Hello! I hope you'll like this chapter :3 The song I used is Bubbly by Colbie Caillat. Enjoy!
"This is unacceptable!" Blaine exclaimed.
Kurt had an arm around his daughter's shoulders. Elizabeth was glaring at someone who was sitting in front of her.
"Mr. Schuester, I think you understand why Blaine and I disagree with this situation" Kurt said.
"Please, Mr. Hummel, give her another chance" a blonde woman sitting in front of them said.
Natasha was looking at the floor, biting her lower lip. Elizabeth was glaring intensely at her, sitting between her parents. William sighed, and looked at all the people who were in his office.
"I understand that you wouldn't feel comfortable with Natasha coming back" the principal said "But she promised she wouldn't do anything bad anymore"
"Oh, and we can trust her" Blaine said sarcastically"She locked our daughter in a broom closet!"
"I'm so sorry" Natasha said, looking at Elizabeth. It was the first thing she said since she entered William's office "I know I don't deserve your forgiveness, but I want you to know that I'm really, really sorry"
Elizabeth's glare softened, but Kurt and Blaine frowned even more.
"My daughter has changed" Natasha's mother said "Besides, I'm sure that accident wasn't that bad…"
"Wasn't that bad?" Kurt said "Do you know what it's like to end up locked in a closet because 'that's where you belong'?"
Everyone went silent. Natasha looked down, clearly ashamed. Elizabeth looked at her for a while, and then she looked at William.
"It's okay" she said "She can come back"
Natasha smiled, clearly surprised. Her mom smiled too, but Blaine and Kurt weren't that happy.
"Lizzie!" Blaine exclaimed.
"Honey" Kurt said, looking at his daughter "She locked you in a closet"
"I know what she did" Elizabeth said "But I have decided to forgive her"
"Forgive her?" Blaine exclaimed "She doesn't deserve your forgiveness!"
"You said to me when I was a child that everyone deserves a second chance" Elizabeth said "Why shouldn't I give one to her?"
"Are you sure of this, Lizzie?" William asked.
"Yes" the girl said.
"Thank you so much!" Natasha said.
"Mr. Hummel, Mr. Anderson, thank you very much" her mother said.
"Don't thank us, thank our daughter" Kurt said coldly.
Natasha's mother smiled at Elizabeth.
"Thank you very much" she said.
"Are you out of your mind?" Sam exclaimed, closing her locker.
"Sam…" Elizabeth tried to say, but her girlfriend interrupted her.
"Do you remember what she did to you?" Sam said "I found you crying in a closet, Lizzie!"
"I know" Elizabeth said "But she's really sorry. I can see it in her eyes"
"Oh, really?" Sam said sarcastically. "What else can you see in her eyes?"
"Sam, I'm just giving her another chance"
"Another chance to ruin your life?"
"I know what you're thinking. But I think that if you want to get rid of the bad people, everything you have to do is being nice to them" Elizabeth said.
Sam sighed and rubbed her face.
"Sometimes you're too nice for your own good" she said, but then she smiled "I understand what you did"
"Thanks, Sam" Elizabeth said, and hugged her.
"But if she touches one hair of your head, I'll kill her" Sam said, deadly serious.
"I know. Let's go to class"
The girls walked away, holding hands.
Kurt sighed and covered his face with his hands. Blaine placed his hands on his shoulders.
"Kurt, are you okay?" he asked.
"I'm worried about Lizzie" Kurt said, looking at his husband "What if that girl hurts her again?"
Blaine sat next to him and looked at him in the eyes.
"Baby, she will be okay. Lizzie forgave her, and I think that it was because she knows that Natasha won't bully her anymore"
"Blaine, Lizzie is the most compassionate person I know. She's able to forgive anyone!" Kurt said "Even the girl who made her life a living hell!"
"Well, you forgave Karofsky, and he threatened to kill you"
"It was different!"
"Kurt, I'm worried about her too" Blaine said, taking his hands "But I think we have to trust our daughter"
Kurt looked down, and then he met Blaine's eyes again.
"Okay" he said "But only because I trust Elizabeth and I know that Mr. Schue and Sam will take care of her"
Blaine hugged Kurt, who sighed and closed his eyes.
"Hey, Adam!"
"Hey, Mark" Adam said, as his friend walked towards him.
"Do you want to come to my house?" Mark said "I have new videogames, and they are awesome!"
"Sorry, dude, Crystal and I are going to watch a movie at her house today" Adam said.
"At her house, huh?" Mark said, wiggling his eyebrows "I wonder how will that turn out…"
"Shut up!" Adam said, and he hit Mark's shoulder "We're going to watch the movie, and then I'm going home"
"Because you're to coward, and haven't even kissed her yet"
"Well, at least I have a date" Adam said "When was the last time you had a date? Three years ago?"
"Ouch" Mark said, laughing "It hasn't been that long!"
"Whatever" Adam looked around "There's Crystal, I gotta go! Bye, Mark"
"Bye."
Adam ran to meet a girl with short black hair who was standing near him. When she saw him, her face brightened into a smile, and her hazel eyes twinkled.
"Hi, Crystal" Adam said, smiling.
"Hi, Adam" she smiled too, showing her perfect teeth.
"Shall we go?" he asked, holding out his hand.
Crystal nodded and took his hand. They walked away, smiling.
David saw Sam sitting outside the gym. With a puzzled look on his face, he sat next to her.
"What are you doing here?" he asked.
"The Cheerios are in practice, and I'm waiting for Lizzie to finish" Sam explained "I don't want her to be alone"
"So, it's true" David said "Natasha is back"
Sam sighed and nodded.
"I still don't understand why Lizzie agreed with her coming back" she said.
"Well, maybe she thought she deserved a second chance" David said.
"Yeah, but I don't think she deserves it"
They sat down in silence for a while, until Sam talked again.
"She came to apologize to me"
"Natasha?" David asked.
"Yeah. And you know what? She seemed sincere" Sam said "I mean, I don't think she was lying, she really regrets what she did"
"Then why are you still worried about Lizzie?" David asked.
"The fact that Natasha is sorry about what she did, doesn't mean that she won't do it again" Sam said.
"You still can't forgive her, right?"
"I'm not like Lizzie. I'm spiteful, especially with people who hurt my loved ones" the girl said.
"Yeah, I understand" David smiled at her "But you know what? I think you shouldn't worry that much about her"
Sam looked at him, and he proceeded to explain himself.
"If Natasha is sorry, I don't think she'll mess with Lizzie again. Besides, if she does, then she'll be really screwed. I don't think she's that stupid."
"Maybe you're right" Sam said thoughtfully "But you can't ask me not to worry about her"
David smiled and looked at her for a moment before he said:
"You really love her, don't you?"
"More than anything in the world"
In that moment, Elizabeth exited the gym, wearing her Cheerios uniform. She was surprised when she saw them, and both Sam and David stood up.
"What are you doing here?" Elizabeth asked.
"I was waiting for you" Sam said "I wouldn't miss a chance to look at you wearing that uniform"
"And I was making company to Sam" David said, smiling.
"Oh, okay" Elizabeth said, smiling. She took Sam's hand "Let's go"
Spencer blinked a couple times and rubbed his eyes. No, it wasn't an illusion. She was standing there, opening her locker. What the hell? The boy ran towards her and touched her shoulder. Natasha looked at him, surprised.
"Natasha?" he said "What are you doing here?"
"You don't care" Natasha said, looking away.
"Yes, I do care. You locked Elizabeth in…"
"I know what I did!" the girl snapped "I apologized to her, okay? I asked her and Mr. Schuester to give me a second chance, and they gave it to me, so here I am. Now leave me alone"
Natasha turned around, almost hitting Spencer in the face with her long blonde hair.
"What happened to you, Natasha?" Spencer asked.
The girl looked at him, confused.
"What are you talking about?"
"You used to be nice." The boy said, stepping towards her "You used to care about people. You always had a smile in your face, and you were happy, no matter what"
Natasha looked away, refusing to meet his eyes.
"That's the reason I fell for you" Spencer said "But one day, you turned into a completely different person. You broke my heart, and apparently you forgot how to smile. What happened to you?"
The girl opened her mouth, like she was going to say something. But then she closed it. Natasha turned around and walked away, her short skirt fluttering with every step she took. Spencer watched her go, and then he sighed.
Elizabeth was looking at something in her laptop, very concentrated. Kurt was next to her in the couch, reading a magazine. Suddenly, Elizabeth smiled.
"Aha!" she exclaimed "I found her!"
"Who?" Kurt asked.
"Adam's girlfriend!"
"Oh, let me see!"
Kurt looked at the computer screen. Elizabeth was looking at Crystal's Facebook pictures.
"Wow, she's beautiful" she said.
"Indeed" Kurt said "She looks a little like Blaine"
"What?" Blaine said, poking his head out of the doorway.
"Your son has Oedipus complex" Kurt said.
Blaine looked at the computer.
"Who is she?" he asked.
"Crystal, a girl Adam met" Elizabeth said "But they're not dating…yet"
"Wow, she's really cute" Blaine said, smiling.
"Papa says she looks like you" Elizabeth said.
"What? No!" Blaine said.
"Yeah, you're right" Kurt said "She's pretty, and you're not"
Blaine glared playfully at Kurt, who laughed and kissed him.
"So, are we good?"
"Yes"
Anna kissed James, and he grinned broadly.
"Oh, thank God" he said "I missed your kisses"
"Me too"
They kissed again and looked into each other's eyes, their foreheads pressed together and a sweet smile on their lips.
"Do you want to come inside?" Anna asked, pointing at the door.
"No, I just came because we needed to talk" James said "Actually, I should go now, Steven waiting for me. We're going to have a Halo tournament with the boys!"
"Okay, have fun!" Anna said.
Once James had gone away, Anna entered her house and returned to her bedroom. Hannah was lying on the floor listening to music with her iPod. Her eyes were closed.
"Why are you on the floor?" Anna asked.
Hannah shrugged, without opening her eyes. Anna sat next to her.
"I talked with James" she said "We're good now"
"That's great" Hannah said, still not opening her eyes "I talked with Steven"
"Really?" Anna asked "So what's your relationship status?"
"We decided to stay as friends. We didn't work like a couple."
"Oh. Okay" Anna said.
"You seem disappointed"
"Well, I had a little hope that you two would fix your problems, you know"
"We did" Hannah said "But we decided to stay as friends"
"So, do you talk to each other at least?"
"Yeah. Not like before, but yeah"
"Well, that's good" Anna said, and then she stood up "I'm going to get something to eat, do you want something?"
Hannah shook her head, and Anna left. While she took some cookies from the cabinet, the girl was thinking about her sister. It was a pity that she and Steven didn't want to try again, they made a nice couple. Anna returned to her bedroom. Hannah was now sitting in the bed, without her iPod.
"I wanted to be his girlfriend" she said, suddenly.
Anna sat next to her, chewing a cookie. Hannah sighed.
"I thought that we could try again, you know, and make it official this time" she said "But before I could tell him that, he said that we should be just friends"
Anna nodded and swallowed the cookie. She patted Hannah's shoulder, trying to comfort her.
"Do you want me to bring the ice cream?" Anna asked.
"Yes" Hannah said.
Anna left and returned with a big jar of chocolate ice cream and two spoons. She sat next to her sister, and they kept talking.
"How's everything at your house?" Elizabeth asked.
"Well, my father hasn't come back" Spencer said "But I think it's better that way"
"Really?"
"Yeah. My mother is less stressed and Mandy…" Spencer sighed "Well, Mandy misses him. But it's better for her if he's not around. I had to deal with an alcoholic father for almost my whole life, I don't want it to be the same for her"
"I understand"
They were at her house, working on a history project together. They had already finished, and they were talking now.
"I didn't know Natasha was back" Spencer said "I saw her today, and I was very surprised"
"Oh, yeah" Elizabeth said "Everyone asked me about that"
"Something happened today" Spencer said "I was talking to her. I asked her why she turned into such a bitch. And for a moment, I could see something of her old self in her eyes"
"What?" Elizabeth asked.
"I don't know. It made me think of that time when we were together" the boy said "I was in love with her, you know. It was the first time I felt that way for someone"
"And what happened?"
"She… changed. Suddenly, she was a complete stranger" Spencer said "I thought it was just a phase, that she was going to be the way she was before in no time. But then, I found out that she cheated on me"
Spencer made a little pause, and Elizabeth waited for him to continue.
"I asked her why she did that to me" he said "I thought that she was going to apologize, and I was ready to forgive her. But she just said that I was boring, and broke up with me"
"Wow, what a bitch…" Elizabeth said.
"I can't believe she changed that much"
"What could have happened?"
"I don't know" Spencer frowned before he said: "You know, when I was talking to her today, I realized that maybe I still have feelings for her"
"It's hard to forget someone you loved" Elizabeth said.
Spencer sighed and pressed his forehead against the table.
"I wish I could forget her…"
Brad opened the door and stepped inside, followed by Alma.
"Well, this is my apartment" he said.
Alma looked around. The place was a mess. There were papers and dirty clothes everywhere, and there were remains of a hurried breakfast on the table. The kitchen door was opened, and Alma could glimpse the huge pile of dirty dishes in the sink.
"Sorry about the mess" Brad said "I didn't have time to clean up"
"Oh, my God" Alma said, shocked.
"Are you okay?" Brad asked.
"You know, my mom used to suffer from severe OCD" she said "And she transmitted some of it to me."
"Oh, give me a minute, I'll clean up"
"No, I'll do it" Alma said, leaving her purse on a chair.
"What? I can't let you clean my house!"
"Yes, for my own sake" she said "If I don't, I'll have a seizure or something"
"Okay…" Brad said, confused.
"But you can help me" Alma said, rolling up her sleeves "Do you have latex gloves?"
After an hour or so, the place was shining. They had washed the dishes, took care of the laundry, organized the papers and books that were scattered everywhere… Alma wiped away the sweat from her forehead, still wearing her green gloves. She looked around again and smiled.
"Wow" Brad said, marveled "It looks like a completely different place…"
"I think it's healthy to live here now" Alma said, taking off the gloves.
"Thank you, Alma" Brad said "I can't believe you helped me cleaning up"
"No problem"
Alma and Brad sat in the couch, exhausted. Alma closed her eyes and inhaled the sweet smell of cleanness that lingered in the air. Brad looked at her, smiling, admiring every detail of her face: her dark eyelashes brushing against her cheeks, the curve of her nose, the color of her lips…
"Oh, damn!" Alma said suddenly, standing up.
"What happened?" Brad said, standing up too.
"I have some French tests that I need to correct! I forgot, I'm such an idiot!" Alma explained, taking her purse "I gotta go"
"Oh, okay" Brad said, disappointed that he couldn't spend more time with her.
He opened the door, and she stopped in the doorway.
"See you tomorrow" she said.
"Bye"
Alma tried to kiss Brad on the cheek, but he kissed her on the lips. She looked at him for a moment, surprised, before she broke into a grin and her cheeks blushed.
"Au revoir" Brad said, smiling.
"Au revoir" Alma smiled back and left.
Once Brad closed the door, she leaned on it, smiling broadly.
"Yes!" she mumbled.
The kids were in the choir room. Alma was in William's office, and they were waiting for her. David was playing some random notes on his guitar, and everyone was listening. He looked at Lucy and smiled before he started to play a song almost everybody knew. Lucy smiled and started to sing.
I've been awake for a while now
You've got me feeling like a child now
'Cause every time I see your bubbly face
I get the tingles in a silly place
The kids smiled, while Lucy sang and David played the guitar.
And it starts in my toes
And I crinkle my nose
Wherever it goes
I always know
That you make me smile
Please stay for a while now
Just take your time
Wherever you go
Lucy smiled at David before she started the next verse.
The rain is falling on my window pane
But we are hiding in a safer place
Under covers staying safe and warm
You give me feelings that I adore
Sam put her arms around Elizabeth, while they listened to Lucy's sweet voice.
And they start in my toes
Makes me crinkle my nose
Wherever it goes
I always know
That you make me smile
Please stay for a while now
Just take your time
Wherever you go
Jonathan smiled at Barbra and they intertwined their fingers.
But what am I gonna say
When you make me feel this way
I just… mmmmm
Anna rested her head on James' shoulder, and they both closed their eyes.
And they start in my toes
Makes me crinkle my nose
Wherever it goes
I always know
That you make me smile
Please stay for a while now
Just take your time
Wherever you go
Everyone was smiling. Lucy closed her eyes for a moment, singing.
I've been asleep for a while now
You tuck me in just like a child now
'Cause every time you hold me in your arms
I'm comfortable enough to feel your warmth
Alma looked at them from the doorway, smiling.
And it starts in my soul
And I lose all control
When you kiss my nose
The feeling shows
'cause you make me smile baby
Just take your time now
Holding me tight
Lucy was smiling at David while she sang.
Wherever, wherever, wherever you go
Wherever, wherever, wherever you go
The kids felt warm and relaxed, as the song came to an end.
Wherever you go
I always know
'Cause you make me smile
Even just for a while
They stayed there, and no one said a word. Alma took a final look at her kids before she stepped inside.
Spencer was the last person in the locker room. He put on his shirt, and when he was about to leave, the door was opened. He barely had time to see Natasha before she pushed him against the wall and kissed him. Spencer widened his eyes, shocked, but then he slowly closed them. He kissed her back, and placed his hands on her waist. She pulled away.
"Natasha…" he said.
She placed a finger on top on his lips, and he didn't say anything else. Spencer looked into her eyes, searching for some kind of explanation. But he didn't saw anything. Not even a fragment of feeling in those green eyes. It was almost as she was mechanic. Natasha smirked and walked away. When she closed the door, Spencer let his head fall backwards, hitting it against the wall.
"What the hell?" he mumbled.