Glee: Back to the Top (the third book in the Glee series)

Chapter 71: Santana's Crazy and You Know It

"Fancy meeting you here," Ryder sighed when he stepped outside and saw Kitty sitting on the steps. 

"Just needed a break," she explained as he sat down. "Mike's a great dancer but he makes way too many references to the fact that he's Asian. That performance in there was..."

"Everything ok?" he asked.

She shrugged and said, "Just gave me a lot to think about, I guess. What about you? How are you holding up?"

Ryder was unsure as to what she was talking about. "With?" he asked.

Kitty glanced up at him and said, "Obviously there's something bugging you. You're not still hung up on the she-demon, are you?

Giving her a stern look, he shrugged and said, "I guess she got under my skin."

"I know what that's like," Kitty whispered to herself. She let out a deep breath and looked down at her phone as the screen lit up. "They're starting again. Mike versus Sam, apparently. Let's go."

***

"Ok," Joe said, standing between Kitty and Ryder while the rest of the New Directions and the mentors sat around the choir room. "Mike, you've chosen Kitty to represent your team. Sam, you've chosen Ryder. I'll flip this coin here and whoever gets it will choose the song."

Sam scowled and said, "That doesn't seem fair. What if she chooses some dance song?"

"Then she'll show how much better she is," Mike teased.

Kitty looked over at him and winked but Ryder just said, "It's fine, Sam. I'll take whatever happens. Heads."

"I wanted Tails anyway," Kitty retorted. Joe flipped his coin and looked up once he'd caught it. "What is it?" Kitty asked him.

"Tails," he responded, walking over to an empty chair beside Bree.

"Sweet!" Mike exclaimed. "Do the dance routine we've been working on."

Kitty nodded and took her place. Just as the music was starting, however, she took one look at Ryder and said, "Wait, stop. Stop the song."

The band stopped playing and everyone looked around, confused as though she were just about to have another emotional breakdown.

Instead, however, she said, "Ryder, can I have a quick word outside?"

Ryder nodded and followed her to the hallways. "What is it?" he asked her.

She looked back in the the room and pulled him away from the door before saying, "I know that you're probably feeling like you're never going to let her go... Or vice versa... But I've been there before. And one day, you'll look at her or maybe even just think about her, and you'll know things have changed."

"Thanks," Ryder replied softly. "That was a surprisingly nice thing for you to say."

Kitty grinned and said, "I have my moments. Now come on. I hear belting it out now and then can really help you get all that built-up angst and bitterness out."

"I bet," he chuckled, nodding and following her back to the choir room.

"If you two are done making out over there," Santana said, annoyed. "Have a song yet?"

"Yeah," Kitty said, smiling at Ryder. "I think we do." She walked over to Brad and whispered something. Once the band had come together, they started playing and everyone else awaited.

["Turning Tables" by Adele and done in Season 2 by Holly.]

Kitty: Close enough to start a war. All that I have is on the floor. God only knows what we're fighting for. All that I say, you always say more.