Notes: Looking through my old fics I realized I hadn't finished this one, and it's the one I hold dearest, because of all it represents, so I guess, even though there's probably no one following it still, that I owe an apology to those who were waiting for an ending- and apology, and also an ending, wich will finally come.
I grew so displeased with Glee that I didn't even watch the last seasons, but I read somewhere that they burned Dalton down. They BURNED Dalton down. I cannot even begin to express how angry that makes me. But it did renew my inspiration, and made me want to finish this story, now more than ever. I have revised it completely and will be finishing it this month.

So if there's still someone out there interested in knowing what happens to the Warblers (ignoring the show completely) I bring you the last two chapters- better late than never.

8. Why do we run, we're missing so much

The silence in the room feels too heavy, and his shoulders too weak.

This is not like all those other times when he managed to convince himself that he didn't want something. Something in the way the Warblers look expectantly at him makes him feel like he's going to remember this moment years from now, and wonder what might have happened if he had allowed himself to say yes.

"I understand." He finds himself speaking before he can even form the thoughts in his head. "I know that you understand the meaning of the song, but you don't understand where it comes from." They're all looking at him with hope and confusion and Ren knows he at least owes them the truth. "I'm from Texas. My dad owns a ranch. My brother rides bulls for a living. Nobody in my family understood why the hell I worked my ass off to get a scholarship to study at a fancy school, when I could have done the same as my brother." He takes a deep breath. "My family doesn't do fancy. Bull riding is allowed, country is allowed, show choir? Not so much. Being here is as far as I can go without losing everything."

He stares at each one of them, silently pleading them to understand.

"My father's a colonel." Hunter speaks after a heavy pause. "I'm a military kid. There are things I'm not allowed to do, either, things I'm not allowed to be." He locks eyes with Ren and stands up slowly without looking away. "You look at us and you imagine what your father would think, well let me tell you; he will think you've grown soft, he will think that this school has made you weak, and that being around boys all the time has turned you into a fag. He will think that you're no longer good enough to be called his son." His voice is raw and in the verge of breaking, but his eyes, focused on Ren, are clear. "Tell me if I'm wrong."

Ren swallows and shakes his head, unable to look away.

"All of us have fought our own demons while being here. There's always going to be someone telling you that this is for fags, for losers, that it's a waste of time. But you're never going to be able to please everyone, so you might as well do whatever pleases yourself."

Nick steps next to Hunter, gives Ren a wide smile.

"We understand your reasons. Thank you for at least giving us the chance to try to convince you, it's been great."

"I'm sorry." For the first time in his life, Ren finds himself at a loss of words.

As he turns around and walks away from the choir room, and from the Warblers, with Hunter's words hanging like a guillotine over his head, he wonders if he made the right choice, or if he's just being too coward too take his chance.

.

The room feels suddenly too big and too empty and they are all too small and too lost to know where to go from here.

"I thought he was going to say yes." Says Hunter, back at his seat; eyes glued to the floor.

"It was a good speech, though." Sebastian nudges him softly and chuckles.

There's a small breach in the tension of the room.

"It definitely was. I almost cried." Thad smiles slightly.

"I definitely cried."

They all look at Jeff and laugh.

Nick passes a hand through his hair and takes a deep breath, walking to the centre of the room and looking at the Warblers one by one.

"We will make it without him. What we just did, that song we just performed; it was amazing. We were amazing. It only shows how much better we are when we work as a group, instead of as individuals."

"Captain's right." Flint stands up and crosses his arms over his chest. "We are the freaking Warblers, and there's nobody who can do show choir better than we can."

There's a small, pregnant silence, and then, all of a sudden, the room explodes in applauses and cheers, eleven boys jumping up and down, clapping and cheering.

"Let's show them then." Nick raises a fist to the air in defiance. "They'll see what being a Warbler means."

None of them has a single doubt.

.

They are sitting one on each bed, facing each other, silent, unmoving. The new world building around them feels too fragile yet, fragile enough that it could break in pieces if they so much as step too hard or talk too loud. It's like even staring too long could make the other disappear at any second.

"You want to ask me something."

Sebastian lets out the breath he didn't know he was holding. He feels like someone just handed him the most expensive glass vase and told him not to dare drop it. Sebastian has broken every single thing he has laid his hands on.

"Sebastian?"

"I…"

"For fucks sake, Seb, I'm still me, okay? I'm not made of glass."

You're not. Sebastian thinks, lips curving involuntarily into a fond smile.

"What you told Ren. Is that how you feel?"

Hunter shrugs.

"Kind of."

"Your dad's wrong." Sebastian's eyes are as green and unforgiving as the ocean. "You're not weak, and you're not soft. He has no fucking idea of how strong you are."

The other boy laughs softly.

"You don't need to charm your way into my pants, Smythe. We're past that."

Sebastian's gaze hardens and he frowns.

"Hunter, I…"

"I know." Hunter cuts him off. "I'm sorry. I just…you know."

"I know?"

"You do."

"Do I?"

Hunter throws a pillow at him and Sebastian knows they're all going to be okay.

.

The moment they fall into a routine, it's as easy as if they never stopped; they rehearse every afternoon at the choir room; Hunter builds them a crossfit course in the gym and makes them run it twice every morning before class. Sebastian and Jeff work hours into the night looking for inspiration and rehearsing new moves.

"Each of us has to pick a song." Nick says at the beginning of their second week of practice. "It'll be like holding auditions; we will all pick a song and we'll have to perform it in front of the rest, then the rest of us will try to join in. The three songs we're all most comfortable with will our choice for Nationals."

Sebastian laughs and claps him on the back.

"That is a plan worthy of the best captain."

Nicks turns to him, confident.

"And only the best team could pull it off."

Jeff walks up to them and bumps his shoulder.

"Confidence suits you, Nicky."

It really does. It suits all of them.