A/N: Sorry the updates are spacing out further- I'm running into writer's block, so I may have to go back to once-a-week updates until I get back on track. Hope this chapter is worth the wait!
A/A/N: Song featured is the A Capella mash-up "I Knew You Were Trouble/We Are Never Getting Back Together" as arranged by the Provo, Utah-based collegiate team Noteworthy, and "Such a Mystery" by Cameron Mitchell (from The Glee Project S1).
Liam opened the door of the Music Room and made his way to the one occupied seat in the far corner.
"Not like you to skip English," he commented.
"Why are you here?" she retorted harshly.
"Because it is like me to ditch," he reminded her simply. His carefree expression sobered as he watched her sag further into her seat. "I was worried about you," he told her more honestly, pulling the seat closest to him nearer to her as he straddled the back of the chair to match her eye level.
"Yeah right," she scoffed. "You can just admit it—you came to gloat. You were right this whole time about me and Ash's relationship being a total sham. We will never be getting back together in a million years: hell, you must be thrilled."
The lanky boy frowned. "Of course I'm not thrilled," he told her. "I'll admit I didn't want you two making up, but not like this. I wouldn't ever wish this mess on you."
She shook her head, her loose waves flopping from one side of her head to the other. "You were right about him," she admitted. "He wasn't what I thought; he was a duplicitous, adulterous miscreant and I never should have looked back when we broke up."
"So just don't look back now," Liam advised, ducking his gaze to keep her coffee eyes on his darker-toned ones. "It's not like you were ever officially back together, right? Who cares what bimbo he's slumming it with? Just call it a loss and move on."
Emma looked up at him sadly. "The love of my life—the only guy who's ever thought everything of me—cheated on me and then lied about it. How can I just move on from that, knowing what that says about me?"
The boy gave her an incredulous look. "You? It says you dated a pig-headed cow-lover. Everyone gets one of those." He nudged her shoulder gently with his fist. "Just make sure not to do it again, fair enough?"
Emma sighed. How could Liam understand that she was so inferior to the more striking, sculpted girls of this school that she couldn't get her boyfriend of two years—the guy that swore he was nothing without her—to stay faithful?
"You're unbelievable," a voice stated to row of dark theater seats.
Nikki Hardy sat up, smirking in satisfaction. "I like to think so," she replied, purposely misinterpreting her friend's tone.
Stassi, however, would not be ignored. She stormed toward her friend with a disgusted look on her face. "I can't believe you intentionally outted someone. In front of the whole school—via The Muckrakers."
Nikki sighed. "Look," she said apologetically. "I'm really sorry. If I'd thought it was you in there instead of Rhi, I would never have done it that way. You know that."
"But if it had been Rhi it would have been okay to throw Hayley's sexuality out like that?" the Armenian asked incredulously. "Spreading relationship rumors is one thing, Nik, but this kind of thing is in its own league."
"Look, I said I'm sorry," the HBIC defended herself. "I know that your privacy is important to you—"
"This isn't about me Nikki!"
The Asian girl's eyebrows shot up in surprise. "Wait—you're angry because of Drizzle? The girl's been asking to be taken down a peg for ages. Hopefully now she'll have learned there are some bitches you don't mess with."
"Yeah, if she doesn't run herself off a bridge first," Stassi retorted angrily. "This isn't something the kind of thing you can use for cannon fodder, Nikki. I would have thought you knew that."
Nikki's face fell as she looked at her second, and she walked over to cover the girl's shoulder with her hand. "I did this for us, A. You're my best friend, and we've been miserable on our own. Now you can come home and we can just put this all behind us." She gave the Cheerio an expectant smile.
Stassi just stared at her friend in disbelief before shaking her head. "No," she replied lowly. "If this is what home is, I want nothing to do with it."
She held out an envelope to the Cheerio Captain. "What's this?" Nikki asked quizzically.
"My resignation from the Cheerios," Stassi replied evenly. "I'll bring Coach my uniform by next period, but I thought you should be the first to know." The former-Enforcer leaned in toward her former-best friend and whispered, "Goodbye Nicole," in an unforgiving and final tone before turning from the other girl and walking out the door, unresponsive to the calls behind her begging her to wait.
Hayley trekked through the halls of McKinley with her head held high. She'd laid low and been a good girl while the damn Muppets went to town about her. She'd kept quiet on the rumor mill swirling around calling her every name in the book. Now? Now she was done. She kept her gaze straight forward, ignoring the murmurs and the stares as she passed by students who used to cower at the sight of her; people who somehow thought she was less of who she was because she dug girls. She narrowed her eyes, but didn't react otherwise; she'd deal with them later. Right now she was focused on one rumor that was getting almost as much buzz as hers, and she wanted to hear it from the source.
She didn't know why she made her way to the bleachers, but it turned out to be a good guess. Sitting a couple rows up, her sable hair curling softly as it hung loosely along her black off-the-shoulder designer blouse, sat Stassi in dark-wash low-rise jeans, staring at an empty field with a complete mask of indifference. If Hayley didn't know better, she'd think the girl was bored.
"So, I'd say I'm sorry about Nikki, except that'd be a lie," the sophomore vocalized, walking up the stairs to sit next to the girl. "I am sorry that you felt like you had to quit your cheerleading thing though."
"It wasn't something that mattered to me anyways," Stassi replied flatly, and Hayley scoffed at the obvious lie.
"I guess there is one good thing that came out of this whole mess though," the rebel ventured, and she saw the junior's eyes flicker curiously in her direction for a moment before going back to the field. "I mean, now we can sneak around in places with better ventilation."
Stassi turned to look at her incredulously, and Hayley flashed her a smirk. "I'm kidding—well, not really. But I just mean now even though everyone knows, at least we're not alone." She reached for the junior's hand. "We've got each other."
The former-Cheerio slid sideways, keeping herself well out of arm's reach. "Hayley, this isn't a relationship," she reminded her pointedly. "We're not girlfriends. This is only ever been us blowing off steam."
Hayley threw her a dubious look. "You may not want to call us girlfriends, but you have to admit this has been way more than just a fling."
Stassi shook her head fiercely. "Look, it's been great, but the thing I value most is my privacy—I don't care if they know I'm playing for the other team; I just don't want to broadcast who's my flavor of the week. This—" she gesticulated between the two of them. "is a hot topic—it'll be on everyone's mind for at least a month. I can't be involved in something like that."
"So you're dumping me because empty-minded people have nothing better to do than stare at two good-looking girls digging each other?"
"No," the junior replied impatiently, shuffling as she moved to her feet. "I'm calling this off, and I'm quitting Glee, because it's not what I want anymore, and you are just trying to hold on because you think with all of the changes going on in your life I can stabilize you somehow."
"Don't psycho-analyze me when you're the one that needs therapy!" Hayley snapped at the girl.
Stassi sighed and turned around, her face recomposed to the neutrality of a few minutes ago. "I'm not what you thought I was. This wasn't something that really mattered to me. Sorry."
Hayley furiously watched her leave, cool as ice, before kicking the railing violently.
Once upon a time a few mistakes ago, she sang bitterly as she walked down the steps of the bleachers, I was in your sights, you got me alone
You found me, you found me, you found me
She smirked self-deprecatingly as she passed through the hallways, I guess you didn't care, and I guess I liked that
And when I fell hard you took a step back
Without me, without me, without me
Hayley pushed back her hair as she tapped her foot in rhythm in the Music Room as the rest of her team watched her, And she's long gone when she's next to me
And I realize the blame is on me
'Cause I knew you were trouble when you walked in, the sophomore sang as she watched Stassi slip indifferently through the halls,
So shame on me now
Flew me to places I'd never been
(tell me why, Emma echoed from the opposite row of lockers, staring in a different direction)
'Til you put me down, oh
(why you gotta be so mean? the brunette continued)
I knew you were trouble when you walked in
So shame on me now
Flew me to places I'd never been
Now I'm lying on the cold hard ground, Hayley belted, throwing her fist against the row of metal
Oh, oh, trouble, trouble, trouble
Oh, oh, trouble, trouble, trouble
In the Music Room, Emma stepped around the piano, glaring angrily at her former-boyfriend, I'm really gonna miss you picking fights
And me falling for it screaming that I'm right
While you hide away and find your peace of mind
With some Bollywood record much cooler than mine
Ooh, the two girls harmonized, you called me up again tonight
But ooh, Emma finished alone in fury, this time I'm telling you, I'm telling you
We are never, ever, ever getting back together
We are never, ever, ever getting back together
You go talk to your friends, talk to my friends, talk to me
But we are never ever ever ever getting back together
I used to think that we were forever ever, the petite brunette sang as she stood in her bedroom, holding a framed picture of her and Ashwin at one of her showcases,
She let the picture fall in the trash and frowned at the pile of related junk that it had joined, And I used to say, "Never say never..."
In the Music Room, Emma leaned over to Hayley and dipped her head scornfully, So he calls me up and he's like, "Uh, I still love you,"
And I'm like... "This is so exhausting, you know, like,
We are never getting back together. Like, ever"
The two girls duetted together, setting aside their differences in their fury of love scorned, We are never, ever, ever getting back together
(Oh, oh, trouble, trouble, trouble)
We are never, ever, ever getting back together
(Oh, oh, trouble, trouble trouble)
You go talk to your friends, talk to my friends, talk to me
But we are never ever ever ever getting back together
Back in the corridor, Hayley watched as Stassi purposely strode past her, eyes avoiding the spot where the sophomore stood. And I know that you see, what you're doing to me, tell me why?
Roxie ran a towel through her hair as she finished changing back into street clothes after her exercises. She smiled as she checked a text Dalton had sent reminding her to meet him outside after they finished their respective practices, where he was going to take her out to a Valentine's Day ice cream. She ignored the tittering of the other girls as she pulled her glasses onto her face and pulled her hair into a loose ponytail; there were so many rumors surrounding her former team swirling that people were even talking to her about it. She sighed and tried to push the unhappy thoughts from her mind as she pushed shut the locker door.
The tiny freshman slipped her bag onto her shoulder and began walking past the rows of benches and lockers toward the exit, only to be distracted by a motionless form leaning against an empty row.
After glancing around, Roxie approached the girl and sat, eliciting an unhappy groan.
"Please don't say anything," Stassi sighed. "I really don't want to talk about any of it." She lifted her body just enough to thud back onto the lockers as she leaned back again, turning to the tiny girl. "I couldn't stay. Glee was always just a means to an end, and now the ends have been achieved. I've got no reason to be there." Roxie continued watching silently and Stassi huffed. "I mean, I get it—ditching the girl your former best friend just outted is kind of harsh, but she's better off handling it with people that are sympathetic and touchy-feely; neither of which are me. I'm a selfish bitch who just doesn't care. The whispers are right about that much." The junior glanced over at her friend and slouched a little lower, just shy of eye level with the freshman. "We couldn't both stay anyways. I'll be fine, but she…she needs them, you know? Hails thinks she's a tough nut, but she'll need someone, and those guys—they won't let her down. She'll be okay there." She shut her eyes tightly and leaned her head up as she sighed. "Can we—can we just not talk about this anymore? Please?"
Roxie considered the sad girl for another moment, then leaned over and placed a comforting hand on hers. The junior glanced down at the gesture and gave the freshman a sad smile before returning her gaze to the ceiling.
Emma stared at her reflection in her bathroom. The house was once again empty, and her brother had to cancel their Skype-session due to being caught up in some social his fraternity was hosting, so she was alone with her thoughts.
She felt lost and empty. What was she? Her mother didn't care about her; her brother had moved on from her; and now the only person that she thought felt she mattered…didn't. He was just one more person that spouted pretty words about loving yourself while obsessing over the stick-thin busty bimbos that flounced through the school.
And how could she compete? She was short and stocky—frumpy, she criticized as she turned to view her profile. Her life was out of control, and the only way she could get it back was to be perfect, like she was supposed to be.
She could feel her body reacting to her subconscious and stepped over to the toilet. It had seemed so hard when Stassi had first suggested it—unseemly. And yet now she barely had to even touch her fingers to her throat and the respite that came flowed through her easily. She wasn't perfect now, but she would be, if she could just work a little harder. She stood up, flushing the toilet as she walked to the sink to rinse out her mouth. She ignored the miserable ache in her chest, telling herself that she was so close to being like the others—all she had to do was make the effort.
Lindsay inhaled deeply as she sat alone in the Media Room. People were either avoiding her like the plague or pestering her for what was next, and truthfully, she didn't care for either of them. She felt like she'd reached a new low in her career and possibly the history of The Muckrakers, and all she wanted to do was crawl into a hole. She sighed loudly—at least Nikki had left her alone for the last two days. Although whether that was in response to her own damage control or to allow the dust to settle before the next volley of pain the freshman had no way of knowing.
The door opened behind her, and she heard a small voice clear her throat. She turned around and widened her eyes in surprise as she watched Michelle step further into the room, allowing the door to close.
"Hey," the Cheerio greeted softly.
"Hey," Lindsay echoed, biting her lip nervously. "So…I didn't think you'd come around here any time soon."
"Yeah, Everett and everyone's pretty mad," Michelle informed her. "They're still reeling from everything that's happening."
"I figured. So's Nikki, probably." The orange girl shot her friend a small smile and shrugged. "I guess she isn't as omniscient as she thought."
"That's comforting," the brunette commented, her lips twisting at the corners.
"You know that she's not done yet though," Lindsay told her after a moment. "She's lost too much now to just end it here—she's going to go for the jugular sooner or later."
"It'd help if we knew which one she was going for," her friend reflected aloud.
"I don't' know; I wish I did, but she's smart. She's keeping all of us compartmentalized—everyone in the dark as long as possible. With the exception of Stassi, it's been flawless in execution."
"So what do we do?" Michelle asked. Lindsay shook her head unknowingly, and the two sighed. "What are you going to do?"
Lindsay looked over at her friend for a long moment, then dropped her gaze to the floor. "I don't know Chelle—what can I do? I've already done the unthinkable. I'm ruining lives for real now." She hung her head as her voice broke slightly. "I'm unforgivable."
The tiny Cheerio kept her chestnut eyes trained on her friend, frowning. Lindsay bit her lip again as she heard converses in motion, trying to keep it from trembling and her eyes from tearing. She was so focused on her goal that she didn't realize her friend had walked toward her until an arm wrapped itself around her shoulders.
"I forgive you Linds," Michelle whispered. "Best friends forever. And we're going to get you out of this and fix everything: I promise."
That was it for the raven-haired girl. Her eyes welled over and she smeared her makeup as she wept softly in her friends arms, hugging her tightly.
Friday night approached, and Nina glanced at herself nervously in the mirror. She had no idea why she'd even accepted this stupid date from this guy she knew was probably a tool. As if Nikki needed any more ammunition to hurl at them.
However, she hadn't been asked out on a date in forever, and she was already standing here, hair curled particularly to frame her face and shoulders, her preppy dress hugging her tightly as she turned this way and that. It wasn't bad.
Her sister Lyla suddenly appeared beside her. "Hey Neens," she greeted.
The older girl smiled at the dirty blonde beside her. "Hey Lyle Lyle Crocodile," she replied with a smile.
"Are you going out?" The Cheerio nodded. "On a date?" She rolled her eyes and nodded again. "A real one?"
Nina sighed in exasperation. "Yes, a real date, with a real straight guy. Where I'm meeting him at a real non-gay bar, before you ask. Is that so hard to believe?"
"I'm not going to answer that," the eleven-year old teased, causing her sister to rain down on her with a huge bear hug, picking the smaller girl up and whirling around. "Stop! Stop! You'll break a heel and we'll both die!"
The two girls dissolved into giggles, and Nina successfully replaced the younger girl on the floor. The Bulgarian girl sighed as her face turned somber. "I'll need you to look after everyone," she told the young girl, who nodded in understanding. "Make sure Ari gets her homework done, and keep an eye on Emmett—and don't let anyone eat dessert before dinner."
"Neens, I know, I know!" Lyla assured her.
"And here," Nina put out her hand and placed a ring of keys in the tiny girls. "Put these somewhere safe. Veronica has already gone through half a bottle, she's not going anywhere tonight."
"Oh, for goodness sake, why don't you just take them?" Lyla replied impatiently, putting them back in the older girl's hand. "Your car's out of gas, anyways; this way you won't have to take the bus and Veronica can't even think about leaving. Now go on your date!" She began pushing the dolled-up girl toward the door.
"And…try to get her to eat something," Nina added after a minute, slowing to face the younger girl.
"Oh my god, I will I promise—now just leave!"
Nina grinned and turned to hug her foster sister goodbye before flitting to the entryway and grabbing her purse. She turned to the door, but paused when she heard a loud sigh coming from the living room.
She grudgingly walked toward the entrance, pausing to glance in where a middle-aged woman was pouring herself a new glass of wine.
"Going out?" Veronica asked with a slight slur.
"Um, just for a little while," Nina replied. "I'll be home soon." She paused, then continued. "Lyla's heating up some chicken marinara; you should try to eat something."
"Poor fat girls don't eat Italian," the woman told her, gesturing to her own frame. "You should remember that."
"Got it," Nina replied respectively, though internally she rolled her eyes. She knew Lyla wouldn't take any notice to jabs like the ones Veronica liked to issue to the girls, but she worried that Ari, whose Latin heritage would likely dictate her figure as she grew, would take some of the judgment to heart.
"Nice dress," the older woman commented, snapping the junior from her contemplation. "How much of my money did you spend on it?"
"It was a gift," Nina rebutted. "From some girl friends." The ones you've never met, she added internally.
Victoria's face turned red at her oldest's answer. "I work hard," she told the girl argumentatively. "Catering is working long hours for nickels and dimes. I've told you that time and time again."
"I know," Nina tried to placate her.
The older woman's face scrunched up as tears brimmed in her eyes. "You resent me for putting you in charge of your brother and sisters—you don't think I know that?" She slammed her wine glass on the table, liquid sloshing and spilling onto the wood. "I work hard to pay the rent on this house, to give you clothes, to pay for dues and uniforms and all sorts of nonsense that you insist they have—"
"I know, Veronica," Nina told her softly, evenly. She didn't want to argue about what a parent's duties were and whether the poorly-aging woman was taking advantage of her more-mature older wards by dumping said duties onto them. She just wanted to go on her one date.
Veronica looked sorrowfully at the table, then back up at the teenager. "I spilt my wine," she stated pathetically.
Nina smiled sympathetically. "I'll get you a new one," she replied, then turned and left the room, slipping out the front door before she could change her mind. Veronica would realize that she still had half a bottle in her hand within moments, and Lyla would be upset if Nina broke off her night out to keep an eye on their drunk caretaker.
When she parked at their meeting place, Billy was already there. "Hey," he greeted as he watched her get out of the car. Nice ride."
She smirked playfully. "Did you expect me to take the bus?" she asked.
The curly-haired boy shrugged. "Well, when you chose this spot, I figured you either were going to take the bus or you were hoping I'd be horribly axe-murdered."
He held out his arm and she linked her elbow in his. "Well, there's still time yet," she told him, and she felt her heart flutter happily when he shot her a thousand-watt smile and led her to his car.
At BreadstiX, Nina and Billy walked through the doors where the place was fairly even with Dalton Blazers and plainclothes. She didn't miss the glares shot her way by quite a few girls as they recognized her date.
"So," she said, taking a breath to compose herself. "What will you be performing tonight?"
"Me? Nothing," the boy replied, chuckling at her stunned expression.
"You asked me out to an Open Mic Night with no intentions of showing off those famous pipes you've bragged about?" she questioned.
"If I sang, I wouldn't get to spend the proper amount of time with you," he told her, sliding his hand from her elbow to her fingers and lacing them with his own. "Come on, let's dance."
Annie giggled. "Isn't there a saying somewhere about the blind leading the blind?" she asked, fidgeting with the bandana tied around her eyes.
"No peaking!" Hayden scolded, squeezing the hand he held in admonishment. "And besides, the blind guy has already scoped out where we're going, so it's more like the visually-challenged leading the blind." He slowed his pace and she bumped into him.
"Sorry," she giggled again. She could hear music and voices, but his mother hadn't taken them that far—where were they?
"Hayden!" an unfamiliar voice greeted, and Annie felt herself being jerked forward a bit as someone pulled the blonde boy in for a one-armed hug. "So this is her?"
"Uh, yeah," came the sophomore's suddenly nervous response. "This is Annie."
"Annie, you can't see me, but I'm Nick and it's great to meet you," the stranger told her, pulling one of her hands into his for a handshake. "And we're really excited about the two of you being here tonight." He turned back to Hayden and Annie strained to hear him murmur. "You're on in ten."
"Okay," the blind boy stated, turning to face his date. "Annie? Don't take off the blindfold. Nick's going to take you to a seat and I'm going to take care of something really fast. Just relax."
Annie muttered unhappily, but she relented as he kissed her gently on the cheek and allowed the new boy to lead her to a seat. "There's a Shirley Temple right in front of you," he told her, guiding her hand to the glass. "Just sit tight and relax."
The brunette girl waited until she was certain that the boy had walked away and then ripped the bandana off of her face. Her mouth gaped as she looked around at a Valentine's Day-festooned BreadstiX, with what she realized were Warblers smiling and schmoozing with the crowd.
She lifted her Shirley Temple to her lips and took a sip as she glanced around for Hayden. The sophomore found herself distracted when she caught the sign near the door promoting "Dalton Academy's Valentine Open Mic Night!", when suddenly the microphone on stage began tapping.
"Um, hi everyone," a tense voice greeted, and Annie whipped her head in amazement at Hayden sitting on a stool with his guitar. "My name is Hayden Bryant, and I'm here tonight with who I hope is my girlfriend Annie Hudson." The Cheerio beamed and blushed simultaneously as the audience cheered encouragingly. "Annie, I know you've already taken off the blindfold, so don't feel bad about that," Hayden continued, causing the girl to turn a deeper shade of red. "But you told me once that I was blind, not comatose, and I recently realized that…well, you're right."
He placed his hands on the strings and played an opening chord. "This is an original song for the girl whose words inspire me," he told the crowd, and Annie's heart jumped in her chest as he began singing.
Awooo, whoa whoa, the boy crooned, strumming his guitar, Awooo, whoa whoa
Hey I see you standing all alone
I've seen it before
You wonder what your heart is beating for
You laugh at the world and its shows in your face
But you wonder why can't seem to make anybody want you, none at all
Annie's face glowed as she watched Hayden's face look at her, his own insecurities emoting through the lyrics speaking to her, You lock yourself up and don't trust a single soul
Believe what you want but it's all you'll ever know
So don't give up
You've been runnnin' around circles and you're looking for love
But nothin' makes you feel like you're doing enough
Whoa, you don't know what it means
And everybody thinks you're the one I could like
I've been singing Hallelujah but it does nothin' to you
Whoa, you're such a mystery
Oh, she's everything to me
"Friend of yours?" Billy asked as he dipped her on the floor. Nina laughed and nodded. "He's not half bad." He brought her back up and leaned close to her face, whispering lowly, "I don't think I told you how gorgeous you look tonight?" She scoffed and blushed as she looked down. "Because you do, you know. Absolutely perfect." He leaned closer and pressed his lips to hers, causing Nina to melt in his arms.
Whoa, whoa, awooo, whoa whoa
You go home, lie awake, and watch the stars, Hayden continued as the floor swayed happily to his music
You try and close your eyes, it's your favorite part
Whoa
And all you wanted is to dance
Get lose in the moment and forget again
Just live your life without a plan
Nina watched as Billy's eyes never left her, despite the multitudes of girls waiting on the wings for her to lose his attention. He smiled and complimented her, and she felt herself relax into him as he pulled her close and led her around the floor. She wondered if she'd just forgotten how nice a real date was, or if the Warbler was just really that amazing. If he could possibly find her that amazing.
Don't let me down
That's all you ever hear
Believe what you want
There's one, the thing you feel
Well it's right here
Hayden strummed the strings passionately, singing out to Annie as she watched him lovingly. She'd known that he had a gift for words, that he was really talented. She wondered if she'd ever be able to show him as well how much he meant to her someday. She remembered her brother writing a song for Rachel his junior year, and she hadn't understood what had driven them to respond so strongly in the middle of a competition. Now she could barely restrain herself from rushing onstage to grab the boy pouring his heart out to her.
You've been runnin' around circles and you're lookin' for love
But nothin' makes you feel like you're doing enough
Whoa, You don't know what it means
Oh yeah, And everyone thinks you're the one I could like
I've been singing Hallelujah but it does nothin' to you
Whoaaah, You're such a mystery
And many miles
It could take a while
But love will find a way
Love always finds a way
And I need you
Need you need you
Whoa
You've been runnin' around circles and you're lookin' for love
But nothin' makes you feel like you're doing enough
Whoa, You don't know what it means
Oh yeah, And everyone thinks you're the one I could like
I've been singing Hallelujah but it does nothin' to you
Whoaaah, You're such a mystery
She's everything to me
The song ended, and Billy brushed a soft kiss along Nina's cheek, causing her to blush softly as she grinned. Annie, meanwhile, threw caution to the wind as she weaved around the crowd to climb the stage and throw herself in the surprised blonde's arms. She kissed him passionately, pulling back just enough to whisper, "thank you" wholeheartedly, causing Hayden to beam at her and pull her back into his embrace as the crowd cheered before the two were shuffled offstage.