Season Five, Starring Cory Monteith Chapter 20: 5x17: Silver Springs, a glee fanfic

Hi everybody! I know it's been a while... I'm sorry for that. Life has gotten insanely busy and I haven't had the chance to update this great story. But here we are! I can't promise I will be consistent, but I have a vision for the endgame of Season Five, and I have a vision for what will occur in the eventual Season Six. I WILL finish this story eventually!

In the meantime, to expand my audience, I've decided that I'm going to start posting this story every two-ish weeks to Wattpad and AO3! Perhaps this will inspire me to keep writing if I have an audience across multiple fanfiction websites who are experiencing the story for the first time. This will start next week (Feburary 11th, 2024)... so keep an eye out for that.

Don't forget to leave reviews with your thoughts and feedback! Enjoy this new chapter of Season Five, Starring Cory Monteith!

Episode 5x17: Silver Springs

Synopsis: With the dream role of Fanny Brice now in her hands, Rachel finds herself filled with self-doubt; Santana recruits Shelby (Idina Menzel) and Miriam Reign (Jessie Mueller) to coach Rachel up. Meanwhile, the love triangle of Sam, Tina and Mercedes comes to a boiling point when Sam confesses the truth about his first modeling gig to Tina.

Absent: Kevin McHale as Artie Abrams

"Rachel. Rachel... Rachel. Come on, you're on!"

Rachel opened her eyes to see Kurt standing over her... wearing a scarf and a sweater? Usually Rachel dreamed of vacationing with Patti LuPone in the Caribbean, basking in the sun and in their Tony Awards. Kurt was only there occasionally to be their waiter. Why was he dressed like he was in high school again? She looked around and found herself in her childhood bed. The only difference? She wasn't in her childhood home. The bed was center-stage at William McKinley High School.

A clock began to ominously tick in the background as Rachel looked around her dream world, confused. She turned her head to see Tina, dressed goth with blue highlights again, walking over with a single hanger in her hand. "Here's your c-c-costume, Rachel. Steak a dreg!" Okay, that was weird. Tina's fake stutter? Rachel completely forgot about that! Tina flung the hanger on a rolling cart next to the bed, and walked off.

"There's nothing on the hanger!"

"Yes, well, apparently the emperor wears no clothes!"

Rachel, suddenly naked in the dream, covered her body as an annoyed Kurt waited on the sidelines, a microphone on his ear and a clipboard in hand. Santana, too, looked irritated, wearing her classic Cheerios uniform yet again. What in the world was going on? Rachel suddenly found herself in the audience of McKinley's auditorium, pulling a loose tooth out of her mouth. Gross. As she was clothed once again, disgusted by the tooth, she felt several presences surround her.

"Little trouble chewing or something?" To her right was classic McKinley High bully David Karofsky. He was wearing the McKinley High Bully Whips uniform... for some reason? Honestly, the dream made less and less sense as it went on.

Rachel turned to her left and found Jacob Ben Israel, who practically whimpered in his seat next to his longtime crush. "Love me. I love you. Why can't you love me back?"

Rachel squirmed in her seat, before turning around to see Sidney Greene, leaning over the balcony. "Hey, Rach! It's all riding on you now, kid." The voice became distorted, contributing to Rachel's current state of paranoia in her dream. She was probably tossing and turning in Bushwick as we speak.

In front of her was Sue Sylvester, who turned around and faced Rachel, Karofsky and JBI. "Even though you have no business being up there, shouldn't you be on stage?" She asked, her voice also distorted.

Rachel's heart dropped, quickly beginning to freak out. "W-where's my purse?"

"GET ON WITH IT!" Becky Jackson screamed from her seat, sitting next to Sue.

"Where's Finn? Where's Finn?" Rachel, getting out of her seat and rushing to the stage, continued her panic. Finn always promised to come to her opening night on Broadway, and his absence left a very, very wide hole in the dream sequence.

"Rachel! I'm here!"

Rachel turned around and saw Finn, finally relaxing a little. At least with all the craziness, there was one piece of peace and clarity. She loved seeing him in his football uniform. That was, until Penny walked out from behind him, a wedding ring around her finger, and a baby in her stomach. Finn and Penny kissed, making Rachel freak out even further.

Cue Becky screaming again. "GET ON WITH IT!"

{Rachel performs Lovefool by the Cardigans, as the audience reacts throughout the performance. Sam, Santana (in her Cheerios uniform), Tina, Blaine (in his Warbler uniform) and Kurt are all shown dancing in the aisle, as Becky continuously screams at Rachel to get on with it. Sue yawns and falls asleep and leaves the show. Karofsky and JBI film Rachel on JBI's camcorder. Finn makes out with Penny for a majority of the performance. An adult Rachel also watches the performance, disapprovingly. Towards the end of the performance, Becky chases Rachel through a large pile of heart balloons covering the stage in the McKinley auditorium.}

[Rachel]

Dear, I fear we're facing a problem

You love me no longer, I know and

Maybe there is nothing that I can do

To make you do

Mama tells me I shouldn't bother

That I ought to stick to another man

A man that surely deserves me

But I think you do

So I cry

And I pray

And I beg

[Rachel with Santana and Tina]

Love me, love me

[Rachel] (Santana and Tina)

Say that you love me

(Fool me, fool me) Go on and fool me

(Love me, love me) Pretend that you love me

(Leave me, leave me) Just say that you need me

So I cry and I beg for you to

(Love me, love me) Say that you love me

(Leave me, leave me) Just say that you need me

I can't care 'bout anything but you (Anything but you)

(Love me, love me) Say that you love me

(Fool me, fool me) Go on and fool me

(Love me, love me) I know that you need me

I can't care 'bout anything but you

As the song ended and Rachel found herself on the floor, surrounded by the heart balloons, everyone leaned over and booed in her face. Finn, Sam, Kurt, Santana, Sue, JBI, Karofsky, Tina. Every single one of them simply booing in her face.

Finally, the nightmare ended and Rachel shot up in bed, waking up in her Bushwick apartment, covered in sweat. The pressure was getting to her. What if she wasn't good enough for Fanny?

Champagne!

The cork popped out of the bottle, flying across the room, as the space full of employees cheered. Isabelle Wright, holding the bottle in her hands, began to pour glasses for everyone in the room, including Tina and Kurt. Kurt hadn't been around the offices in quite some time, especially since everyone had moved to the city that summer, but he had to make an appearance because it was Isabelle's birthday. He was expected to be there.

Chase Madison, a fellow fashion designer at Vogue, accepted his champagne flute as he stood next to Kurt and Tina. "Good to see you again, Kurt," he smiled. "You know, if Blaine ever gives you anymore problems-"

Tina scoffed in shock. "Never gonna happen. Scram." Chase looked at Tina, then at Kurt, who gave a sympathetic smile, but one that confirmed Tina's comments. He flashed another one back, and walked away. She looked over at Kurt and whispered, "Is everyone in New York like that?"

"Bold? Unapologetic? Used to getting what they want?" Kurt just chuckled. "Yeah, you'll get used to it."

"No, I meant... like, eager. No consideration of a significant other, they just see someone as a pack of meat, you know?"

"Not everyone is like that," Kurt said in defense of Chase. "But I suppose there's people like that everywhere."

Tina's insecurities began to flow through her head, like she was put in a trance. She was pretty confident in herself - that was evident with how she had acted toward the end of junior year, and all of senior year, of high school. But New York was a big, big place, and she sometimes felt like a small fish in a big pond as opposed to the other way around. Especially dating a guy like Sam, it was almost like everyone was competition.

Some people in more ways than one. Living with Mercedes, the other big love of Sam's life, felt like an everyday struggle of emotion. Not to mention that small fish, big pond feeling. Mercedes, Rachel, and Santana were the poster children of big fish in a big pond. She always found herself comparing herself to them in some capacity, always had, even when she was on cloud nine at McKinley. She needed a big break, an opportunity, something to put herself on a pedestal here in the Big Apple.

And she may have just found a way to do that, while simultaneously helping out a loved one.

Isabelle tapped her glass gently with a spoon, standing up on a desk. "Okay, everyone. I want to thank you for coming to my birthday extravaganza, although I will not be answering questions on my age." Isabelle always knew how to get the crowd laughing, to break any tension or awkwardness in the room. "But, you know me. It's time to get down to business. Vogue is looking for some male models to work with my dear friend Charlie Darling over in advertising. We need to push this fall line hard. I have a great feeling about it. So, if you know any fellow starving artists... let me know!"

As Isabelle climbed down from the table, Tina scurried away from Kurt to find her plus-one, Sam, snacking on the hors d'oeuvres at the table by the entrance. She grabbed his arm and smacked it.

"Hey!"

"No more food. Come on."

She dragged him over to Isabelle Wright so fast that they practically trampled her. A slightly startled Isabelle smiled gently as she and Sam approached her. Kurt crept up behind the three of them, concerned for what was happening. "Tina..?"

"Isabelle, this is my boyfriend Sam Evans. He is an aspiring male model and I think he would be perfect for the fall campaign."

Isabelle's eyes lit up as she looked at Sam. "Oh! Well, it's nice to meet you, Sam." She extended her hand to shake it.

Sam obliged. "What fall campaign?"

"Were you even listening to Isabelle's big announcement?" Kurt asked with a snarl.

"Dude, I just met her."

Isabelle chucked, looking at Tina and mouthing, He's cute. The insecurities began to swirl again in her mind as Isabelle continued. "Well, Sam, we're planning to go all out. Billboards, prints, bus ads..."

Suddenly, a spark appeared in Sam's eyes as well. "Wait, no way! One of my dreams is to be almost naked on a public bus!"

She chuckled. "Well, consider me your fairy godmother! I'm Kurt's after all." She winked to her mentee with a smile.

Kurt flashed one back. "Sam would be a perfect candidate, Isabelle. He has my seal of approval!"

"Great!" Isabelle handed Sam a business card. "This is Charlie's phone number. Give her a call later today and she'll get you all situated. Tell her Izzy sent ya!" She winked, giving Kurt and Tina a quick hug and kiss on the cheek before departing to mingle with others.

As Kurt began to do the same with his other Vogue friends, Tina and Sam began to make their own conversation. She whispered to him, "I'm going to be spray-painting Mine all over those bus ads." She giggled, but oh, was she serious.

"I'm serious, Berry. You're practically a star now! As much as it makes me want to vomit just saying that, you need representation."

As Rachel mindlessly filtered through footage of Barbra on their Bushwick couch, Santana chattered next to her in hear ear, trying to pitch her on becoming her publicist. Despite the fact that Rachel's mind clearly was elsewhere, or perhaps nowhere at all, Santana continued to give her best sales pitch.

"I mean, look at Merceces," she continued. "She has absolutely zero vision for that album of hers, and after a little Fu-Gee-La from yours truly, that sleazy production company is moving full steam ahead on her music! I'm like a sexy, lesbian Midas. Everything I touch turns to gold." She leaned over the couch and saw a light on, but nobody home, inside Rachel's head. "Hello, earth to Fanny?"

Rachel groaned and shoved a pillow over her head. "I swear, I haven't lost any teeth!" The nightmare she had the night before clearly was still prevelant in her mind.

"What?"

"N-nothing," Rachel stammered. "Just had a bad dream last night, that's all."

"About your teeth?" Santana scoffed. "Because if I were you, and I was having a dream about my teeth, it would involve Dr. Howell drilling-"

"Santana, I appreciate your enthusiasm about wanting to represent me, but I'm not really ready to talk about that right now." Rachel stood up, tossing the blanket she was using back onto her seat, and making her way into the kitchen to make a nice pot of tea. Despite knowing Santana for the last four years, however, she clearly forgot that a certain someone doesn't take no for an answer.

"You don't have a choice, Pinocchio!" Ah, yes, a great way to get someone to work with you is to attack their physical appearance, particularly their nose. "You're going to get thrusted into the spotlight, whether you like it or not, and you need someone out there that's got your best interest." She followed Rachel into the living room and put her hand on top of the teapot before Rachel could grab it. An annoyed Rachel looked up at her, as Lopez continued her rant. "I can help you. Make everyone see you as the star that you see yourself as."

"That's the point," she snatched the teapot from under Santana, who was surprised at her roommate's feisty attitude. "I'm in my own head. Maybe I'm not the star I thought I was!"

"Does this have anything to do with the tooth dream?"

"I had a nightmare that I was on stage and I got booed, tortured by everyone from my past. Coach Sylvester, Jacob Ben Israel, Karofsky... even Finn with his new southern belle girlfriend were there tormenting me! I know all of that is going to be amplified when I'm on stage against real Hollywood snobs and critics. I'm not their Fanny, I'm only their Fanny because Miriam Reign is an alcoholic!" She whined.

"Okay, stop," Santana put a finger up in the air. "Since when do you care what everyone else thinks, anyway?"

"This is my dream, Santana. My whole life has built up to this very moment. What if it's not everything I dreamed of?" Rachel sighed, placing the teapot down, suddenly not feeling very thirsty. "Again, thank you for trying to help... but I don't think I'm ready for all of this yet. I should stick to being the understudy."

"You're the lead now, you don't have a choice..."

"I have a choice. If I don't think I'm good enough, I won't do the show." Rachel walked out of the kitchen and into her room, closing the curtain behind her, leaving Santana alone in the living room, contemplating her next step. She folded her arms and thought hard, until a lightbulb popped up in her head. The classic Santana Lopez smirk grew on her face. She knew exactly what to do.

Day one of the photo shoot, and there Sam stood amongst the sea of other male models. Nervous as a cat on a hot tin roof, constantly shifting around and scratching his arm. He heard Coach Beiste say "nervous as a cat on a hot tin roof" once, and it always made him chuckle, but this was the moment that Sam finally realized what that meant.

"What is with you?" The guy next to Sam asked, clearly agitated by his constant movement.

"Oh, um, it's been a while since I've been intimate with a girl," Sam explained. "Trying to keep a rogue chubber." To be totally honest, Sam's response was a half-lie. He was intimate with Tina (pretty often, actually), but he wasn't blind. They were surrounded by TONS of beautiful women, ones that he was sure he'd be working closely with. Some, perhaps, a little too closely with. He wasn't the sharpest tool in the shed but he knew when Tina was jealous, and even though this was work, he wanted to be extra careful. He even tried pumping the breaks on his relationship with Mercedes, because he knew how she felt about it.

Regardless if the comment was a white lie or not, the other guy bought it. "I know what you mean. It's been, like, nine hours since I got laid. I'm going nuts."

Very interesting company Sam was amongst! His attention, as well as everyone else's in the room, snapped to Charlie Darling, the advertising representative from who had just walked into the room, her assistant in tow. She was gorgeous, to say the least. "Alright caddle kids, listen up," she commanded as the entire room practically froze in her presence. "I'm Charlie Darling, and you're all here on zero notice because there's an advertising crisis over at . Our big model got sent to prison for running an underground teacup dog fighting ring in Miami. We have billboards set to launch in a few days, so it's time for a new cover boy." She walked up and down the line of hopefuls and eyed them all.

"We're gonna do this fast, and we're gonna do this dirty," she commanded. "Walk. If you can't get into my jeans with your walk, then you don't have it." She snapped her fingers, as all the girls that Sam noticed from earlier began to surround them like a pack of vultures. "I brought some girls to help... set the mood," she explained with a smirk. "For the love of God, please, someone just turn me on!"

{The photoshoot begins as Sam grows more and more comfortable in the modeling setting, and with the girls around him. Throughout the musical number, Charlie continues to become more and more fixated onto Sam, until she singles him out amongst the other models and has a one-on-one interaction with him during the shoot.}

[Sam]

See them walking hand in hand across the bridge at midnight
Heads turning as the lights flashin' out, it's so bright
Then walk right out to the four line track
There's a camera rollin' on her back, on her back
And I sense the rhythm hummin' in a frenzy all the way down her spine

[Sam and Charlie] (Sam)

Girls on film (Two minutes later) Girls on film
Girls on film (Got your picture) Girls on film

Wider baby, smiling, you just made a million
Fuses pumping live, heat twisting out on a wire

Give me shudders in a whisper take me up till I'm shooting a star

Girls on film (She's more than a lady) Girls on film
Girls on film (Two minutes later) Girls on film
Girls on film (See you together) Girls on film
(Yeah) Girls on film

As the song ended, Charlie flirtatiously pushed Sam onto the couch that was used during the shoot, and began to crawl on top of him, practically straddling his waist. "You. What's your name?" She asked, running her finger down his chest.

"Sam Evans," he squeaked, looking at her touching him.

"Sam, you are seriously buzzing with sex," she purred.

"Maybe it's because my girlfriend and I are so active!" He replied, hoping to send her a certain message.

Message received, but it didn't seem to distract her. "Whatever it is, it's working," she smiled, climbing off of him and beginning to walk away. "Come back tonight for the shoot."

A mixture of emotions flowed through Sam's mind. She was hot, there was no doubt about it, and there was definitely no question that she was hot for him. But he had a girlfriend. Of course, he had no intentions of doing anything with Charlie Darling, but she certainly did, and he wasn't sure if he should go through with the gig out of respect for Tina. However, this could be his first big break. He hadn't really booked anything prior to this, and he needed to get his name out there. He took a deep breath; he was going to go through with it. He loved Tina, and he had zero intention of messing that up, but this was his career he was thinking about. He had to make the best move for him.

"I feel like I'm going to pee myself..."

In classic Santana Lopez fashion, she had taken Rachel, blindfolded her, and threw her into a cab, driving her to God knows where. Rachel was gonna whine all day and night about whether she "deserved" Fanny, but who cares what she deserved? In Santana's mind, that didn't matter. She was Fanny regardless, so it was her job as her agent or publicist or whatever to whip her into shape. She was also her friend and roommate, so she had a personal responsibility to Rachel too, she supposed.

"Please don't." Santana got out of the cab and took Rachel by the hand. "We're here to get your head screwed on straight, by taking you to the only person I think can at this point." Where were they?

Shining Stars Academy.

Rachel quickly perked up as the two walked through the doorways. "I knew it. Barbra."

Her friend snarled in response. "What? No. I couldn't even get your co-star, Reed Richards," she replied snarkily, referring to Paolo San Pablo. She took the blindfold off of Rachel and placed it into her purse, who looked around at the building they had entered.

"I don't get it," Rachel said, confused. "Are you calling me a baby?"

"You said it, not me," Santana mumbled.

"Well, you were my baby once," a third voice echoed through the room. Rachel turned to where the voice had came from, and there stood her biological mother Shelby Corcoran in the doorway, who smiled ear to ear.

A smile grew on Rachel's face, identical to Shelby's, as the two began to laugh and ran towards each other, hugging each other tight. "Shelby, how are you? How's Beth?"

Shelby continued to laugh happily as she pulled away. "Oh, Rachel, I'm great. The city has always and will always be home to me. Beth is great. It's been really good to have Puck in her life again, even if it's just over the phone."

"What about Quinn?"

"Baby steps," Shelby replied, the situation clearly still a sore subject. Her eyes drifted off to her Trouble Tone, as she walked over and extended her arms out. "Great to see you, Santana."

Santana smiled, hugging her former teacher. "Thanks for making room for us in your busy schedule."

"For my girls? Anytime." Shelby put her hands on her hips and looked at Rachel. "Fanny Brice, huh? Congratulations, my dear."

"Thank you," Rachel smiled gently. "But-"

"You don't deserve it?" A fourth and final voice asked, one very familiar to Rachel. "You do, and we're here to show you." Miriam Reign!

As Rachel rushed over to Miriam and embraced her as well, Santana felt something... her heart was full? Because she was helping Rachel Berry? Gross. "Well, now that you ladies are situated, I'm going to go check on my other client."

Shelby grinned. "So happy to hear that you and Mercedes are still close. Tell her I say hi."

Santana nodded, giving Rachel a thumbs up before leaving. Rachel was super appreciative of what Santana had pulled together for her; two of her mentors, coaching her up, ready to help her put her game face on. It was time to get to work, I guess!

"Okay," Shelby began, clearing off the daycare's mini-stage, which was covered with toys. "Come up here, honey." Rachel, reluctantly, stood up on the stage. "Now. When you first met me and we put the pieces of the puzzle together, what song was I singing?"

"Funny Girl."

"That's right. And as long as I've ever known you, what was your goal?"

"Funny Girl."

Miriam, who sat at a mini-table on a mini-stool, nodded her head and smiled. "Wow, this really was your dream."

"But it was yours too!" Rachel cried, stomping off the stage. "This is my problem. I feel like I've taken this away from Miriam Reign, who I absolutely adore, and quite frankly, I don't think I'm ready! Let's face it, I'm just a 19-year old snot-nosed Jewish girl from Ohio that has no business being up on a-a Broadway stage and-"

"Okay, honey, you need to relax," Shelby spoke up, walking off the stage and placing her hands on Rachel's shoulders. "I talked to Santana about this, and I think she's right. Whether you feel like you're ready or not doesn't matter... this is it. You're Fanny. This was your DREAM! So, it's time to take it by the reigns and own it."

Rachel looked to Miriam, almost asking for approval. "Remember my words, sweetheart? Sooner than you think?" Rachel nodded. "I knew it was coming, Rachel, I was just trying to prepare you for the inevitable."

"And don't give me this 'you're not ready' crap!" Shelby said, lightly hitting her arm. "You were practically belting out My Man when you came out of my womb."

"Well, I can't help but feel bad for you too, Shelby," Rachel mumbled quietly. "Wasn't being on Broadway your dream too?"

"My only regret in life is giving you up, Rachel. Now I can live vicariously through you and see, essentially, my dream come true." She smiled and walked up on stage. "Speaking of dreams... let's talk a bit more about those, shall we?"

{We transition into ABBA's 'I Have A Dream,' with Shelby, Miriam, and Rachel each taking turns until they all harmonize together}

[Shelby]

I Have a Dream, a song to sing

To help me cope, with anything
If you see the wonder, of a fairy tale
You can take the future, even if you fail

[Miriam]

I believe in angels
Something good in everything I see
I believe in angels
When I know the time is right for me

I'll cross the stream, I Have a Dream

[Shelby and Miriam]

I Have a Dream, a fantasy
To help me through, reality
And my destination, makes it worth the while
Pushin' through the darkness, still another mile

I believe in angels
Something good in everything I see
I believe in angels
When I know the time is right for me

I'll cross the stream, I Have a Dream

[Rachel]

I'll cross the stream, I Have a Dream

I Have a Dream, a song to sing
To help me cope, with anything
If you see the wonder, of a fairy tale
You can take the future, even if you fail

I believe in angels
Something good in everything I see

[Shelby, Miriam and Rachel]

I believe in angels
When I know the time is right for me
I'll cross the stream, I Have a Dream
I'll cross the stream, I Have a Dream

As the song concluded and the three women embraced, Shelby laughed and clapped her hands. "Okay! Enough about OUR dreams," she said, motioning to her and Miriam. "We're here to talk about your dream that's becoming a reality, Rachel." She snapped her fingers. "Grab that script out of my office. Funny Girl. From the top."

Click!

Sam was back at his one-on-one shoot with Charlie Darling, shirt-off, smile-on. As he posed and continued to take direction from her, he continued to feel his chest continue to pound. And pound. And pound.

"Give me a little more sex?" She asked, running a hand through her hair before resuming the photography. "A little more heat?"

Sam genuinely had no idea what that meant, but he tried to oblige the best he could. He gave a little pouty face, put his arm behind his head and flexed, stared off into space, as if unknowingly being photographed. Anything to get his mind off Charlie's obvious attraction towards him. "Ass?" He asked, turning around and putting his rear end on full display to be photographed.

However, it wasn't good enough for her. "Okay, can you just give me more sex?" She repeated, a hint of frustration on her tone. "You know, just feel it." A few more shots later and Charlie huffed. "This isn't working," she grumbled. "I hate everything. I hate everything." She sighed, running her hand through her hair once again, looking him up and down. "Sam? Where's my sex buzz?"

He clearly wasn't focused, what with being uncomfortable and everything, but he looked around the studio in a desperate attempt to point blame elsewhere, until his eyes drifted toward the one other person in the room. "Uh, your assistant is looking at me kind of funny."

Charlie whipped her head to look at her assistant, who stared at Sam, puzzled. "Is one of your nipples higher than the other? It's weirding me out."

With Sam now covering his nipples in shame, quietly thankful that the attention wasn't on him for once, Charlie let out another sigh of frustration. "Okay, enough," she barked. "Everybody out." With the blink of an eye, the two were alone, and she was staring at Sam like a lion stalking its prey. Sam did not like the feeling of being a gazelle in this situation. She looked at him and bit her lip gently, before flashing the camera once again. "Do you want a beer?"

Click!

"I-I'm 19..." he squeaked.

"I won't tell your mom," she joked, as the camera printed out a polaroid. She took it out, waving it around to dry the ink. "What are you feeling?" She asked, slowly approaching Sam again with the camera in hand.

As she walked around him, he shifted towards the opposite direction. "Well, if I was a soup, I'd probably be minestrone..."

Click!

He hadn't been in a situation like this in a really long time; a girl throwing himself at him, he meant. She hadn't said anything explicitly to confirm that, but it was painfully obvious. God, she's hot, he thought to himself. But no woman in this world would make him ever consider leaving Tina, despite what the man downstairs might've thought. If you catch his drift.

"Keep talking," Charlie said gently. "I like your honesty. So does the camera."

Click!

"You're really hot, so there's that..."

Damn it, he thought. The man downstairs was starting to take over... he wasn't a cheater. He knew that. He knew how it felt to have Quinn cheat on him, and he knew how it felt to have Mercedes cheat on Shane to be with him. He wasn't a bad person, he didn't want to make Tina, or anyone, feel the way he had seen others feel firsthand. But objectively speaking...

Unfortunately for Sam, Charlie Darling was the type to take a mile when given an inch. "There's definitely that," she said sexily, waving down another polaroid before tossing it aside.

Sam, quickly, attempted to do some damage control. "But, I love my girlfriend." Click! The look of hunger in Charlie's eyes told Sam that she didn't care about his girlfriend. He began to stammer. "Uh, I'm kind of.. also.. feeling scared."

"Of me?" Click!

"It's just that this job is really important to me," Sam attempted to explain. "It's just a dream come true, and I'm just worried that if I don't give you what you want, I might lose it."

Charlie continued to approach Sam, until his back was against a ladder in the studio. She placed her hand on his chest and began to rub it slowly. "What do you think I want?" She asked, looking into his eyes, before drawing her hand up the back of his head and beginning to play with his hair. "Let me tell you something to leave out of your minestrone of emotions," she spoke again, not giving Sam the chance to answer her obvious question. "Guilt." He tried avoiding eye contact with her, but the awkwardness and the feelings he felt were too much to bare, as he continued looking up at her.

"There's no one here, we can do whatever we want," she whispered to him seductively. "Nobody has to know."

As she began to move closer to his lips, he thought about what she said. Not feeling the sense of guilt for his actions. Did people really not feel bad for bad things that they had done? It seemed like a foreign concept to him but, perhaps she was living proof of his question. He remembered when Finn kissed Miss Pillsbury, how he had zero intention of doing so and it just happened instinctively. It was a muscle reaction to the situation. He also remembered the tremendous guilt that weighed down on Finn's shoulders after the fact, and how it almost permanently drove a wedge between him and Mr. Schue.

After Charlie kissed him, and he felt his lips connecting with hers and kissing her back, he knew, in a sense, how Finn felt. He now knew the feeling of the magnetic pull between two individual's lips when it wasn't right, and he now knew the feeling of immediate sorrow and guilt that came with that.

A day or two had passed since Sam's little incident with Charlie Darling, and he had essentially isolated himself from everyone. He didn't come to the gang's weekly potluck, he didn't respond to anyone's calls. Not even Tina's. He knew he was going to have to address what happened at some point, however he genuinely felt so horrible that he couldn't face any of them. When he heard the door open to his room he hoped- no, he prayed, that it was Blaine or Artie checking on him.

His worst nightmare came true when Tina Cohen-Chang walked into the room.

"Samuel Jessica Evans, you have had us worried sick," Tina said gently, shutting the door behind her. "Artie let me in. What's going on? I haven't heard from you since the Vogue shoot."

He looked up at her with glossy eyes, before looking back down and burying his face into his hands. Tina, obviously concerned, rushed over to him and sat down next to him. "Babe, what's wrong?"

He took a deep breath, before croaking out, "I'm so sorry." There was a silence, and Sam knew that he had to come clean. It was going to sting like a bitch, but he owed it to Tina to tell her the truth. He was tired of hiding, tired of living a lie. "I cheated on you."

Tina's heart felt like it stopped beating, like all of her vital organs just took a pause. The earth stopped spinning. Black was white. Everything made sense, and in a moment suddenly nothing did anymore. Sam attempted to continue, trying to explain himself, but Tina stood up. "It was Mercedes, wasn't it?"

Ever since they had moved to New York Tina had an underlying sense of worry when it came to Sam and Mercedes. Se knew how in love they were during that one year of glee club, and she knew everything that happened between her and Shane; they were practically best friends before Mercedes graduated. So, when Mercedes moved to New York, and she and Sam began to see each other much more than the random alumni pop-in during glee club, Tina's insecurities flared up like a bad rash. Mercedes had an amazing voice, a great personality, was beautiful... everything Tina thought she wasn't, and everything Sam knew she was. But it didn't matter. All the progress she and Sam had made in their relationship together, everything they'd been through, all of that was thrown out the window in a moment.

Sam was at a complete loss for words. He knew Tina, and he knew how she felt about Mercedes, so he knew that this may have been her reaction going into this situation... but it hurt bad to hear out loud. Why was that her immediate assumption? Did she not trust him at all? He had made a point to distance himself a little bit from Mercedes when he felt Tina's attitude towards their friendship, so he thought that he had gained a bit of trust and a bit of favor.

"Tina, please let me explain-"

"No." She stood up, her emotions clouding her entire judgement in the moment. "Sam, how could you?"

"Tina-"

She stood up and stormed out of his room and out of his apartment, tears flooding her eyes and streaming down her cheeks. She sat on the doorstep of his apartment building, her entire body just numb. She truly loved Sam, and in a moment, she began to question it all.

{The beginning of the song begins as Sam rushes outside and calls for Tina, who looks back at him with tears in her eyes as she begins to sing to him}

You could be my silver spring

Blue-green colors flashin'
I would be your only dream
Your shinin' autumn ocean crashin'
Don't say that she's pretty
And did you say that she loved you?
Baby, I don't want to know

So I'll begin not to love you
Turn around, see me runnin'
I'll say I loved you years ago
Tell myself you never loved me, no
Don't say that she's pretty
And did you say that she loved you?
Baby, I don't want to know

Oh no
And can you tell me was it worth it?
Baby, I don't want to know

Time cast a spell on you, but you won't forget me
I know I could have loved you
But you would not let me

Time cast a spell on you, but you won't forget me
I know I could've loved you, but you would not let me
I'll follow you down 'til the sound of my voice will haunt you
Give me just a chance
You'll never get away from the sound of the woman that loves you

Was I such a fool?
I'll follow you down til' the sound of my voice will haunt you
Give me just a chance
You'll never get away from the sound of the woman that loves you
Time cast a spell on you, but you won't forget me
I know I could've loved you, but you would not let me
I'll follow you down 'til the sound of my voice

{The song ends with Tina walking away from the apartment, sobbing, as Sam stands in the middle of the street, helplessly watching her walk away.}

"Okay," Shelby said, her right hand on her hip and her left hand holding the Funny Girl script. "I need to go check on Beth. When I'm back, let's do Rollerskate Rag from the top." She nodded, tossed the script on the stage, and walked into the other room where Beth napped.

"I can really see where you got your passion from," Miriam commented playfully, taking a sip of her coffee. "I've known Shelby for years, but it feels like I've been slapped in the face now that I know the both of you. You're practically the same person."

Rachel chuckled, crossing her legs as she sat. "Well, that's a great compliment." She cleared her throat; she hadn't spoke to Miriam since she was let go from the production, but they needed to address an elephant in the room. "How is everything going with you?"

Miriam placed her coffee down. "I've been going to AA. It's going well, it's good for me... and with the divorce now finalized I've really been able to focus on addressing my... issues."

Rachel nodded. "That's really great to hear. I'm really sorry I haven't reach out, I just wanted to give you your space."

Miriam reached over and squeezed her hand. "Don't be sorry, Rachel! This is my battle to fight alone."

"So you don't hate me for stealing Fanny from you?"

Miriam laughed. "You didn't steal anything from me, Rachel. I brought this upon myself... my lack of professionalism and my alcohol addiction did this, not you. Although I truly think you will be better than I ever could be... it will be good for Broadway to see a nice, young, fresh face, and this is clearly your life's goal. Everything you've done in your life has built towards this moment... so don't sit around and wallow in pity for me or for anyone else. There are no hard feelings. I want to see you strive... and when I make my comeback, I'll be happy to have you by my side. So enough worrying about me... you've got your entire life ahead of you, your story is unwritten, darling. Seize the moment."

An enormous amount of pressure was lifted off of Rachel's shoulders as she jumped out of her chair and squealed, hugging Miriam tight. As the two broke apart from their embrace, Shelby walked out. "Okay... Beth is doing well, and now it's time to get back on track. Rachel, you ready?"

"From the top." Rachel smiled proudly.

Santana entered the recording studio and tossed her jacket onto the couch, as she looked into the booth to see Mercedes just doing her thing. Belting. It was really cool to be able to see a friend truly achieve her dream, and even better to be apart of that dream. Her producer, DeShawn, was at the boards, making sure all of the levels sounded right, when he heard some movement behind him. He took his headphones off and turned around to see a familiar face, and smiled. "Hey Santana," he said. "What are you doing here?"

"I was just in the neighborhood," she replied rather sternly. Even though she had taken an active role in Mercedes's career as her publicist, she felt a twang of resentment towards DeShawn for blocking her from appearing as a vocalist on Hell 2 The No. DeShawn, feeling the coldness from her voice, turned back to the board and spoke into his god-mic. "Okay, Mercedes, let's take five."

Mercedes saw who was in the lobby and her face lit up, rushing out of the booth and shooing DeShawn away, before giving her friend a hug. "Girl, if looks could kill..."

"Hey, I don't give a rat's ass what that guy thinks. You're my artist, and I can still be around the studio without wanting to kill myself."

Mercedes giggled. "Hey, speaking of artists, how's Rachel doing?" She asked. "Everything okay with her and Shelby and the Funny Girl lady?"

"Well, being the genius that I am, I figured she needed to be coached up," she replied. "I think she's doing fine. How's the album coming along?"

Her eyes lit up once again. "Girl, you've got to hear this," Mercedes squealed. "I think I've got a hit on my hands. It's just pure emotion, raw, untapped feelings." She rushed back into the booth, and as she began to sing her heart out, Santana's ears opened, realizing exactly who and what she was talking about.

When the world is seeing yellow

I only see gray
When everybody sees the rainbow
I'm stuck in the rain

You take a little piece of me
Every time you leave
I don't think that I'll
Ever find that silver lining
Or a reason to smile

You know I used to paint such vibrant dreams
Now I'm colorblind, colorblind
When did my heart get so full
Of a never mind, never mind
Did you know that you stole
The only thing I needed
Always black and white in my eyes
I'm colorblind

Ain't it funny that you managed
To just wash away
Even pictures that you're not in
Have started to fade

I try to play my favorite songs
But I can't sing along
The words don't feel the same
You've taken all the best things from me
And thrown them away

I'll wait
For roses to be red again
And I hate
That you took my blue from the ocean

Give me back green greens and goldens
My purples, my blues, you stole them
How long will I be broken?

It's only black and white in my eyes
I'm colorblind

As the song concluded, Mercedes exited the booth and rejoined Santana in the lobby. "So... what did you think?"

Santana, leaning up against the soundboard, folded her arms. "It was good," she commented. "It was pretty obviously about a big-hearted, dumb as a bag of rocks, hair-dyeing, IN-A-RELATIONSHIP Trouty Mouth though."

"Don't act like you weren't just in my shoes," Mercedes side-eyed her friend as she took a seat. "I'm happy for him and Tina, but as an artist, I've got to say how I feel. You know?"

"Are you going to say those things to him, or keep it as vague as possible on the instrumental over here?"

Merecedes shook her head. "I'm not a homewrecker, Santana. I've seen how getting in between a relationship can affect someone. I'll never forget the look on Shane's face when I told him about Sam and I senior year... I do love Sam, but I can't have that happen again. Not to Tina, not to anyone."

"Too bad it already has."

Sancedes simultaneously whipped their heads around to see Tina standing in the doorway, makeup ruined from the tears streaming down her face. Mercedes jumped up out of her chair and began to make her way towards her roommate and friend. "Tina, what happ-"

Tina put her hand up, stopping Mercedes from coming any further. "Don't give me that," she snapped. "Sam cheated on me, and I know it was with you."

Mercedes was flabbergasted. "Tina, I don't know what you're talking about. Sam and I-"

"He cheated on me, and I just heard all of that song you wrote," she interrupted her once again, clearly not having it. "AND I've noticed the way you look at him, the way you talk to him. I notice the way YOU look at Mercedes, too," she pointed in Santana's face. "You've known this whole time."

Despite this not being her issue, Santana was never one to turn down a confrontation. "Oh, are you sure you want to come at me, Constance Wu?" She barked back, beginning to take out her earrings. "We might be in New York but that doesn't mean I won't go all Lima Heights on your sorry ass."

"GUYS!" Mercedes got in between the two, giving Santana the signal to cut it. She turned back to Tina. "Tina, I'm sorry about you and Sam, but that didn't involve me at all. I swear to you."

"But you still have feelings for him, don't you?"

Mercedes didn't answer right away. Finally, she decided to. "What I want doesn't matter here," she began gently. "You and Sam are great together, I don't want to come in between that."

Tina scoffed. "Some friend you are." She stomped out of the recording studio and slammed the door behind her, leaving Santana and Mercedes to process what the hell just happened.

It had been days since Sam and Tina interacted. Sam sat in his room, staring up at the Star Wars posters he put above his bed, just... broken. That was the best way to describe it. He messed up, sure, but it was an involuntary response. He didn't want to kiss Charlie Darling... but she kissed him, and his body just reacted. Kind of like Finn and Miss Pillsbury, but not as weird. It hurt even more that Tina assumed the worst out of him, with thinking it was Mercedes. That stung even more.

Almost on cue, he heard his door open, and as he turned over, he saw Tina standing in the doorway, arms folded. "I confronted Mercedes and she still loves you but it wasn't her," she grumbled.

Sam shot up and sat on the edge of the bed. "Did you guys fight? Who won?"

She crept further inside his room. "No, but Santana almost beat my ass for trying to say she was in on it." Sam nodded, pursing his lips and staring at his feet. "What happened?" Tina asked. Despite being heartbroken, she figured Sam at least deserved the chance to tell her the truth.

He took a deep breath, and looked up at Tina. "I was at my shoot, and that photographer was all over me... and it was so intense. It was, like, that scene in Fame. She just kissed me."

"And then what happened?"

"I got so upset that I started crying, and then she took some photos of me crying in my underwear, and then I just left."

Tina sighed, wanting to believe him, but her heart was broken into a million pieces. She didn't know what to believe at this point. "It's not like you kissed her back... right?"

"Well... I kind of, sort of did," he admitted. "But, it was just like one of those reflex reactions you have when someone kisses you, you know?"

Tina didn't say anything. "Sam, I believe you," she admitted. She really did. "But... I-I don't know. I need some time."

"Are you breaking up with me?" He asked, eyes beginning to cloud with tears.

Hers did the same. "I need to process all of this, Sam, I'm sorry."

She stormed out, slamming the door behind her, as Sam flopped back onto his bed, crying tears of his own. As Tina left and made her way back to her apartment, she knew she probably owed both Mercedes and Santana an apology... but there was a lot going on in her mind right now. She came to New York to leave the small town of Lima behind, to make a name for herself, and right now she felt smaller than she did in Lima. She needed a reset. She needed to focus, get herself back on her A-game, and start achieving her dreams. While the chapter of "Cohevans" might be closed for the time being, Tina had an entire life ahead of her in the Big Apple. Her story was just beginning... the rest is unwritten.

{The scene cuts to Rachel singing "Unwritten" by Natasha Bedingfield to Shelby and Miriam as the episode concludes}

I am unwritten
Can't read my mind
I'm undefined
I'm just beginning
The pen's in my hand
Ending unplanned

Staring at the blank page before you
Open up the dirty window
Let the sun illuminate the words that you could not find

Reaching for something in the distance
So close you can almost taste it
Release your inhibitions
Feel the rain on your skin
No one else can feel it for you
Only you can let it in
No one else, no one else
Can speak the words on your lips
Drench yourself in words unspoken
Live your life with arms wide open
Today is where your book begins
The rest is still unwritten

Oh, oh, oh

I break tradition
Sometimes my tries are outside the lines
We've been conditioned to not make mistakes
But I can't live that way

Staring at the blank page before you
Open up the dirty window
Let the sun illuminate the words that you could not find

Feel the rain on your skin
No one else can feel it for you
Only you can let it in
No one else, no one else
Can speak the words on your lips
Drench yourself in words unspoken
Live your life with arms wide open
Today is where your book begins
The rest is still unwritten
The rest is still unwritten
The rest is still unwritten

Oh, yeah, yeah

glee

Season 5B: New York

STARRING

Lea Michele as Rachel Berry

Chris Colfer as Kurt Hummel

Naya Rivera as Santana Lopez

Darren Criss as Blaine Anderson

Amber Riley as Mercedes Jones

Chord Overstreet as Sam Evans

Jenna Ushkowitz as Tina Cohen-Chang

Kevin McHale as Artie Abrams

GUEST STARRING

Max Adler as David Karofsky

Josh Sussman as Jacon Ben Israel

Michael Lerner as Sidney Greene

Jane Lynch as Sue Sylvester

Lauren Potter as Becky Jackson

Cory Monteith as Finn Hudson

Phoebe Strole as Penny Owen

Sarah Jessica Parker as Isabelle Wright

Dan Domenech as Chase Madison

Max Emerson as Male Model

Beau Garrett as Charlie Darling

Idina Menzel as Shelby Corcoran

Jessie Mueller as Miriam Reign

Tommy Bechtold as Charlie Darling's Assistant

Gary Dourdan as DeShawn

SONG(S) PERFORMED:

The Cardigans - Lovefool: Performed by Rachel Berry with Santana Lopez and Tina Cohen-Chang

Duran Duran - Girls on Film: Performed by Sam Evans with Charlie Darling

ABBA - I Have A Dream: Performed by Shelby Corcoran, Miriam Reign and Rachel Berry

Fleetwood Mac - Silver Springs: Performed by Tina Cohen-Chang

Glee Cast - Colorblind: Performed by Mercedes Jones

Natasha Bedingfield - Unwritten - Performed by Rachel Berry