Back to the Start Chapter 10: Requiem, a glee fanfic

"Ballad from Middle English." Mr. Schue explained after writing on the board. "Who knows what this word means?"

"It's a male duck." Brittany answered. No that was a mallard. You know I was actually impressed that she knew that.

"Katie?" Mr. Schue called after giving the blonde a look.

"A ballad is a love song." She answered. It didn't have to be.

"It can be but it doesn't have to express love." Mr. Schue answered.

"It's a slow song that allows the singer to emote." Quinn replied. Everyone but me looked at her in surprise. "I write songs. I know about this stuff."

"Good job, Quinn." He told her. "Expanding on that, ballads are stories set to music. Sectionals are in a few weeks and one of the requirements is we sing a ballad."

"It looks like my weekly letter to the Ohio Show Choir Committee finally paid off." Rachel declared. I was pretty sure that it wasn't solely because of her. I also wasn't sure that she would be the one singing it either.

"Okay, so here's the assignment for the week. I'm going to pair you off and you're going to pick a song to sing to your partner." Mr. Schue declared. "Look them right in the eye, find the emotion you want to express, and make them feel it."

"I pick Jasmine." Ben remarked. Were the two of them together now? I probably should have been keeping track of that.

"That's too easy." Mr. Schue declared. "Your partners will be chosen by the hat of fate. Whoever you choose will be your partner."

"You know Adonis is out this week. He's in Greece or wherever he's originally from." Santana pointed out. I was pretty sure that he hadn't gone to Greece. It would be hard to get there and back in a week, but just like Matt, he wasn't here. Would it mean that Rachel would develop a crush on Mr. Schue again.

"Then I guess I'll put my name in the hat." He stated, I seriously hoped that this wouldn't go badly. "Who's up first?"

"I'll go." Chrissy volunteered as she put her hand in the hat and pulled out a name. "Rachel."

Chrissy looked like she wanted to say something, but I glared at her. Ben then went up.

"Santana." He announced. So it seemed like we were getting entirely new pairings. I thought about walking up there, but Katie beat me to it.

"Quinn." She declared. I couldn't help but wonder if she would help convince Quinn to tell her parents on her own. I didn't think it would go well, but it would still be nice for her to do it on her own.

Also, Sam was with Brittany and Mike was with Jasmine. That meant that I was the only one left.

"I guess you're with me, Faith." Mr. Schue responded.

"Mr. Schue, don't take this the wrong way, but do you think I could work with Coach Tweedy instead?" I requested. That got me quite a few looks. "I don't mean as a romantic song. I was just saying that she's an important person in my life and I think that I would be able to express my emotions well with her."

"If she's willing to do that then sure." He agreed.

I knew that it was going to be a little bit awkward talking to her about it. I had to make it clear that I didn't have a crush on her. To be honest, I wasn't even sure if she could sing. She looked like she could and it seemed like in Lima pretty much everyone could sing.

I went to her office to talk to her. I was a little nervous but I was pretty sure that this would go well. I mean I didn't have a crush on her (okay a very small one, but I wouldn't do anything to cost her her job) and I was pretty sure that she didn't have a crush on me.

"Hey Coach can I talk to you about something?" I asked her.

"Is it related to the game at all?" She inquired. It wasn't related to football practice at least.

"Well, no. You see we're doing ballads for Glee club and everyone else was paired, but we're missing a person and I was supposed to do a song with Mr. Schue, but I was wondering if you wanted to do something with me instead." I asked. She looked pretty confused by it.

"Faith…" She started before I cut her off.

"It doesn't have to be romantic. I just thought that you've always been there for me, I could sing something to you about how much I appreciate you." I explained. "You don't have to do this. If that sounds too weird, I can just do something else with Mr. Schue."

"No, that actually sounds nice." She admitted. "Was there a song in mind that you wanted to sing to me?"

"No." I declared. I wanted to wait until she said yes before I chose anything.

"Well I have a song that I want you to listen to that's one of my favorite songs. It's British so you probably haven't heard it before." She declared. She took out her phone and earbuds and let me listen to it. It sounded really good. I couldn't help but wonder who the artist was. Then I got to the bridge and there was something that made me a little hesitant about it. "So what do you think?"

"I mean I think it's a good song but I'm a little bit unsure about it, especially that bridge." I stated.

"We don't have to sing the bridge. Is it okay if we do it as a duet?" She inquired.

"I didn't ask but that would probably be okay." I stated.

"You know I owe a lot to you as well. I probably wouldn't have this job if not for you. Your talent is truly remarkable and we wouldn't have been able to win State last year without you." She explained.

"Hey, Coach, can I ask you something personal?" I replied.

"Is this about Quinn and the baby?" She questioned. "How is she doing?"

"She's fine but it wasn't about that." I declared. "I just want you to answer something honest for me. Do you have a crush on Coach Kiernan?"

"Has she said anything about me?" She responded. That wasn't really the response that I was looking for.

"No." I stated.

"I mean I guess I do, but I'm not even sure if she likes me back or if she'd want to date me. Don't tell her or Principal Figgins that I told you this, but she actually lost her family in an earthquake caused by a tsunami." She explained. Okay, did not see that coming.

"Did she tell you this?" I asked her.

"No. I kind of looked at her file." She admitted. "That's why I don't want you to tell anyone about this. Can you promise me that?"

"Yes." I agreed.

"Do you think you can learn the words to this song tonight?" She asked me. I was pretty good at learning songs. I mean we had a game, but I could probably still do it.

The game went pretty well like it usually did. I actually scored four goals this time. I had been told that I scored five in a game last year.

In the morning, Coach Tweedy came to rehearsal with me. The song was a ballad, even if it wasn't that slow. I supposed it was more of a midtempo ballad. She was singing the first verse. We did a few changes to make it seem less romantic, but still grateful.

The world would be a lonely place
Without someone who puts a smile on your face
So hold me till the sun burns out
I won't be lonely when I'm down

Cause I got you to make me feel stronger
When the days are rough an hour seems much longer

I never doubted you at all
If the stars collide will stand by or watch them fall
(Stand by and watch them fall)

So hold me till the sky is clear
And whisper words of hope right into my ear

Cause I've got you to make me feel stronger
When the days are rough an hour seems much longer
Yeah and I've got you to make me feel better
When the nights are long, they'll be easier together

Yeah when I've got you

Everyone clapped when we were finished. I felt good after doing so and I didn't really feel any sort of romantic energy either. It was just a platonic song about how we were there to count on each other.

"Okay, that wasn't quite what I was expecting but I think the two of you did really well." Mr. Schue declared.

"Thank you, now if you excuse me I need to go to my office." Coach Tweedy declared as she left.

After rehearsal was over, Quinn started to walk with me.

"So that wasn't meant to be romantic, was it?" She asked. I was pretty sure that she was just trying to protect me.

"No, it wasn't." I answered. "It was supposed to be about gratitude. Kind of how we would be always there for each other, like what I have with you. So have you worked with Katie at all?"

"Yeah, it was kind of weird. She suggested that I sing a song to my baby." She explained. So it was basically what happened with me. She also said that I should tell my parents.

"Do you think that you're going to do that?" I asked.

"I don't know." She stated. "You know how my parents are. I'm kind of afraid that they won't be supportive of it. What if they make me give the baby up for adoption?"

It seemed like she wasn't even considering that it could be worse. Maybe she didn't want to think about how it would be worse. I didn't know what to say since I probably knew what would happen. The problem was that I had to say something to make her feel better. This was going to be hard.

"I don't think that they'll do that. They love you." I replied. I was pretty sure that her mom did still love her. I wasn't sure about her dad.

"I need some time to think about it." She admitted. "If I do it, will you be there with me?"

"Yes of course." I agreed. I was pretty sure that she would need to take her to my place. She probably could drive, but I didn't think that it was recommended and I didn't really want her to do it either.

After school, I was with Chrissy as we were driving home.

"I'm kind of nervous about this." She admitted. "I really don't think that I should be singing with Rachel. She was supposed to sing with Mr. Schue."

"Chrissy, you don't need to focus on every single detail. Besides, I don't even think that Rachel likes guys in this universe." I pointed out. She still looked sad. "Hey, I'm going to be okay."

"It's just that ever since I've really gotten to know you, I want you to die even less. I love you being your sister and I just want to insure that you get to have a long life. I want you to win a World Cup or a Grammy or whatever you want to do, what you weren't able to do before."

"Have you ever thought that maybe you should just stop being afraid of what could happen and just accept what happens?" I asked. I was kind of surprised that I managed to say something so philosophical. I supposed that being given this second chance at life had really put things into perspective for me. I didn't even want things to go the same way. I realized that I may end up with Rachel and I may not and I was fine with either.

Part of finishing the assignment early meant that I was not really sure what to do for the rest of the time in Glee. Pretty much everyone was going to be working with their partners. I could use the time to practice more. I could also take the opportunity to practice my football skills since I didn't have much else to do, but I probably didn't really need to practice. I did feel more like I was playing on my own and it was less autopilot at this point.

One thing that I could try to do was talk to Coach Kiernan. It would be a little weird since I wasn't directly connected with her. I didn't even know how to start a conversation with her. I felt bad for her but I wasn't supposed to know what happened. I then thought of an idea for a potential conversation starter. It was a little bit weak but it was all that I got and maybe I would be able to ask her if she liked Coach Tweedy after that. I knew that I at least could talk to her.

"Hey, Coach Kiernan, can I talk to you?" I asked.

"You are talking to me." She pointed out. "Did you need something, Faith?"

"I just wanted to thank you for letting Quinn stay on the squad." I told her. Like I said, it was pretty weak. It was then that I thought of something else. "And for getting Jacob Ben Israel off my back."

"Well I know that being on the cheerleading squad was important to her and I want her to know that we're here for her even if she's not on the sidelines with us." She explained. "And as for the other thing, he has backed off, hasn't he?"

"Yes." I explained.

"And no one else has been harassing you, have they?" She added.

I thought about the interactions with James and while he may have liked me, he seemed to be pretty respectful about it.

"No." I declared.

"That's good." She said. "Did you need anything else?"

"So what do you think about Coach Tweedy?" I inquired.

"Excuse me?" She retorted. She probably was wondering why I was talking to her about it. I supposed that I didn't exactly make it sound organic.

"I do like you like her?" I questioned. I then realized that I had left that a little vague. "I mean like not romantically. Do you like her as a person?"

"Yeah I guess so." She agreed. "And I also like how we have this bit of competition about who can do better since we're the only real winners at this school."

I felt a little bad for Mr. Schue, even though I was pretty sure that we wouldn't win Nationals this year. I didn't even know if we could win Regionals to be honest. It took us three years to beat Vocal Adrenaline and that was without Shelby. Also was she still Rachel's mom?

"Is there anything else you want to talk about or are we done here?" She asked.

"I think that's it." I remarked. So I wasn't sure if she liked Coach Tweedy romantically but I was at least glad that she didn't hate her. Not to mention that if she had lost her family, she would probably be emotionally guarded. She might not be ready to get close to someone again, even though I didn't know how long it had been since it happened.

I left her office before I went to the auditorium. Quinn said that she needed to talk to me. When I got there, I found that Katie was there and she was wearing a Cheerios uniform.

"Oh." I replied.

"Yeah, I know that I wouldn't be able to do this if not for you." She stated. "Quinn told me that this was your idea."

"Are the other girls okay with this?" I questioned.

"I mean Coach gave them the opportunity to leave if they weren't and no one did." Katie explained. That was good at least. "But that's not the only reason that I wanted you here. I wanted you to hear the song that Quinn has been working on."

"So this is for your baby?" I questioned.

"Yeah." Quinn declared before she sat down at the piano.

Well I just heard the news today
It seems my life is gonna change
I close my eyes, begin to pray
Then tears of joy stream down my face

With arms wide open under the sunlight
Welcome to this place, I'll show you everything
With arms wide open, now everything has changed
I'll show you love, I'll show you everything
With arms wide open, with arms wide open
I'll show you everything oh yeah
With arms wide open

If I had just one wish only one demand
I hope you're not like me, I hope you understand
That you can take this life and hold it by the hand
And you can greet the world with arms wide open

You know I never thought Creed would be good for her, but part of thar was because I didn't really like Creed, but Quinn made it sound good and I could see her doubt about the baby that I was pretty sure that she wanted to keep. It seemed like she wanted to be a mother and that was what she wanted, I wouldn't stop her.

"So I want to tell my parents this Sunday." Quinn told me. "Frannie's going to be coming over and I want you to be there. Katie, I would invite you but I don't think they'd like you."

"It's okay." She remarked. "Just make sure that you tell them."

I was nervous about this. I was pretty sure that I knew how things were going to go. I also knew that I would probably need to dress up for it. I might need Chrissy's help for it.

I talked to her in the afternoon before I was going to go there.

"So I kind of need help figuring out which dress to wear to Quinn's house." I told her. I didn't want to go to this but I needed to be there for her.

"So you were going to bring her back here when you're done?" She asked.

"Yeah." I remarked. "Unless they're somehow accepting of this."

"Well I think you would look good in an off-shoulder design." She stated.

"And what's off-shoulder?" I asked.

"It means your shoulders are exposed." She told me.

So that night I was a black button-up off-shoulder dress. I saw Quinn and she was wearing a white dress that showed a hint of a baby bump. She took me to the dining room. There were going to be tears tonight. I already knew it.

"So how are things going with that boy you're dating, honey?" Her dad asked. I couldn't help but wonder if she had invited him over. He obviously wasn't here.

"I'm not sure if things are going to work out." Quinn answered.

"Well if he can't see how amazing you are, that's his loss." Her mother declared. "So what about you, Faith, are you dating anyone right now?"

I blushed at that. I knew she was asking if I had a boyfriend. I tried to think of a good answer that didn't let them know that I didn't like boys.

"Umm I've been trying to focus on my soccer and schoolwork." I lied with a blush.

"That reminds me. Frannie, how is the field hockey going?" Her dad asked his eldest daughter.

"It's fine," Frannie answered.

"I have an announcement to make." Quinn declared as she stood up. I was proud of her for doing this even though it wouldn't work out. "I'm pregnant."

At that point, we all went to the living room. He told us a story about how he took her and Frannie to a baseball game and she fell asleep in his arms. I had actually forgotten about that part.

"I'm so sorry." She said.

'You should be sorry." He told her. He then looked at me. "You need to leave."

"What? Why?" Quinn asked.

"You too." He added. "Get out of my house."

"What?" Frannie questioned. "Mom, do you something."

"Don't bother sis. If she wanted to do something she would have when she found out." Quinn said through her tears.

"You knew?" Her father asked.

"No, she didn't tell me anything." Her mom replied.

"But you knew and I needed you. I needed my mom and you were too scared to do anything." Quinn replied. "You just pushed it aside like we do with every bad feeling we do in this house. If we don't talk about it, it doesn't exist."

"DO NOT TURN THIS ON US!" Her father shouted. "YOU ARE THE DISAPPOINT HERE!"

"Why because I'm better than you'll ever be? Because I don't think the president is an illegal alien?" She challenged. "Because I have a friend who's transgender?

"Who are you?" He retorted.

"I'm your daughter who loves you and I know this must be really hard for you but I need my daddy to hold me and tell me everything is going to be okay." She stated.

Instead, he just walked away.

"Screw this." Frannie replied as she threw her engagement ring on the ground. "I'm not doing this. I don't care about my inheritance. I'm not getting married just because you want me to. I want to marry someone that I want to be with and I'm not coming back here if my sister is not allowed here. Come on Quinn, let's get a hotel."

The three of us exited the house.

"I want to stay with Faith, at least for now." Quinn stated. "I don't want you to give up everything for me."

"I don't want to be a part of a family that's willing to cast you out." Frannie stated. "I'll get a job and an apartment. I can take some time off school after this semester while you get back on your feet."

I had to say that I liked this version of Frannie. She seemed to be more involved in her sister's life. It may have been because I hadn't met her before.

"Right now I just want to go to Faith's house. We can discuss this after you finish this semester. You need to keep your scholarship since it doesn't look like you'll be able to afford school otherwise." Quinn stated. She gave her sister a hug before she went out to my car.

We then went home where we were greeted by Chrissy at the door.

"Why do I have a feeling that things didn't go very well?" She asked.

"Is Mom here?" I asked her.

"Yeah, she's downstairs doing some laundry." Chrissy answered.

I took Quinn down to the basement with me.

"Mom, Quinn's parents threw her out. Can she stay here for a little while?" I asked.

"Of course." Mom replied as she gave Quinn a hug. "You can stay as long as you need to."

In the morning, we went to school together. The car was big enough for three people but it meant that Chrissy had to ride in the back. I was pretty sure that she wouldn't complain about it.

Once we got there, we were stopped by Coach Kiernan.

"Oh my god, Quinn. I heard what happened? Are you okay?" She asked.

"How did you find out about it?" Quinn asked.

"Some of the girls were talking about it in the group chat." The coach replied. I didn't know that they had a group chat, but I supposed it made sense. "Do you need somewhere to stay?"

"I'm staying with Faith right now, but thank you." Quinn told her before Coach Kiernan gave her a hug. I was pretty sure that Sue wouldn't have done that for her.

"Well Will said that he needed to see you in the choir room." Coach Kiernan stated.

I went with her to choir room. I could see that he went with my idea.

"What's going on?" Quinn asked. I went over with the rest of them.

"Your fellow Glee clubbers wanted to sing something to let you know how much they appreciate you." Mr. Schue explained before we started. Chrissy was singing the lead

So no one told you life was gonna be this way
Your job's a joke, you're broke your love life's DOA
It's like you're always stuck in second gear
When it hasn't been your day, your week, your month, or even your year

But I'll be there for you when the rain starts to pour
I'll be there for you like I've been there before
I'll be there for you cause you're there for me too

Of course I had to come in at that point.

No one could ever know me, no one could ever see me
Seems like you're the only who knows what's like to be me
Someone to face the day with, make it through all the rest with
Someone to always laugh with, even at my worst I'm best with you

It's like you're always stuck in second gear
When it hasn't been your day, your week, your month, or even your year

But I'll be there for you when the rain starts to pour
I'll be there for you like I've been there before
I'll be there for you cause you're there for me too
I'll be there for you, I'll be there for you
I'll be there for you cause you're there for me too

At that point, we all went over to her and gave her a group hug.

So this was the big one. Though Frannie also decided to help her sister out. She's going to be staying with Faith. The songs are "I've Got You" by McFly, "With Arms Wide Open" by Creed and "I'll Be There For You" by the Rembrandts. Please don't forget to review.