It's Not Over Yet (the seventh book in the glee series)

Chapter 20: Hand In To The Flame

"Yes," said Amity. Then she added, "Sorry."

"It's not that I don't want to support them," Harmony said. "But I have to admit that... If they weren't technically family, I might prefer for them to skip out on the event."

Unique and Amity made faces.

"Oh you can't blame me," said Harmony. "This is my big day and... All this drama with them... It's only been a week. People are bound to be hung up on it still."

"I get it," said Unique, shrugging.

Amity bit the inside of her lip, unsure what to say. She still hadn't seen or heard from Alex since the Grammys and she wasn't even sure if he was going to show up to the wedding at all.

***

"She defended him?" asked Julie, standing in her bridesmaid dress while adjusting her heels. They were just a bit too big for her and she was afraid that the already-hard-to-walk-on grass in Dan's backyard would lead her to tripping.

Standing in one of her fancier but still professional pantsuits, Addison nodded, her tablet in hand. "She said she thought he was incapable and it has led some of her more conservative following to give him a break but... There's still a lot of people against him. Your fans, especially. Even after his statement denying the allegations on social media... they don't believe him."

"This is a nightmare," she sighed, watching as more and more guests arrived for the ceremony. There wasn't a single person who hadn't taken their time to stare at her with pity or fear the moment they realized she was there.

"It would be a lot easier to navigate if Alex didn't disappear after ten seconds here," said Addison. "Seriously, where is he? I haven't seen him in, like, five days or something.

"I'd love to know too," Julie said, looking around. "He said he'd be here but the wedding is gonna start soon and–"

"Julie," said Cory, approaching with hands in his pockets.

"I'll be over there," Addison pointed vaguely before walking away.

Once the siblings were alone, Cory asked, "How you holding out?"

"I'm here, aren't I?" she shrugged. "Avoiding Dad."

He followed her gaze to the front row of the chairs arranged in the yard. Tony and Veronica were sitting there with the twins.

"I'm sure he's got a lot to say about Alex right now," she sighed.

"He doesn't believe he cheated," Cory responded. "Nobody does. Anyone with doubts was convinced of his innocence by that statement he put out about how much he loves you."

She looked around at the guests, some of them staring and whispering to each other. "I wouldn't be so sure."

***

"Five minutes til the ceremony starts," Sam heard the moment he stepped in Dan and Harmony's backyard. It wasn't even directed at him but he felt the pressure of the day.

"You ever think about our big day?" said Mandy as she arrived behind him. "How tragic it was?

"I'm gonna go sit down," said Xavier, giving Sam a quick, indifferent nod before taking off towards the chairs, which were mostly taken by now.

Sam turned to Mandy and said, "Surprised you're here. Or that you brought him."

"I was invited," she shrugged. "We both were, for the record."

"Cool," said Sam, not adding anything else.

She rolled her eyes and said, "He's cool with you now. Or well, not cool, but... He's not out to get you or anything like that. You can relax."