now - more like wrench it away - because he just can't do this anymore. He leans forward and puts his head in his hands, and the tears slip down behind his glasses. Dimly, he's aware of Mercedes' hand on his back, and he's grateful for it. But he can't look at her or anyone else right now. He doesn't know when he ever will be able to again.