Hi! This chapter is a little shorter than usual, I'm sorry :/ The next one will be very long, I promise! The songs I used are I'm Yours by Jason Mraz and The Lonely by Christina Perri. (I changed the lyrics a little bit) Enjoy!

"Here we are" David said, and he opened the front door of his house. "Come in"

Kevin and Spencer walked in behind him.

"Hey, dude, nice house" Spencer said.

"Let's go upstairs. The sooner we finish the history project, the better" David said.

They were about to climb the stairs, when a beautiful woman came downstairs. Kevin and Spencer looked at her and then they looked at David, their eyes wide open.

"Dude…" Kevin whispered "It's Mercedes Jones…"

"Hi, mom!" David said.

"Hi, David!" Mercedes looked at Kevin and Spencer, who remained wide eyed "Hi, boys!"

Kevin and Spencer almost had a heart attack, and David sighed.

"Mom, these are my friends, Kevin and Spencer"

"Nice to meet you, I'm David's mom, Mercedes" she said, smiling.

"We know!" Spencer managed to say "I'm a big fan of yours!"

"Me too!" Kevin said.

"Thank you" Mercedes smiled. She looked at her son "Do you want to see pictures of David when he was a baby?"

"Oh, hell to the no!" David exclaimed, pushing his friends towards the stairs. "Bye, mom!"

"Bye, Ms Jones!" Kevin and Spencer said, disappearing upstairs.

Mercedes chuckled, and she entered the kitchen. Before she could even close the door, she heard someone calling for help.

"Honey, help me!"

Sam was standing there, his hair and clothes a mess, and his glasses crooked. He had a pan in his hand, and it was on fire. Mercedes sighed and turned off the stove. She took the pan from Sam's hands, and put it under the water. After the steam dissipated, Mercedes glared at her husband, her hands on her hips.

"What the hell were you trying to do?" she asked.

"Um… cook?" Sam said, scratching the back of his neck.

"Why?"

"Because David's friends are here, and I wanted to make them some snacks!"

"Why didn't you just open a bag of chips?" Mercedes asked, raising her eyebrows at him.

"Well…"

"Don't worry, I'll do it" she said, opening the fridge.

The boys heard a knock on the door.

"Come in!" David said, without taking his eyes from the TV screen. They were playing Halo.

Sam opened the door, carrying a tray with cookies and juice.

"Hey, David" he said, smiling "Your mother sends you this"

Kevin and Spencer turned their heads to look at Sam. The controls fell from their hands.

"OH, MY GOD!" Kevin exclaimed.

"SAM EVANS!" Spencer exclaimed too.

David looked at them for a moment, and then he kept playing.

"Oh, yeah" he said "Kevin, Spencer, that's my dad."

"Hey" Sam said, smiling.

"Are you kidding?" Kevin exclaimed "Dude, your dad is a famous comic writer!"

"Why didn't you tell us?" Spencer asked.

"I did tell you" David said, still playing.

"No, you didn't!"

"Oh… well, I forgot" David shrugged, and looked at Sam "Thank you, dad."

"I'll leave it here" Sam put the tray on top of David's desk and left the room, smiling at the boys.

Kevin and Spencer looked at David, who kept playing Halo. He sighed.

"You can go and talk to him"

"Yay!" the boys exclaimed, and left the room.

"Mr. Evans! I'm Kevin Mitchell, it's a pleasure to meet you!" David heard Kevin exclaiming.

"And I'm Spencer Richards. We're huge fans of your work!"

"Oh, well thanks!" Sam said "Do you want me to show you my studio?"

"Yes!" both boys exclaimed, and David smiled. He left the control aside and left the room. He walked towards his dad's studio.

"Show them your next project, dad!" he said.

"I'mb sedious, mom, I'mb fide…" Alma said.

"What?" Emma asked, confused.

Alma took a tissue from her bedside and blew her nose.

"I'm serious, mom, I'm fine" she said.

"No, you're not. Honey, you can't even talk."

Alma was lying on her bed. Her eyes and nose were reddened, and she was having a hard time breathing. Emma was sitting in the bed next to her.

"But I need to go to the school" Alma said.

"We'll find you a substitute, okay?" Emma said "Just stay home and rest. I'll stay with you, if you want."

"No, it's okay. You can go, I'll take care of myself" Alma said, smiling.

"Okay. Call me if you need anything" Emma said, standing up.

"Okay. Bye, mom" Alma said.

"Bye, honey" Emma said, closing the door.

Alma sighed. She felt really sick, actually. Her mother was right, she couldn't go to the school like that. What kind of substitute would replace her?

"You've got to be kidding me…" Lucy said.

"Kids, Sue will replace Alma today" William said, and Sue, who was standing next to him, nodded.

"What the hell, Mr. Schue?" Kevin said.

"Look, we couldn't find another substitute, and Sue offered to do it" William explained "She promised me that she wouldn't do anything bad"

"And you believe her?" David asked.

"Come on, she's not that bad…" Elizabeth said.

Everyone looked at her, eyebrows raised and arms crossed. Elizabeth shrugged.

"Guys, it's just for today, okay?" William said.

The kids sighed, resigned, as the principal left the room. Sue looked at them.

"So, what do we got here?" she said. "Little Porcelain"

Elizabeth smiled.

"Bette Porter"

Sam looked at Elizabeth, confused.

"Funny Girl"

Barbra raised her eyebrows.

"Frank Sinatra"

Jonathan made a confused face and pointed at himself.

"Pucca"

Lucy sighed.

"Usher"

David looked at Lucy, smiling, and she chuckled.

"Thing 1 and Thing 2"

Hannah and Anna looked at each other.

"Ed, Edd, and Eddy"

James, Steven and Spencer looked down. They were all wearing their football jackets.

"Waldo"

Kevin adjusted his glasses, frowning.

"Wow, what a bunch of losers" Sue said "Seriously, it's almost as sad as the fact that William Schuester hasn't become bald yet."

The kids exchanged angry looks.

"Well, at least she's good for name calling…" Sam said to Elizabeth, and she chuckled.

"Total and absolute HELL!" Barbra exclaimed, leaving the choir room.

"I think a part of me died during that class…" Jonathan said, following her.

"You're overreacting" Elizabeth said.

"You're saying that because she's nice to you" Lucy said "If I hear another Asian joke, I'll puke."

"I think she's interesting" Sam said "Terrible. But interesting."

"I wonder if Miss Schue is okay..." Jonathan said.

"I'm going to die…"

"You'll be fine. Look what I brought!"

William showed the DVD to Alma, and she smiled.

"Singing in the Rain" she said.

"And we are going to watch it together" William said, laying next to Alma and pressing play.

The movie started to play, and Alma scooted closer to her dad, resting her head on his chest.

"Remember when you were a child, and we used to watch this movie every time you were sick?" William asked.

"Yeah" Alma smiled "You said it was the best medicine"

They went silent, watching the movie. William looked at his daughter, who was slowly falling asleep.

"Alma?"

"Mmmm?"

"You should forgive Brad."

Alma looked at him, surprised.

"What?"

"Well, before this problem with his ex-wife, you were really happy" William said "But now you seem…sad."

"But, dad…"

"I know, Alma. But he's not a bad person. He really cares for you, I can see that. Okay, he made a mistake…"

"A huge mistake"

"Yeah. But he did it because his feelings for you are real."

Alma looked down, and started to play with a loose thread of her blanket.

"I know" she said "And my feelings for him are real too. But I'm not sure if I'm ready to forgive him yet."

"I'm not telling you to forgive him now" William said "But you should think about it."

"I will."

"Okay" he smiled at his daughter "Let's keep watching the movie."

"That movie was awesome!" Elizabeth said, smiling.

"I know! It was wonderful!" Sam smiled too.

They took their orders from the cashier and sat in a nearby table. There were a lot of people in the Lima Bean that day.

"I still can't believe that we left your house and came here just because you wanted to drink some coffee" Sam said.

"Well, I needed my daily fix of coffee" Elizabeth said "Besides, we both love this place."

"Or maybe it has something to do with the fact that Jonathan and Barbra were at your house watching TV with us, and they were cuddling and kissing?" Sam asked, raising her eyebrows at Elizabeth.

"No, not at all" Elizabeth said "Why would it bother me?"

"I don't know, you tell me."

Elizabeth and Sam looked at each other for a few silent seconds, before Elizabeth sighed and put her cappuccino on the table.

"Fine" she said "I'm still not comfortable with their relationship"

"But why? I thought you liked Jonathan"

"Yes, I do but…" Elizabeth tried to find the words.

"Let me guess" Sam said "You want Barbra and Adam to be together, but you know that it's not possible, at least while Barbra is dating Jonathan. You know that Jonathan is a nice guy, and he actually cares about her, so you have no reason to hate him. But a part of you does, because he's one of the reasons because Barbra and Adam are not together. Am I right?"

"Yes, you are" Elizabeth sighed.

"Lizzie, look" Sam took Elizabeth hands "I know what you're thinking. If Adam and Barbra love each other, they should be together, no matter what." She made a little pause, and then she kept talking "But not everyone is… courageous enough to face everything in order to be with the one they love" she smiled at Elizabeth "Not everyone is as brave as us."

Elizabeth smiled too, and leaned in to kiss her girlfriend. They parted with a smile.

"That's disgusting" someone whispered behind them. Sam could see Elizabeth's smile disappearing quickly.

"I know!" another person said "I'm tired of these people!"

Elizabeth closed her eyes and breathed loudly trough her nose. Sam squeezed her hands.

"Lizzie…"

Suddenly, Elizabeth stood up and turned around to face the strangers. They were a man and a woman, who looked at her, surprised.

"Excuse me" Elizabeth said in a glacial tone "Who do you think you are?"

"Lizzie…" Sam said, standing up too.

"You have no right to judge us!" Elizabeth exclaimed, ignoring Sam "I came here because I wanted to spend some time with my girlfriend, but apparently I can't because I'm "disgusting". You know what's disgusting? People like you."

Everyone was looking at them, but Elizabeth didn't care.

"Do you think you're better than us just because we love in a different way?" she continued "Do you think that we're going to hell just because of who we are? Guess what. You can't judge love. You can't judge who I am, or what I have with my girlfriend, because I'm sure it's ten times more wonderful that everything you could ever experience!"

She was breathing heavily, and her eyes were filled with unshed tears. The man and the woman were looking at her, as well as the rest of the costumers. Elizabeth took her coat and ran out of the shop.

"Lizzie, wait!" Sam ran after her, not before glaring at the couple, who looked down, ashamed.

Sam saw Elizabeth climbing inside her car. She climbed in too.

"Lizzie, are you okay?"

She was grabbing the steering wheel, frowning. Elizabeth sighed, and she looked at Sam.

"I'm sorry" Elizabeth said, and tears finally fell from her eyes. She covered her mouth with her hands, and whispered "I'm sorry…"

"For what?" Sam asked, hugging her.

"For making a scene" Elizabeth sobbed "It's just that…"

"You don't have to be sorry" Sam said, wiping her tears away "It was really brave of you to let them know what you think."

Sam smiled, and Elizabeth smiled back. They kissed again, softly.

"Do you want to go home?" Sam asked.

"Let's go to your home, I'm sure Jonathan and Barbra are still at my home" Elizabeth said, starting the car, and Sam rolled her eyes.

"Hello, guys" Alma said, entering the choir room.

"Miss Schue!"

The kids stood up and hugged her, almost knocking her off the floor.

"Wow, you really missed me, didn't you?" she said, laughing.

"It was terrible!" Kevin said "Sue was the substitute!"

"Oh, my poor kids…" Alma said, sitting down. "Are you okay? Did she experimented on you?" The kids laughed, and she stood up "Well, today I wanted too…"

"Miss Schue" Jonathan said "I have an announcement to make"

"Okay, go ahead"

The boy stood up, and looked at his partners.

"You all know that I'm not comfortable with singing in front of people" Jonathan said "But I've been practicing in order to end my nervousness. So, I would like to sing a song" he looked at Barbra "to someone who's really special for me"

Barbra smiled, and so did he. James stood up and grabbed the guitar. Jonathan nodded at him, and he started playing. Everyone was looking at Jonathan and he sighed, nervous. He started to sing.

Well you've done done me

and you bet I felt it
I tried to be chill

but you're so hot that I melted
I fell right through the cracks
and now I'm trying to get back

The rest of the kids smiled and nodded. Jonathan's voice was definitely awesome.

Before the cool done run out
I'll be giving it my bestest
Nothing's going to stop me

but divine intervention
I reckon it's again my turn

to win some or learn some

Jonathan smiled at Barbra, whose cheeks were completely blushed.

But I won't hesitate, no more, no more
It cannot wait, I'm yours

The boy was starting to gain some confidence, and he sang a little louder.

Well open up your mind

and see like me
Open up your plans

and damn you're free
Look into your heart

and you'll find love love love love

Everyone was smiling at him, and Jonathan kept singing, looking at Barbra.

Listen to the music of the moment

people dance and sing,

we're just one big family
It's our God-forsaken right to be

loved loved loved loved loved

Sam looked at Elizabeth, who was smiling while watching Jonathan's performance. Sam smiled too, and she put an arm around Elizabeth waist.

So I won't hesitate no more, no more
It cannot wait, I'm sure
There's no need to complicate
Our time is short
This is our fate, I'm yours

Jonathan wasn't nervous anymore, he was just singing, happy, relaxed.

Do you want to, come on,

scooch over closer, dear
And I will nibble your ear

Whoa, Whoa…

Alma smiled at him, proudly.

I've been spending way too long

checking my tongue in the mirror
And bending over backwards

just to try to see it clearer
But my breath fogged up the glass
And so I drew a new face and I laughed

He walked among his partners, singing.

I guess what I'll be saying is

there ain't no better reason
To rid yourself of vanities

and just go with the seasons
It's what we aim to do
Our name is our virtue

He sat next to Barbra, and he sang directly to her, looking into her eyes.

But I won't hesitate no more, no more
It cannot wait, I'm yours

He stood up, and everybody sang with him, smiling.

Well open up your mind and see like me
Open up your plans and damn you're free
Look into your heart

and you'll find that the sky is yours
so please don't, please don't, please don't.
There's no need to complicate
'cause our time is short
This oh, this oh, this is our fate, I'm yours

Everyone clapped and laughed, and Jonathan sat down, his face bright red. Barbra kissed him on the cheek, and he smiled broadly.

Alma looked inside the teacher's lounge. Brad was there, talking with the history teacher. He saw her, and smiled. Alma stepped inside, and walked towards him.

"Excuse me, Mr. Mays, can I borrow Brad for a second?" she asked politely.

"Sure" the teacher said, smiling. Alma and Brad sat in a nearby table.

"Is something wrong?" Brad asked.

"I just wanted to talk with you" Alma said. She sighed, and looked at him in the eyes "Brad, why did you hide it from me?"

He seemed to be surprised by the question, and he bit his lip, searching for the right answer inside his head.

"Well" Brad said finally "I was afraid that if I told you, you wouldn't want to spend time with me anymore"

"That's really stupid" Alma said.

"I know. I should have told you about Jenny, but…" Brad looked at her, and Alma could see that he was being really sincere "I was having a hard time. I had just moved to a separate apartment, starting a new life, something different from what I always knew. It was sad, and kinda scary. And then you appeared."

Brad smiled sadly, and Alma parted her lips slightly.

"There you were, Alma" he said "So nice, so smart, so caring, so beautiful… so perfect" Alma blushed "I thought that maybe you were the one, and I didn't want to ruin it, so I kept it a secret. At the end, I ruined it anyway"

He looked at her, sadness evident in his blue eyes. Alma looked down for a moment, before she spoke.

"You should have told me" she said "I would have understood. It wasn't the fact that you were married that made upset. You were separated anyway. It was the fact that you didn't tell me."

"I'm sorry I hurt you. And I know that you won't forgive me, and you are right if you hate me…"

"Brad, I don't hate you. At all" Alma took his hands "In fact, I really like you. More than I ever liked anyone. I miss talking with you, there are a lot of things that I wanted to tell you" she smiled "Like how amazing the kids were at Sectionals, the adorable way they received me today. Jonathan sang in front of us today, and it made me really proud. I miss you, Brad. That's why I'll forgive you"

Brad broke into a huge smile, his eyes shining.

"Really?"

"Yes. I'll give you another chance" Alma smiled "You deserve it"

"Oh, Alma, thank you so much!" Brad stood up and hugged her.

"Brad, I can't breathe…"

"I will never hurt you again, I swear" Brad took her face between his hands.

"Okay" Alma smiled.

Brad kissed her. Alma closed her eyes and kissed him back.

"Brad" she said when they parted.

"Yeah?"

"Everybody's looking at us."

Brad look around. Effectively, all the teachers were looking at them. He smiled.

"What's up?" he said, and Alma laughed.

Barbra and Jonathan were having lunch in the cafeteria. Their friends were talking and laughing loudly.

"I want to meet your parents" Barbra said.

"What? Why?"

"Well, I don't know. I'm curious about who raised such a wonderful son"

Jonathan smiled at her.

"Okay. Why don't you come to my house today after school? I can take you"

"Cool" Barbra kissed him.

"I want to meet your parents too" Jonathan said.

"Jon, my parents live in New York" Barbra said, laughing.

"I know, but maybe we can talk on Skype or something"

"Good idea" Barbra nodded.

"Hey, Jonathan!" Steven said, and both Jonathan and Barbra looked at him "I'm yours!"

Everyone laughed, and Jonathan and Barbra turned bright red. Barbra slapped Steven playfully in the arm, and laughed too.

"I'm nervous" Barbra said "What if they don't like me?"

"Don't be ridiculous. My dad will love you" Jonathan said.

"And what about your mom?"

"Um… well…" Jonathan looked down "She's dead."

"Oh, my God, Jonathan, I'm so sorry" Barbra said, covering her mouth with her hands.

"Don't worry, it was a long time ago" Jonathan smiled at her. "Let's go."

Barbra nodded, and they both stepped out of the car. Both of them walked towards the entrance, and Jonathan took out his keys. He opened the door, and stepped in after Barbra.

"Dad, I'm home!" he shouted "Come here, I want you to meet someone!"

He smiled at Barbra, and she smiled back, nervously. They heard a door opening, and someone walking on the upper floor.

"I'm coming!" Jonathan's dad exclaimed, walking down the stairs.

When he finally got there, Barbra widened her eyes and covered her mouth with her hands.

"Oh. My. God" she whispered.

"Hi, my name is Jesse. I'm Jonathan's father" he said with a smile.

Sam was resting her back in the bedside, sitting in her bed. Elizabeth was seated between her legs, resting her back on Sam's chest.

"I talked to Adam" Elizabeth said.

"Yeah? What did you talk about?" Sam asked, playing with Elizabeth's hair.

"Barbra"

"I thought so. How did he take the news?"

"He said he's fine"

"Great, I'm happy that's he's not sad"

"You don't get it" Elizabeth said, looking at Sam. "He said he's fine, but he's dying on the inside."

"Is he?"

"Yeah! He's always been like this, he doesn't want people to know when he's sad or angry. But I know him. I know when my brother is hiding his feelings."

"Did you tell him that?"

"No, he would deny it. Like always" Elizabeth sighed "Why can't he be honest with me? I'm his sister, God damn it!"

"He doesn't want you to worry about him"

"That's stupid, he always worries about me, why can't I worry about him?"

"You worry about him. All the time."

"You're right" Elizabeth sighed again "Stupid Adam…" she whispered.

"I'm sure he'll be fine" Sam assured Elizabeth, hugging her.

"I know" Elizabeth rested her head on Sam's shoulder, nuzzling her neck "I know"

Adam looked at the clock. 2:00 am. He sighed and sat on his bed. The boy turned on the little lamp on his bedside and rubbed his eyes, incapable of sleeping. Rachel and Finn weren't home. Adam left his room and walked downstairs to the living room. He sat in front of the piano and played some random notes.

"Come on, Adam" he said to himself.

He started to play the piano, his eyes closed. Adam sang softly.

2am, where do I begin?
Crying off my face again.
The silent sound of loneliness
Wants to follow me to bed.

He opened his eyes slowly, and sang a little louder.

I'm a ghost of a boy that I want to be most.
I'm the shell of a boy that I used to know well.

Adam kept singing and playing the piano. Every word, every note was full of feelings.

Dancing slowly in an empty room,
Can the lonely take the place of you?
I sing myself a quiet lullaby.
Let you go and let the lonely in
To take my heart again.

The boy closed his eyes again. It was better that way, it didn't hurt that much.

Too afraid to go inside
For the pain of one more loveless night.
But the loneliness will stay with me
And hold me till I fall asleep.

No, it always hurt, no matter what he did. It hurt so much…

I'm a ghost of a boy that I want to be most.
I'm the shell of a boy that I used to know well.

Adam didn't notice the tears that fell from his blue eyes. He just sang.

Dancing slowly in an empty room,
Can the lonely take the place of you?
I sing myself a quiet lullaby.
Let you go and let the lonely in
To take my heart again.

The boy opened his eyes again, and more tears fell.

Broken pieces of
A barely breathing story
Where there once was love
Now there's only me and the lonely.

Adam sang the last part, his heart aching.

Dancing slowly in an empty room
Can the lonely take the place of you?
I sing myself a quiet lullaby
Let you go and let the lonely in
To take my heart again.

He played the last notes. When he finished, the room went silent, and there was only him. Him and his pain, lingering in the air.

Poor Adam :( We'll see Jonathan's dad in the next chapter, but I'm sure you already know who he is ;) Thank you for reading, please leave a review :D