Disclaimer: I don't own GLEE or its characters though I wish I did.
Author's Note: Hey everyone! Thanks for reviews, alerts and reads! Here's another chapter and I'm going to try to post another two tonight. We're nearing the end, people! I want to finish it before school starts back up again. Anyways, ENJOY! I liked writing this chapter :)
She sits in the empty auditorium the next day, twiddling her thumbs as she looks down at her lap, enjoying the silence of being alone. She's always found herself drained lately. Unable to face the cruel world outside her own personal bubble. She can't find the energy to fight it.
After running until her lungs burned and her legs gave out yesterday, she spent another long night crying herself to an uneasy sleep. Her phone buzzed with messages but she didn't even bother to check them, simply texting Artie and Kurt 'not now'. Her plan of finding Rachel Berry was already failing but she couldn't find the strength or enthusiasm to care.
She got to school late this morning and spent the day avoiding the halls he uses, ignoring the burning shame for doing so. She shouldn't feel she has to dodge him. But she does it anyway, unable to take seeing his perfect face, pleading for her to come back. It's just a game for him. He wants what he can't have but when he gets it, he doesn't know what to do with it. She can't handle it anymore.
Releasing a sigh, she slumps back in her seat, leaning her head against the back of the chair and closing her eyes. Why does it have to hurt so much? Why does she always find herself back in this stupid position?
Her thoughts are interrupted when the side door of the auditorium bursts open and voices fill the peace of her sanctuary. "You don't know anything!" Mercedes' distinctive voice bellows in irritation. She sinks lower in her invisible seat, watching the silhouettes of the Glee Club enter and disturb the stillness. "You're not gonna take my solo! Mary J. Blige is my chocolate thunder! Not yours!"
"What chocolate thunder?" Santana's sharp voice derides. "I could do that song so much better. You know it, I know it, everyone knows it!"
"Would you two stop squawking?" Quinn asks with a groan.
"Shut up, Barbie" Santana snaps. "Why don't you go get pregnant again?"
"Go to hell!" Quinn yells angrily.
"Guys" Mr. Schue shouts warningly as they all fall silent. "Enough." He sighs in frustration. "Why don't you two take it as a duet? You did great with 'River Deep, Mountain High'...just do it again!"
"I'm not singing with that Lindoor" Santana protests.
"And I'm not singing with that mattress" Mercedes hollers, hands on her hips.
"Can we all stop fighting for two seconds?" Sam questions desperately. "We haven't stopped fighting for so long...I have a headache!"
"Shut up, sissy" Puck barks. "Go get more product for your hair."
"You shut up" Sam snarls. "All you do is yell at me all the time...what the hell did I do?"
"Cut it out" Mike calls, stepping between them.
"Stop trying to save the day, Chang" Puck growls. "You can't even sing, why are you here?"
"Shut it, Puckerman" Tina snaps.
"Please everyone just shut up" Santana yells. "I'm taking the solo because I'm captain. Since RuPaul is gone, I'm captain!"
"Oh, please" Quinn scoffs. "You're the worst one here."
"At least I don't have stretch marks" Santana shouts with a smirk.
"At least I don't hump everything that moves" Quinn retorts furiously.
"This is so much better than Days of our Lives" Lauren says intrigued.
"I'm so sick of all of you" Mercedes shrieks in frustration. "You all think you're better than me when you're not! I should be getting all the leads and solos!"
"That's not true" Tina says in offence. "I should be getting leads!"
"S-s-says stuttering Asian!" Santana yells.
"Shut up, satan" Tina barks.
"No one likes you Santana" Mike shouts in annoyance. "Just go home."
"You're not cool, Chang" Puck says with a roll if the eyes.
"Lay off Mike" Sam defends, shoving Puck in the chest.
"Go to hell" Puck bellows, shoving him back. "Are you PMS-ing again?"
"Don't say that to my boyfriend" Quinn screams. "Leave him alone...he's twice the man you'll ever be!"
"You said I was the man in bed last year" Puck scoffs.
"Shut up!" Quinn screeches.
"Guys" Mr. Schue yells, silencing them again. "Enough with all of this arguing! What is going on with you guys? We're falling apart!" He gapes at all of them. "Santana is trying to take control, Mercedes is being selfish, Tina wants everything, Mike's getting involved, Sam and Puck are fighting over something that's irrelevant, Quinn is bickering, Finn is moping and the rest of you are just sitting there! Now will someone tell me what's going on!"
"Everyone else is being stupid" Santana declares. "I'm the only normal one here!"
"Enough, Santana" Mr. Schue says loudly. "I'm tired of you picking on all of your teammates. If you weren't acting so selfish and mean, we wouldn't be falling apart!"
"It's your fault, too, Mr. Schue" Mercedes retaliates. "If you hadn't driven Rachel over the edge, we'd still be in control!"
"We all played parts in Rachel leaving" Mr. Schue defends.
"I can't believe I'm actually saying this but we need Rachel back" Quinn says with a hollow laugh.
"Hooray" Artie exclaims, surprising everyone. "Someone besides me is sane around here. We took Rachel's organization, enthusiasm and commitment to this club for granted and now we sit here absolutely lost and falling apart because Rachel was the heart and soul of this club!"
"He's right" Finn murmurs, sounding dejected. "She's the reason New Directions worked. Without her, we don't work...I don't work."
"Shut up, Frankenteen" Santana yells. "You're the reason she left in the first place. You lied to the dwarf and she threw another diva fit-"
"Stop it, Santana!" Finn shouts, startling everyone. "I'm so sick of you saying that shit about Rachel all the damn time! Sleeping with you was a mistake! When are you gonna realize that everyone hates you! Maybe if you weren't such a bitch, people wouldn't run away from you! I know I screwed up royally and I hurt the one person I love more than it's possible and I know I'm a frigging idiot for doing it but all of us destroyed her confidence! Bashing her, laughing at her, yelling at her, abandoning her, ignoring her...we all did it! She deserves so much better than that because she's perfect! She cared about all of us and wanted us to be happy and not fall on her faces. And now that she's gone, we're going to be an even bigger laughing stock than before! I hope she doesn't come back because she's so much better than this frigging twisted thing! How about we all give ourselves a huge pat on the back for ruining the best thing in this cow town and teaching her that she deserves better than us! We're nothing without her! I'm nothing without her!"
He laughs in exasperation and incredulity as everyone gawks in shock at him. "I'm out of here" he says with an emotional snicker, waving his hand with a roll of the eyes as he begins to stride for the door.
"He's right" Tina murmurs. "Rachel was the reason this club worked."
Everyone but a furious Santana nods as Finn scoffs loudly. "Took us long enough!" he calls before departing, leaving the rest of the club, pondering on the stage.
"Peace" Artie says in amusement, wheeling his way off the stage. "I'm out."
"We're dismissed" Mr. Schue mumbles, packing up his papers. "See you guys tomorrow."
Everyone treks wearily out of the auditorium apart from Santana who storms out with a growls and before she knows it, she's alone again with nothing but the echoes of their voices fading into the vastness.
She blinks repetitively in surprise from what she just witnessed as if to make sense of it all. A small smile creeps onto her lips from the thought that New Directions are falling to pieces without her.
It's about damn time.
"I fall to pieces, I'm falling
Fell to pieces and I'm still falling
Every time I'm falling down
All alone I fall to pieces..."
AN#2: New Directions got a RUDE awakening haha Song credit was "Fall to Pieces" by Velvet Revolver...awesome song.
Next Chapter: it's a surprise ;)
THANKS FOR READING AND PLEASE REVIEW!