Hi everyone. So this chapter is probably going to be the last for a couple days. I'm gonna be a little busy but I will come back I promise. This chapter picks up right where we left off last time but there are going to be a couple time jumps in here. The next chapter however, there is going to be a big time jump. Hope you all enjoy it.
As always please review and let me know what you guys are thinking.
Sebastian POV
"Dad?" She said softly.
The man in front of them smiled, brown hair and blue eyes very much resembling Marley's; he was dressed in designer clothes, though they were toned down in appearance. He nodded. "Hi sweetheart." He said walking forward being mindful in not going for a hug as they assessed one another.
Sebastian stood back a little bit, watching the encounter carefully in case Marley became upset. Marley also noticed Blaine and the others coming out of the choir room.
"You came." She said simply, unsure of what else to say.
"I told you I would." He said. "You were amazing, your voice is incredible."
"Thank you." She said.
Sebastian moved over closer to the rest of the club, still watching the exchange.
"Is that Atticus Hughes?" Artie said in a hushed tone. "The Broadway actor?"
"That's her dad." Sebastian said quietly.
Everyone stared at him for a second, though he didn't take his eyes off Marley, and then they turned back to look at Marley and her dad.
Marley POV
Marley shifted uncomfortably. "Umm…"
Thankfully Mr. Hughes understood. "Hey, don't worry, I know this is weird." He said offering a smile.
"Well, honestly it wouldn't be if it didn't take a possible shooting to get you to call." She replied.
His smile faltered, and he nodded. "You're right." He said. "Marley, you have no idea how many times I've wanted to call you. I've regretted walking away from you every day of my life and it is something I'll never be able to make up to you."
"So why now?" She asked crossing her arms across her stomach.
"Because seeing the news gave me the kick I needed to stop focusing on myself and try to reach out while there is still time." He said. "I don't want to take you away from Millie or anything, and I'm not going to try to suddenly step in and be 'dad', I just want to know you. I want to know the beautiful, amazing person my daughter became."
Marley bit her lip in thought. "I would like that." She said after a minute. "But, lets start out simple okay? No big events, no major announcements to the public. I especially don't want the press or anything coming around here."
"Perfectly reasonable." He said. "I couldn't agree more. You just let me know when you're ready, okay?"
She nodded, giving him a small, warm smile.
"Do you think it would be too much to ask for a hug?" He asked carefully.
She smiled and stepped forward giving him a hug. "I'm really glad you came." She said as they separated.
He smiled. "Me too."
Sebastian POV
Sebastian was sitting on Marley's bed as she tossed clothes in to her suitcase, getting ready for Nationals. She had never been on a plane, let alone to Los Angeles before, so she was excitedly asking questions about what to expect. He answered what he could while saying yay or nay to outfits that she should bring.
"So how are things going with your dad?" He asked as she tossed a pair of jean shorts in the suitcase.
"Good I think." She said. "You know it's been a process to get to know one another again."
Sebastian shook his head as she held up a tan and blue short sleeve sweater top. "That's good." He said as she tossed it back in her drawer. "How has your mom been taking all of it?"
Marley paused as she sifted through her closet. "It's been really hard for her I think." She said. "She keeps saying that she's happy, but for example, I had off handedly mentioned that I needed to buy some new sneakers before you and I left for Italy next semester, and he had his personal shopper buy me a ton of new clothes and shoes."
She opened the other half of her closet and his eyes widened as he saw the small mountain of shoe boxes and bags of clothes. "Mom was really upset since she's not able to afford the expensive stuff." She said. "I've felt so guilty I don't want to wear any of it. And now he wants to pay the tuition for me to go study abroad. I heard them yelling about it last week."
"Wow." He said, unsure what to say. "Marley, have you tried talking to your mom about it?"
"No." She said. "Every time I mention him I can see how upset she gets."
Sebastian stood up and wrapped his arms around her. "Marley, I know it's hard, but you really need to talk to her about this." He said. "She's your mom, she loves you, and I'm sure she wouldn't want you worrying yourself sick over this."
"You're right." She said quietly.
"It's gonna be fine." He said reassuringly. "Now can we talk about this?"
He reached down into one of the open bags and pulled out a blue bikini. Marley squeaked in surprise, blushing, and snatched it out of his hand but laughed as Sebastian did.
Marley POV
Later that evening, Marley walked in to her room, toweling off her hair after her shower to find her mom in her room, folding a few pieces of the expensive clothes from the closet. "Mom?" She said in surprise. "What are you doing?"
"Some of these were wrinkling," Ms. Rose said simply. "Also, your dad called to say that the tuition was paid, and he was sending the travel itinerary tomorrow."
Marley paused, the towel just sitting draped on her head, forgotten. She didn't quite know what to say.
"Marley," Ms. Rose said. "Sit down for a minute please."
Complying, Marley sat down on the edge of the bed.
Ms. Rose sat on the armchair in the corner of the room. "Marley, I want you to know that no matter what happens your happiness matters more to me than my pride." She said. "I want you to wear the new clothes that your dad bought, I am grateful that he was able to pay for the tuition for your study program. I feel bad that I wasn't able to do that for you, but it doesn't mean that you have to feel bad accepting it."
"Mom, I am so grateful for everything that you've given me." Marley said. "I don't need fancy clothes or even to go study overseas. Everything that you've given me, love, safety, confidence, willing to give up everything so that I can have a good life. That all matters to me more than anything. Yes, I would like to keep getting to know dad, but not if that means losing you."
"There is nothing you could ever do that would make you lose me." Ms. Rose said. "Marley, I want you to be happy. If you are happy, then I am happy. No material thing is ever going to change that."
Marley smiled, standing up to hug her mom tightly.
...
They lost at Nationals. It was a bitter loss, not only would the Glee club be disbanded for next year, but they had all been trying to get the win to honor Finn's legacy. Carol and Burt had been so supportive, but they were all still bummed out about the loss.
They had three days before they would fly back to Lima, so Mercedes convinced them to spend time around LA exploring and having fun before they go back home. The first day they went to restaurants, guided tours, they saw the Hollywood Walk of Fame, and went shopping. The second day, they all decided to go to the beach to just relax on their last day before they flew out.
"Kitty come on everyone is already waiting on us!" Marley called from where she was sitting on her bed waiting for her to finish getting ready. As she was waiting her phone rang.
When they finally got to the lobby, everyone was waiting, eager to get to the beach and be there as long as they could. Sebastian pulled Marley to the back of the group as they left, lowering his voice so no one would hear.
"Did you talk with your mom?" He asked.
"Yeah, she just called and told me." Marley replied. "Tell your mom think you for all the help."
He nodded, and they went to catch up with the others. They had been lucky enough to get a hotel within walking distance of the beach.
It was a fun and relaxed day, they played, took a lot of pictures, ate ice cream on the beach, and everyone was gonna be nice and tanned by the time they returned to Lima. They all gathered in Blaine and Sam's room after they had taken showers and were waiting on Mr. Schue to come back with pizza.
"So, when do you guys leave?" Blaine asked Marley and Sebastian.
"We'll leave around the end of July." Sebastian said. "My Aunt is letting us stay in her home which is actually close to the school, so we're gonna get settled before the school year begins."
"I still can't believe you two are going to study in Italy for a year." Tina said.
"Well mostly in Italy, we'll also be going to Greece, France, and Britain, each for a week." Sebastian said.
Blaine shook his head with a smile on his face. He meant what he said when he first met Sebastian, that he was out there, he treated these amazing things like they were nothing. To him they were, but Marley was so thrilled.
"Are you going for half the school year or all of it?" Unique asked looking at Marley.
"Umm…I'm not sure yet, but there is some news about school anyways." Marley said. "I'm transferring away from McKinley."
"What?" Everyone, except Sebastian cried.
"Sebastian's mom gave my mother a job at one of the marketing branch locations in New York," Marley said twisting her hair over her shoulder. "We'll be living in Queens, so I'll see my dad more and it's a lot better pay. So, I'll officially transfer to a school over there, but I'll still be going to Italy."
"What about you Sebastian?" Ryder said. "Are you going back to Dalton?"
"Officially, yes." Sebastian replied. "But I'm most likely going to be overseas the whole year since my parents will be travelling for business."
"It's gonna be weird not having you guys around." Jake said.
"We're all going to stay in touch though." Marley said. "The thing that made Glee club great was that we all became family. That doesn't change just because we aren't in the same zip code anymore."
There were a few hugs exchanged, but they moved on to talking about better things. Blaine was going to NYADA, Sam was going to New York as well, Tina got accepted into Brown University, Artie going to Film School in New York, everyone was going on to bigger and better things.
Sebastian POV
Sebastian and Marley sat in the back seat of Mrs. Smythe's car as she drove them to the airport. It had been a crazy couple of months, but they were ready to get things moving again. Marley and her mom had finished their move, her dad was thrilled that she was living so close now.
Sebastian actually spent most of the summer in New York with his mom anyways since his dad was working on a big trial and Mrs. Smythe had business deals to attend to over the summer, so he saw Marley almost every day.
It had been a tearful goodbye this morning with Ms. Rose, and Marley was nervous, it just hadn't taken over the excitement yet. She practically bouncing in her seat as they pulled up to the drop off area at JFK International.
"Okay," Mrs. Smythe said getting out with them as they unloaded their bags. "You both be careful, Sebastian you call the minute you've landed, and send lots of pictures."
"We promise." Sebastian said laughing and giving his mom a hug and kiss on the cheek. "I love you and I will call."
Mrs. Smythe nodded with a smile, she turned and hugged Marley. "You be safe." She said. "I'm so happy you are going with Sebastian. We're so glad to have you in our lives."
"Thank you, Mrs. Smythe." Marley said. "I wouldn't have been able to do this without your help."
"Okay." Sebastian said. "We have to go check in."
They said quick, final goodbyes and went in side to get their tickets and get through security. Once they were seated, their parents had coordinated to get them seats together, it was just about stilling the nerves as they waited to take off.
"Is it crazy that I'm really nervous?" She asked, knees bouncing slightly in anxiousness.
"No, it's not crazy." Sebastian said reaching out to place a hand on her knee. "It's gonna be fine. You're gonna love Italy, you're gonna love Europe in general. Besides, it's good practice for when you become a famous singer/songwriter."
Marley rolled her eyes. "Did you decide on where you were going to submit college applications at?" She asked as they flight attendants started making their final checks.
"Well, I only told my dad that I didn't want to go to law school two months ago." Sebastian said. "I think I need a little more time to consider it. However, I hear NYU has a great Music Business program."
