DEAR PEN PAL Chapters 19 & 20
Time flies when your having fun….
All good things must come to an end….
Every cliché in the book seemed to pop into Clare's head as she sat in the McKinley High Auditorium sandwiched between Eli and the aisle where Artie sat in his chair.
God she'd miss Artie and McKinley when she had to go home and if it weren't for Eli she'd definitely consider going through the motions to try and move to Lima if only to avoid her parents bickering.
Her eyes scanned the room where she gazed at the rest of her classmates and the members of New Directions all looking rather happy most likely thinking back to their own experiences that occurred during the week when suddenly the two older men made their way on stage.
"So," Will said with a smile, "I assume you had a good week spending time with your pen pals."
The McKinley kids all looked to Rachel expecting her to stand up and go on a tangent however instead another gleek stood up, a smile on her face.
"We had a great week," Santana said winking to Drew much to Alli's annoyance, "these Degrassi kids were way cooler that I thought…well at least Drew was."
"Drew totally was way cool," Brittany said, "and a great kisser….I just wish I could have made out with everyone…can I?"
Simpson rolled his eyes while Will shook his head, Brittany's words obviously didn't faze him at all.
Alli meanwhile looked to Puck and leant into his ear to whisper.
"You, me, make out session, your truck, after…"
Puck looked to Mercedes and pondered going back to his dog like ways. It took him a few seconds before thinking Alli was going home the following day and whatever happened with her would stay with her.
"Sure," he mouthed back as their glee instructor began to talk again.
"Anyways so I guess your probably wondering why it's just the twenty four of you guys here when this is supposed to be a unity concert."
Now Rachel stood up.
"I definitely want to know why this is Mr. Schue, it's a travesty that no one but our peers and new found friends are here to hear us sing."
"You mean hear you sing," Santana mumbled causing Brit to laugh.
The teacher explained that Figgins didn't think that a silly concert should interrupt precious class time which in translation meant that either Sue got to him or that he was afraid another incident like the 'Push It' disaster would take place. He didn't say his assumptions out loud however and just left the Canadian principal to take the mic.
"New Directions, I don't know if any of your pen pals told you this but I used to be in a band…"
A few Degrassi teens groaned while a few others were definitely interested in this little tidbit of knowledge as were some of the McKinley students.
They listened as the older man talked about his band 'The Zit Remedy' and listened to him begin to sing, slightly off key and dance in a manor that frankly made Finn look like frickin Fred Astaire:
Everybody wants something; they'll never give up.
Everybody wants something; they'll take your money and never give up.
When the older man was done he was met with a soft applause while Will took the mic once more.
"Wow," he said smiling at the older man mentioning how he could of used him back during his Acafellas phase before turning back to the teens.
"So, who wants to go first."
As if on cue Rachel stood up and made her way up to the center of the stage, a huge grin on her face as she smoothed her skirt.
"Ok, first of all I want to start by saying Holly J, I've enjoyed getting to know you face to face this past week and I sincerely hope you do get into Yale and if you can't well…. It just so happens one of my two gay dads is an alum and he has pull their and could probably pull some strings and…. Anyways I've picked a selection for this showcase that I think captures Holly J and I quite nicely even though it is sung by a cartoon poodle…"
She rambled on a few more moments before tilting her head over to Brad the piano guy and begun to sing:
Girl, we've got work to do
Pass me the paint and glue
Perfect isn't easy
But it's me…
They all listened as the brunette showstopper sang her number and was ultimately met by a huge round of applause causing the diva to bow.
"Thank you, your too kind," she said with a smile while wondering who would dare come up and perform next.
"Anyone," Will said, "come on don't be shy…"
"I could always sing again," Simpson, suggested, "Mr. Schue says you kids are into Journey right?
Finn didn't really know this Simpson guy all to well but there was no way he was going to let him butcher Don't Stop Believing or some other song that was near and dear to his glee clubs heart and so as co-captain he knew it was his duty to turn to KC and whisper.
"I know Rachel can be intimidating and stuff," he said, "but do you really want to hear your teacher sing again."
KC swallowed.
He knew that the idea that he and Finn came up with would have to be executed sooner or later…he just was hoping it was more on the later side.
Nodding he raised his hand.
"I'll sing Mr. Simpson."
Eyes of his ex girlfriends Clare and Jenna turned to him wondering when this came about while some of his other classmates along with the gleeks were clapping and chanting 'KC…KC…KC…'
Standing on stage he took the mic and let his eyes look on to Jenna.
"Jenna, so I know that I've been a total jerk to you in hearing about…well…you know… and while I know that technically this baby may or may not be Fitz's I'm…well… that is…let's just say that being here in Lima, talking to Finn… well…"
He nodded and watched as Finn flipped on a boom box and let music fill the air.
Having my baby
What a lovely way of saying
How much you love me.
Having my baby
What a lovely way of saying
What your thinking of me.
I can see it, your face is glowing.
I can see it in your eyes
I'm happy knowin'
That your having my baby…
Jenna placed her hand on her baby bump as a smile crossed her lips and Quinn's arm draped round her shoulder as the ex-cheerio looked over to her own ex who had sung that song to her all too publicly with her parents once upon a time.
She smiled at him before watching KC get off the stage and lean into kiss Jenna.
Quinn knew that someway somehow those two kids would work out.
A few more people went up onstage to sing something or another and as Artie and Tina were taking a bow after singing a beautiful duet to Can You Feel The Love Tonight that Clare and Eli were sweetly dancing along too Will was making his way back to the center of the stage talking about how everyone was amazing so far and asked if there were any more volunteers.
Artie was whispering to the girls and Eli who soon headed offstage letting the wheelchair bound boy stay in place as soon Puck, Mike, Sav, and Drew joined him.
"Ok," Puck began, "so this was originally just going to be me Chang and Bhandari but we figured the actual band had five members so we asked Torres to join us since he's Alli's boyfriend and this is her favorite band and all…and well Artie's rocked out to this band before and so…."
Soon music began and Puck began to sing:
I may run and hide
When you're screamin' my name, alright
But let me tell you now
There are prices to fame, alright
All of our time spent in flashes of light
This quintet simply killed at singing Larger then Life and after a couple more numbers including a sweet country number by Jenna that made Rachel kind of wish she were a permanent student at McKinley it was time for the jam session to end but not before one final number.
"Ok," Puck said, "I know this song is from some cheesy teen movie that my sister loves more then humanly possible but it's catchy and I'm sure we all know it and so…well…"
Puck began to play a stripped down acoustic version of the popular Disney song was met by mixed reactions:
Together, together, together everyone
Together, together, come on lets have some fun
Together, were there for each other every time
Together together come on lets do this right
Here and now its time for celebration
I finally figured it out (yeah yeah)
That all our dreams have no limitations
That's what its all about(yeah yeah)
Everyone is special in their own way
We make each other strong (we make each other strong)
Were not the same
Were different in a good way
Together's where we belong
We're all in this together
Once we know
That we are
We're all stars
And we see that
We're all in this together
And it shows
When we stand
Hand in hand
Make our dreams come true
All twenty four teens sung along to the number, some totally on key, some cringingly off, and others while it was clear that they could sing amazingly were simply hamming it up.
Dancing around to the song with such enthusiasm savoring the final moments that they would spend together as a group.
The twelve members of New Directions had spent a long grueling afternoon at the airport saying their goodbyes to a group of people that had become a huge part of them despite the fact that they only had known them on a face-to-face basis for a week. After this goodbye there would be no more letters, at least no more letters that were mandatory through their specific school groups as some of the teens formulated friendships that would last them a lifetime, or at least for longer then a semester…
Rachel and Holly J:
The self proclaimed Diva and the former Queen B were both Alpha females at least in their own minds. They had been participants in numerous clubs and activities and with Rachel planning ways to win Regionals and Holly J planning ways to get a scholarship to Yale it would seem that the trip to Lima would be the last time that these two people contacted one another.
This was not the case.
Sure their contact wasn't as frequent as it was before but it was there, in fact it was a suggestion from one of Rachel's 'gay dads' that had landed the Degrassi senior the scholarship of her dreams and as she stood on stage as Valedictorian that spring in her speech she gave a special thanks to 'Rachel Berry whose name you'll all remember someday….'
Artie and Clare:
From the first letter that Artie had received he knew that there was something special about Clare. Hell if it had been another time and place where Tina wasn't in the picture he could have seen himself falling for the young authoress. They had a blast in Lima and after the fact their friendship seemed to blossom as they continued to correspond still through hand written letters though now addressed to home addresses. They would share short stories and song lyrics and geeky anecdotes that somehow they didn't think Tina and Eli would get. And speaking of their respective partners who were pen pals in there own right….
Tina and Eli:
Eli had her at classic hearse and she'd always been jealous of Morty, his baby and had at one point pondered talking to Kurt's dad to see if he knew where she could procure a hearse of her own, however seeing as that Eli's girlfriend Clare just so happened to be Artie's pen pal and good friend she thought of the next best thing. And so that summer after they competed at Nationals in New York (oh by the way they totally won Regionals) the two Americans would head to Canada for an extended stay and Eli promised that he'd let Tina behind the wheel, something that he didn't even let Clare do….
Puck and Alli:
With Puck and Alli it was a bit complicated at first. They were both in committed relationships when they had met face to face and yet at the same time they were wild children at heart with a previous history of sexting which caused them to worry about cheating on their loved ones with one another. However that was never the case, in fact they helped one another in their relationships with ideas on how to spice things up rather then hinder things and so as their friendship remained strong so did their relationships with Mercedes and Drew respectively…
Quinn and Jenna:
The two women kept in close contact by letters, e-mails, and even web chat, even more so as Jenna's due date drew near. After much deliberation Jenna had decided to keep her baby…well kind of anyway. 'Julia Quinn Middleton' would be under the legal custody of her brother Kyle until Jenna reached the age of twenty one, that way she could have the best of both worlds being full access to her daughter and a normal teenage life. Quinn was in the process of talking to Shelby about taking Beth to Canada sometime so that the two little girls could have a play date as the older of the two moms knew that their kids would be good friends….
Finn and KC:
This was one friendship that could of easily blossomed beyond the Lima meeting however for some reason this was one of the three pairs of students whose contact tapered off into non-existence …. Finn was…well Finn and that could have been the reason for this, as the jock didn't know if he was supposed to continue to write despite the fact that Rachel was clearly writing to Holly J however he thought it had to do with 'That Yale Thing.' KC meanwhile probably would of written to Finn had he not been caught up in his own life. His mom was now back in the picture and he was trying to formulate a relationship with her again after all these years, he'd gotten back together with Jenna and was in a good place, he even was allowed to visit and play dad (or at least honorary uncle) to Julia despite the fact that Kyle was raising her and Fitz was her bio dad…all and all despite not keeping in contact all was good for these guys….
Matt and Riley:
Of all the pairs of pen pals this pairing was total kismet as they were both living double lives as alpha male jocks and gay teens in a close-minded student body. When Riley received a football scholarship he was pondering taking two steps back into the closet which had cause a lot of friction with his boyfriend Zane however it was Matt who convinced him to be true to himself, after all college athletic departments had to be more open minded then small town High School ones…right…
Mercedes and Anya:
It was an interesting kind of friendship between these two personas but it defiantly seemed to work out. It seemed that besides stickers, cheering, and larping Anya had a soft spot in her heart for musicals in fact she was pondering auditioning for the roll of Kim in a local community production of Bye Bye Birdie. Mercedes encouraged Anya to do that and although she didn't plan on going out for any Lima community productions she'd seen a flyer on a bulletin board at the public library about a LARPing society and wondered if she could convince Kurt or Tina into going with her one Saturday to check out….
Kurt and Adam:
They were both strange strangers in their respective schools however once Adam got back to Degrassi he instantly wrote to Kurt about how grateful he was that Owen, Fitz, Bianca and the others hadn't gotten the memo about slushie facials yet. They were each other's rocks as they talked to one another about their day-to-day plights and about their relationships… Kurt's with Matt and Adams with…
Britney and Fiona: -
Fiona would of liked to of heard more from Brit as she was…. Interesting to say the least. She would of loved to of talked to the bubbly blonde about her new found relationship with Adam Torres of all people, listening to her inquire as to weather Adam was a boy or a girl and weather that would make Fiona bisexual…. Truthfully in Fiona's eyes she didn't know what she was and for the first time in her life she took pleasure in her uncertainty…
Santana and Drew:
Santana thought Drew was hot but that didn't help in keeping in touch with him as she still thought the whole pen pal thing was completely lame…. Drew was too busy with his girlfriend Alli to notice anyway….
Mike and Sav:
The dancer and the guitarist continued to share in their common interests of bad movies and parents who only wanted what was best for them despite the fact that they wanted totally different career paths. Mike was pleased to hear that Sav convinced his parents to let him double major in business and music theory as opposed to him going into something 'practical' like accounting or pre-med and only hoped that his parents would be accommodating like that and let him pursue his dream and apply to the programs he wanted to this time next year…..
THE END
The twelve members of New Directions had spent a long grueling afternoon at the airport saying their goodbyes to a group of people that had become a huge part of them despite the fact that they only had known them on a face-to-face basis for a week. After this goodbye there would be no more letters, at least no more letters that were mandatory through their specific school groups as some of the teens formulated friendships that would last them a lifetime, or at least for longer then a semester…
Rachel and Holly J:
The self proclaimed Diva and the former Queen B were both Alpha females at least in their own minds. They had been participants in numerous clubs and activities and with Rachel planning ways to win Regionals and Holly J planning ways to get a scholarship to Yale it would seem that the trip to Lima would be the last time that these two people contacted one another.
This was not the case.
Sure their contact wasn't as frequent as it was before but it was there, in fact it was a suggestion from one of Rachel's 'gay dads' that had landed the Degrassi senior the scholarship of her dreams and as she stood on stage as Valedictorian that spring in her speech she gave a special thanks to 'Rachel Berry whose name you'll all remember someday….'
Artie and Clare:
From the first letter that Artie had received he knew that there was something special about Clare. Hell if it had been another time and place where Tina wasn't in the picture he could have seen himself falling for the young authoress. They had a blast in Lima and after the fact their friendship seemed to blossom as they continued to correspond still through hand written letters though now addressed to home addresses. They would share short stories and song lyrics and geeky anecdotes that somehow they didn't think Tina and Eli would get. And speaking of their respective partners who were pen pals in there own right….
Tina and Eli:
Eli had her at classic hearse and she'd always been jealous of Morty, his baby and had at one point pondered talking to Kurt's dad to see if he knew where she could procure a hearse of her own, however seeing as that Eli's girlfriend Clare just so happened to be Artie's pen pal and good friend she thought of the next best thing. And so that summer after they competed at Nationals in New York (oh by the way they totally won Regionals) the two Americans would head to Canada for an extended stay and Eli promised that he'd let Tina behind the wheel, something that he didn't even let Clare do….
Puck and Alli:
With Puck and Alli it was a bit complicated at first. They were both in committed relationships when they had met face to face and yet at the same time they were wild children at heart with a previous history of sexting which caused them to worry about cheating on their loved ones with one another. However that was never the case, in fact they helped one another in their relationships with ideas on how to spice things up rather then hinder things and so as their friendship remained strong so did their relationships with Mercedes and Drew respectively…
Quinn and Jenna:
The two women kept in close contact by letters, e-mails, and even web chat, even more so as Jenna's due date drew near. After much deliberation Jenna had decided to keep her baby…well kind of anyway. 'Julia Quinn Middleton' would be under the legal custody of her brother Kyle until Jenna reached the age of twenty one, that way she could have the best of both worlds being full access to her daughter and a normal teenage life. Quinn was in the process of talking to Shelby about taking Beth to Canada sometime so that the two little girls could have a play date as the older of the two moms knew that their kids would be good friends….
Finn and KC:
This was one friendship that could of easily blossomed beyond the Lima meeting however for some reason this was one of the three pairs of students whose contact tapered off into non-existence …. Finn was…well Finn and that could have been the reason for this, as the jock didn't know if he was supposed to continue to write despite the fact that Rachel was clearly writing to Holly J however he thought it had to do with 'That Yale Thing.' KC meanwhile probably would of written to Finn had he not been caught up in his own life. His mom was now back in the picture and he was trying to formulate a relationship with her again after all these years, he'd gotten back together with Jenna and was in a good place, he even was allowed to visit and play dad (or at least honorary uncle) to Julia despite the fact that Kyle was raising her and Fitz was her bio dad…all and all despite not keeping in contact all was good for these guys….
Matt and Riley:
Of all the pairs of pen pals this pairing was total kismet as they were both living double lives as alpha male jocks and gay teens in a close-minded student body. When Riley received a football scholarship he was pondering taking two steps back into the closet which had cause a lot of friction with his boyfriend Zane however it was Matt who convinced him to be true to himself, after all college athletic departments had to be more open minded then small town High School ones…right…
Mercedes and Anya:
It was an interesting kind of friendship between these two personas but it defiantly seemed to work out. It seemed that besides stickers, cheering, and larping Anya had a soft spot in her heart for musicals in fact she was pondering auditioning for the roll of Kim in a local community production of Bye Bye Birdie. Mercedes encouraged Anya to do that and although she didn't plan on going out for any Lima community productions she'd seen a flyer on a bulletin board at the public library about a LARPing society and wondered if she could convince Kurt or Tina into going with her one Saturday to check out….
Kurt and Adam:
They were both strange strangers in their respective schools however once Adam got back to Degrassi he instantly wrote to Kurt about how grateful he was that Owen, Fitz, Bianca and the others hadn't gotten the memo about slushie facials yet. They were each other's rocks as they talked to one another about their day-to-day plights and about their relationships… Kurt's with Matt and Adams with…
Britney and Fiona: -
Fiona would of liked to of heard more from Brit as she was…. Interesting to say the least. She would of loved to of talked to the bubbly blonde about her new found relationship with Adam Torres of all people, listening to her inquire as to weather Adam was a boy or a girl and weather that would make Fiona bisexual…. Truthfully in Fiona's eyes she didn't know what she was and for the first time in her life she took pleasure in her uncertainty…
Santana and Drew:
Santana thought Drew was hot but that didn't help in keeping in touch with him as she still thought the whole pen pal thing was completely lame…. Drew was too busy with his girlfriend Alli to notice anyway….
Mike and Sav:
The dancer and the guitarist continued to share in their common interests of bad movies and parents who only wanted what was best for them despite the fact that they wanted totally different career paths. Mike was pleased to hear that Sav convinced his parents to let him double major in business and music theory as opposed to him going into something 'practical' like accounting or pre-med and only hoped that his parents would be accommodating like that and let him pursue his dream and apply to the programs he wanted to this time next year…..
THE END