Hey guys! Are you ready for the LAST chapter?! *sniff*
Disclaimer: I don't own Glee.
He was feeling it yet again. That feeling of not fitting in, of being alien. As Ryder shuffled around in his ridiculous red graduation gown and itchy cap, he realised that everyone around him had a plan. College, work, travelling, whatever. He didn't, that was the point, so it was weird that he was going to have to put on a brave face and collect his diploma even though he had no idea what to do with it after. His Dad was pushing him to go for an internship at the hospital, but the idea of being a pharmacist/x-ray guy or whatnot in Lima for the next fifty years made him sick to the stomach.
"Red looks good on you," a quiet yet teasing voice came from behind him, and he swerved to see Marley, who was playing around with her hair, trying to figure out how it would work best with the red cap she also wore. "I'm so nervous," she admitted, and Ryder snorted.
"Marley, you sang on this same stage for some Broadway legend, all you have to do today is walk onto it, shake hands with Figgins, collect your diploma and walk to the back." He reasoned, trying to mask his own nervousness. After a couple more seconds of fiddling, Marley decided to just leave her hair down, and placed her now empty hands on her boyfriend's chest.
"This is it Ry. The end of our high school career…then we're out into the big wide world," she mused.
"You're full of clichés," he teased. "And don't remind me."
"You won't feel this lost forever babe. I promise," she told him.
"I hope you're right," he whispered, resting his forehead on her own, before bending down to press his lips onto-
"Get a room!" Came the unmistakeable squeal of Kitty Wilde. "Like seriously guys, cut down on the PDA, it's nauseating," she chastised.
"Oh here we go, Prom Queen's laying down the law," Ryder joked, as Kitty smirked.
"Yes she is, and that also means I have to tell you that it's time to get in line, alphabetical order of surnames pronto," she ordered, before adding, "I'll see you guys at the party later," and skipping off. Marley looked at Ryder in amusement.
"Prom Queen's word is final," she joshed, before pecking him on the lips and making her way towards the back of the line. Ryder scrambled around amongst the hordes of other seniors until they were all in the correct position, just in time to hear Figgins' monotonous tones beginning the ceremony, after which they one by one were called onto the stage to collect their diplomas. As Ryder's name was called, he gave the headmaster a short, brisk handshake, refusing to look him in the eye. Unlike his parents, Ryder believed that it was Figgins (and himself,) who was to blame for his current lack of direction, not Marley. As he took his diploma, actually feeling proud, now he thought about it, he turned to see his Mother waving and clapping exuberantly, his overly-academic Father trying his best to show enthusiasm for a son who had graduated with just above a B minus. He went to stand towards the back of the stage, finding a spot with a couple of Marley's weird (but admittedly very nice) friends from Glee club, once he had made sure that Unique wasn't with them, before cheering along with them when her name was called. She gave a wave to her crying Mother in the audience before joining them, hugging her friends and taking his hand. Before long, they were engaging in the cliché tossing of the graduation caps into the air, and leaving McKinley, and well, their high school careers.
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Ryder was more than a little drunk. It was late in the evening by now, and the majority of McKinley's graduating seniors were partying at Kitty's huge, mansion-like house, so huge, that Ryder had gone to get him and Marley another drink and completely lost her in the process. He knew that he had last seen her in Kitty's room, but the blonde's house was so big that getting there was like navigating a maze, and a rather large amount of alcohol in the blood system made things very hard indeed. He turned into another sector of the hallway, bumping straight into the hostess herself, very passionately acquainting herself with…Artie Abrams, Marley's friend.
"What?!" Kitty snapped irritably, once she had pulled her lips away from the bespectacled boy's neck, indicating that Ryder had been staring gobsmacked for quite some time. Ryder tried to maintain a straight face, but snorted with laughter.
"When did this happen?" He laughed. Kitty rolled her eyes, and bent down again to resume her previous position. "No, wait!" Ryder stopped her. "Have you seen Marls?"
"No, not in a while." Ryder sighed and went to resume his search, before stepping back and leaning down to Artie's ear.
"Good luck my friend," he slurred drunkenly. "You're gonna need it with this one- OW!" He screeched, as Kitty lashed out a leg which was obviously aimed for his groin, but instead hit him on his upper thigh. Ryder thanked any powers that may be for Kitty's alcohol-tainted aim, before stumbling off towards and down the spiralling staircase where he found, not Marley, but probably the one person he wanted to talk to least on the entire planet.
"No no no no no," he chanted, trying to push past her, refusing to look her in the eye.
"Ryder," Unique pleaded. "Please let me talk to you."
"There's nothing to say," he grunted.
"You don't have to say anything," she admitted. "I on the other hand, have to apologise." Ryder stopped struggling, and looked up, eyebrow raised. "I've been thinking a lot recently, and I really did take things too far-"
"Oh, you think?" Ryder snapped, laughing sarcastically.
"I'm trying to say that I'm sorry," Unique exclaimed limply.
Ryder didn't want to talk about it. He didn't know if he really could forgive Unique, but he didn't want to be a bad person. So he simply held out his right hand, which Unique hesitantly shook. With that, she stood aside, accepting this as enough. Ryder scratched the back of his neck awkwardly, before staggering away and into the kitchen, where he finally found Marley, a slightly exasperated look on her face.
"You moved," he told her, as if she didn't already know.
"I came looking for you," she explained. "You were gone for ages, I was starting to think something had happened to you."
"Kitty's making out with Artie Abrams," he slurred, putting on a smirk, but his eyes glazed and sad.
"Really?" Marley asked, grinning, before realising there was something else, her expression turning to concern as she stepped closer to him and caressed his cheek, brushing a stray bit of hair out of his eye. "Are you ok?" She whispered.
"I talked to Unique…well, she talked to me," he admitted. Marley raised her eyebrows in surprise, nodding at him to elaborate. "It was ok," he said simply. Marley took his hand and lead him out into the back garden, past the group of smokers and down to the far end of the vast lawn, helping him down onto the grass and sitting beside him.
"Just whatever," he muttered, trying to focus his vision.
"Ryder, if you wanna talk about it or anything, you know I'm here. It's one of my 'girlfriend duties'," Marley stated matter-of-factly.
"I don't really. Not now, anyways. I need to put all my emotional energy into not throwing up on your pretty dress," he reasoned, in all seriousness. Marley snorted.
"Am I gonna have to carry you home?" She joshed.
"No. Kitty said we could say here for the night," he told her, his beer-riddled brain failing to detect the joke, causing Marley to cackle with laughter and lounged down on the grass to where he was laying horizontally, cuddling into his side.
"I know, silly. I was making a joke about when you carried me home."
"Oh. Well I would always carry you home Marls," he told her.
"Thanks," she giggled, before pressing a kiss to his cheek. "Are you falling asleep?"
"Mmhmm," Ryder confirmed. Marley sniggered. It was funny being the sober one in the relationship for once. She decided she would wake him up to move him inside once the majority of the party-goers had left.
"We're gonna be alright when you're away, aren't we?" He asked when Marley had thought he was asleep, causing her to jump.
"Of course. You know we will, right?" She replied.
"Yeah. I just wanted to know you did too. It makes me feel better about everything. I mean, even if I don't know where I'm going, I know where we're going, and that makes everything ok."
"Baby, you have a lifetime to figure everything out," she whispered. "I love you." Ryder turned to smile happily.
"I love you too."
There we have it, that is the end of Ryder's Chance! If you're thinking the story doesn't seem over, that's because it's not- the sequel will be coming sometime soon, probably next month! If you click on my profile, you can read the summary for it now, along with summaries for other ideas I have coming up- I'm thinking of starting another one of them next month or in April, too.
Also, please, as it's the last chapter, send me a quick review below! Also, if 9 of you review, which is about 2 more than usual, I will hit 200 reviews in the last chapter, which would be pretty awesome, I'm sure you'll agree :)
Also, if you haven't checked out my jennoist oneshot, which I published on Friday, you should totes do so ;)
For the last time in this story, to my lovely reviewers from the last chapter:
TeaAndGlee: Glad you liked the chapter, and thank you so much for reviewing this story so loyally! I look forward to the next instalment of 'New Perspective'!
LittleMusicalOwl: I'm sad it's over too, I've become so emotionally attached! I'm going to be very busy over the next few days, but I will definitely do so when I can! Thanks for reading!
Maceyr44: Thanks so much, I hope you enjoyed this one too!
Ember411: I did! Haha. Thanks always for always reading and reviewing, you're da bomb!
Savannaramirez35: Hope you liked the fluffiness in this, too! Thanks for always reading and reviewing, it means the world to me 3
Guest: Thank you! And I'm happy that you give me such lovely reviews 3
Gleek555: Hmm, you'll have to see what his future has in store for him in the sequel ;) Me too!
Loads and loads of love from,
Lauren xxx