And now the purple dusk
of twilight time
Steals across the meadows
of my heart
High up in the sky
the little stars climb
Always reminding me
that we're apart
~Nat King Cole, Stardust
Violet kneeled at Finn's grave, dusting off the headstone, and setting down a new bouquet of flowers. It was dawn, and Violet had to get to school soon, but she wanted to stop by to see Finn first.
"I know I haven't seen you this past week, but I think you'd understand because we were really buckling down with Nationals prep. We're actually flying out today. We're all heading to the airport after we meet up at school, but I just wanted to say bye first, and hope that somehow, someway, you can impart some wisdom onto me because I'm actually kind of worried."
She sat down and played with the petals of the flowers, "Natasha, my ex, is still sending me videos of our competition, and they're really good. And the thing is, I know we're good too, but I'm just hoping that it's enough. This year has been so tough that I really want this win for us. Not just because it's my senior year, but because I know Sue's gonna be a hardass about this."
"I talked to Sue about potentially losing just as a safety measure, but she's not budging on the whole 'we need to win first' thing, so the program's definitely gonna get cut if we don't win, and I just don't want to have the underclassmen experience that. You saw how disjointed everyone was without Glee."
Violet sighed, "I wish you were here. I wish you were here to see what we're gonna do because it's all for you. We realized that you were the missing piece to Nationals and so we're dedicating our entire performance to you, the guy who brought us together more times than we can count."
Violet's alarm then sounded, "Shit. I have to go and drive to school." She got up from the ground and brushed herself off before looking at his name one last time, "Wish us luck, Finn."
Violet then drove to McKinley. She took her small suitcase out of her car and stared at the building. She really couldn't believe that she'd be graduating soon. She couldn't believe that a club she cared so little for initially, a club that she actively tried to not be apart of, is one of the things she'd miss most about the Ohio high school.
Her next flight out was the start to the end of her chapter here at McKinley, the chapter that she started when she stepped into the school her sophomore year. Frankly, Violet didn't know if she was ready to say goodbye to everyone, but time didn't wait for anyone.
So Violet walked into the school and straight to Mr. Schue's office where the teacher called her and Sam to come into his office before Glee. Sam and Mr. Schue were already sitting there when Violet came into the room.
"Hey, what's this about?" Violet asked, and Mr. Schue just gestured for her to sit down next to Sam.
Sam looked at Mr. Schue, "Um, I just want to let you know that even though I've kind of, like, checked out of school since I'm not going to college, I'm totally committed to Glee Club, you know. I've had Vi and Blaine drilling me, like nonstop on the rights and lefts of the choreography."
Violet added, "And we both recruited two Cheerios that were willing to fill for us just so we could get to 12 members. Everyone knows the choreo and the harmonies are solid. Oh! And Burt and Carol should be here soon. I made sure to call them–"
"You both don't need to prove yourselves to me," Mr. Schue cut her off. "Finn transformed this club when he joined up. He wasn't just a male lead, he was the captain of the football team. He was the coolest kid in school. I mean, a real dude, you know? He was our secret weapon at those competitions."
Violet furrowed her eyebrows, "Where are you going with this exactly?"
Mr. Schue continued, "Other schools might have had their version of a Rachel or a Kurt, but no one had a Finn."
Sam looked down, "Yeah, he... he made it seem pretty cool."
The teacher stared at the blonde boy, "When he recruited you, he wasn't just looking for another voice in here. He was looking for someone to take his place after he graduated. Someone to help lead all of these wonderful misfits."
"I'm not Finn, Mr. Schue," Sam glanced over at Violet, slightly panicked. "Finn was, like, a real leader, you know? L-Like Violet."
Violet took his hand, "And you."
"The reason why I brought both of you in here is because I'm gonna need both of you to be my people when we get to L.A."
Sam shook his head, "Look, you don't need me if you already have Vi. She's been doing a great job by herself."
Mr. Schue explained, "Honestly, if this were any other competition, I might see that, but after the year we've had, and with this competition, I'll need both of you."
Violet agreed, "Look, I'll probably be too worried about the arrangements and the choreography, and trying to manage Natasha and maybe even Annie trying to psych me out. I need all of the help I can get."
Mr. Schue continued, "The kids want you to be that guy. They're all waiting for you to see yourself the way they see you. The new kids love you, and so do the older ones. I'm sure that everything is gonna be fine once we get there. But if the time comes, and you need to step up, I'm gonna be counting on you to get it done."
Tina then peaked her head into the office, "They're here."
The three of them nodded at her before getting up and entering the choir room's anxious, yet excited air. When Burt and Carol walked through the doors, Violet instantly gave them both a hug.
When she gave Carol an embrace, she whispered, "Are you sure you're okay?"
Carol broke the hug and gave her a small smile, "I'll be fine, sweetie. I'm just excited to watch you perform."
Violet sighed and gave her an uneasy smile. It was the first time Carol was going to really be doing anything with the Glee Club since Finn's death. The New Directions was a giant part of who Finn was, so Violet could only imagine how hard it might be to be here. She debated even asking them to come, but she knew that after hearing their performance, Burt and Carol would get some form of closure that they needed.
Burt looked at her and rubbed her arm reassuringly, "Don't worry about us. You have something else to focus on." He looked beyond her and towards the rest of the group, "Actually before we head out, we thought we could say some things."
The New Directions all took a seat with their pieces of luggage in hand as they stared at Burt and Carol. Burt started, "We just wanted to come in and say that, uh, Finn really cared about you guys. More than you know."
"Finn always said that winning Nationals was the greatest accomplishment of his life. But I honestly believe that coaching you guys to winning would have meant even more to him," Carol continued.
"Now, we're not saying go out there and win it for Finn. That wasn't his style. Um, what Finn would have said was this is the time of your lives right now. You're never gonna forget it, and in a moment, it's all gonna be over."
Violet gripped Sam and Blaine's hands at those words. It was really their last competition together.
"So no sad faces. No regrets," Carol instructed. "Just go out there and have a blast, and, you know, it'll be okay if you won the damn thing."
The group laughed with her. Mr. Schue got up from his seat, "And the best part about it is that Burt and Carol have agreed to come with us as chaperones. But I think before we go, we need a little mood music to send us off. Brad?"
Violet chuckled, "Do we really have enough time for a number?"
But the band and Brad started to play Randy Newman's "I Love L.A" for the group to sing before they departed to the airport.
The flight from the Dayton International Airport to LAX was a long one, about 7 hours to be exact. There wasn't much to do on their cheap flight besides sleep or 'do their homework' or other miscellaneous tasks.
Because Sam was asleep and Blaine sat next to Tina, Violet took the opportunity to fill out some NYADA forms that she was holding off on. NYADA gave her a bunch of paperwork because Carmen Tibideaux knew Violet could test out of a significant amount of freshman classes because of her previous training. This meant that Violet had to look over and sign forms indicating that she'd test out of those classes before the fall semester started.
Violet hadn't thought much about being a student at NYADA. Frankly, she didn't care that much, which is why she's been avoiding these forms. A part of Violet was still hesitant about all of this because of how much trauma New York held, but she knew in her heart that New York would be different this time around. That didn't stop the sinking feeling in her stomach though.
Throughout the flight, Violet's mind kept wandering to different things and her eyes wandered to different people. She noticed how Kitty and Artie were cuddled up and how Unique was actually doing her schoolwork. Violet noticed the hostility between Jake and Ryder, which worried her, and she noticed how Blaine and Tina looked like they were gossiping about who knows what.
Violet also noticed that in the aisle seat next to her, Marley wasn't doing anything besides listening to music. The girl, who at every opportunity before, used to constantly write lyrics into her notebook and write song after song, was just sitting in her seat, listening to music.
Violet tapped her on the shoulder and got her attention, "You're not working on any songs?"
Marley stuttered, "Oh, I– I've been focusing on Nationals, and just trying to get in that mindset, so I put a pause on my songwriting. That's it."
"I mean, uh, that's good. Do you want to do a songwriting session after Nationals though? I leave pretty soon after graduation, so, ya know, before I go..."
Marley just nodded her head, "Yeah, definitely."
The sophomore girl just put her earbud back in and that left Violet feeling skeptical of the entire conversation. Marley seemed so detached from her songwriting. The fire that she once held for it was practically fully extinguished and Violet didn't know why. She didn't know how to help her either.
It was unlike Marley to not tell Violet what was going on. After the two became closer nearly 6 months ago, Marley told Violet practically everything. But Violet didn't know if she should pry. Maybe Marley did really want to focus on Nationals. It was her first Nationals after all, and ever since Sectionals, Marley's always felt wary of show choir competitions.
Violet decided to push it to the back of her mind, at least for now, and she figured that she'd just talk to Marley about it after the competition. But then, someone decided to pull it to the forefront of her thoughts again.
When Violet got up to stretch her legs, she decided to walk to Jake's row where Ryder had gotten up to the bathroom.
"I'm surprised you took the middle seat," VIolet mentioned, impressed.
Jake huffed, "Yeah, well I was being gracious because Jenny wanted the window seat, and she's doing us a favor by competing with us."
Violet patted his shoulder, "Good. I'm proud."
"And I'm uncomfortable."
Violet chuckled, "No shit. You and Ryder are shoulder to shoulder here. I can at least give Marley a little bit of room because Sam's next to me."
Jake's eyes lit up slightly at the sound of her name, "Um, so how is she?"
"She's fine... it's a long flight, but nothing's really happened," Violet looked at him confused.
"No, I know that. It's just... Marley's been kinda off lately and I don't know if she relapsed–"
"She's been eating, and she's still going to therapy. Don't worry. I still keep a close eye on her."
Jake sighed, "Okay, then I don't know what it is. I just know that something's off."
She patted his shoulder, "You worry too much."
But he could see in her eyes that same look of concern, "But you know that something's off too, right?"
Violet pursed her lips, "No, yeah. Of course, I noticed. She hasn't written a song in a while, but I asked her about it, and she says she's fine. She's just focused on Nationals."
"It's something deeper than that."
"I know."
He looked at her expectantly, "So? Are we gonna do anything about it?"
"Jake, I don't think she'd appreciate you butting into her life."
Jake sighed, "Fine. Are you gonna do anything about it?"
"I will. I will. I'll just do it after Nationals. Look, competitions already kinda put her on edge, and I don't want to berate something out of her that she doesn't want to talk about yet," Violet explained. "But I will talk to her about it eventually."
Jake trusted her, "Okay."
Ryder then came back from the tiny airplane bathroom which left Violet to go back to her seat in between Marley and a still soundly sleeping Sam. And eventually, the hours dwindled until they touched down.
Once they arrived at LAX, thanks to timezone changes, the New Directions arrived at around noon which meant that they couldn't check into their hotel rooms yet. So, they all decided to take a tour of L.A. and go sightseeing on a double-decker bus where they visited various locations from a famous LA hot dog joint to the iconic buildings in Hollywood.
Once the tour ended, the Glee Club rode to their hotel, still full of excitement and chatter. Sam and Violet sat next to each other on the bus, and he wrapped his arm around her, "So what'd you think of L.A.?"
"It was pretty, but it's not really my speed. It's too sunny," Violet scrunched her nose.
Sam chuckled at her, "You're such a New Yorker."
She retorted with a smile, "And soon enough, you'll be one too."
"A New Yorker with a small town country heart?"
Violet nodded, "Yes, a New Yorker with a small town country heart." She craned her neck to give him a peck which he reciprocated. Their kiss was cut short when they heard a chorus of boos and awws and 'get a room' from their peers.
"Hey, you two! Stop the PDA! We're at the hotel!" Burt teasingly yelled over to the couple, making them break apart.
They unloaded the bus, and Mr. Schue went up to the front desk to check them in. Or he tried to check the group in with a lot of trouble which meant that the 12 students were standing in the hotel lobby, trying to see if there was anyone famous they could spot.
"I really don't think a celebrity would stay at a 3-star hotel," Violet told the group.
Kitty replied, "But you're staying here."
Violet rolled her eyes playfully at the girl, but the conversation was immediately forgotten when Kitty looked towards the door and loudly whispered, "Don't look now, but I think someone famous just came in!"
Violet turned to look, and she grinned from ear to ear as Mercedes walked– no, strutted through the door.
Unique replied, "Even better! It's Mercedes Jones!"
Violet hugged Mercedes, "You're here!"
"I was hoping you'd make it!" Tina smiled, hugging her after Violet.
"Are y'all crazy? I wouldn't miss this for the world."
Unique walked up to her excitedly, "Ooh, I heard that you got a record contract because either Usher, Kelly Clarkson, or Michael Jackson's daddy bought your album in a 7-Eleven parking lot."
Mercedes looked at Violet, "You didn't tell them what happened?"
Vi shrugged, "It's fun to listen to them speculate. Plus, I figured that you'd want to tell them the story yourself."
"Yeah, you're right," Mercedes nodded before turning back to the group of awestruck teens. "I was selling my CD Hell 2 the No in a parking lot. Now, I ain't gonna lie, business was wack. But then this Mexican lady bought one. I think she felt sorry for me."
She continued, "Turns out, that Mexican angel on Earth was the housekeeper to Kanye West. She gave it to Kanye, who gave it to Kim, and she gave it to Ryan Seacrest, who gave it to Sony Records. The Sony Records. Next thing I know, I'm sipping Perrier with a bunch of rich dudes."
Violet then boasted about Mercedes, "She even leveraged her songwriting ability, so she can get her own album with all of the perks. So so proud."
Artie then stopped them, "Hold up. Is that dog alive?"
"Oh, it's a faux-huahua. A fake Chihuahua."
The group was stunned, but still, Tina yelled over to their teacher, "Mr. Schue! Mercedes is here!"
Half-heartedly, he waved at her, "Oh, hey, Mercedes." Then, he turned back to the front desk people.
Violet rolled her eyes and asked the group, "Why do I feel like Sue did something?"
Artie responded, "I wouldn't be surprised. She hasn't tried to sabotage us in a while, and I thought it was because she became principal, but I guess not."
Ryder asked, "Violet, can't you use your status or something to sort this out?"
"No, yeah. I should probably. Why don't we all go up?"
As the New Directions were about to walk up to the front desk, Blaine stopped them when he noticed a group walk through the doors.
"Oh my God. That's them," Blaine's face dropped.
"Who?"
Blaine turned around to the group, "Do you seriously have no idea who that is? Do none of you read the show choir blogs?"
Kitty retorted, "No, Blaine, we don't. None of us read the show choir blogs. Just you."
Violet bit her lip anxiously as soon as she spotted Annie and Natasha, hand in hand, "It's Throat Explosion." Sam noticed this and laced his hand into hers. He squeezed her hand slightly just so she'd know he was there for her.
Blaine added, "And that's their leader, Jean-Baptiste. Jean-Baptiste was born in Quebec to acrobatic parents. He trained with Cirque du Soleil before emigrating to Ft. Wayne where he used his French-Canadian circus stylings to turn the show choir world upside down."
Jean-Baptiste walked up to the group, "Bonjour! You must be the New Directions. And you... must be Blaine."
"How did you know my name?" Blaine asked hesitantly.
He replied, "Show choir blogs." Then he turned to Violet who was right beside Blaine, "Violet Maria Suzuki-Anthony. I was hoping to see you here."
"I wouldn't be anywhere else," Violet said lowly.
He chuckled, "Yeah I figured. Did you know that you were actually the only person to reject an invitation to Throat Explosion? No matter. It's a good thing you're replaceable."
Sam took this opportunity to step in between the two, "I'm, you know, I'm Sam Evans, and I'm the leader of the New Directions. And, you know, I know you guys are all really good and stuff, but that's just gonna get us out of our comfort zones and send us over the top."
Jean-Baptiste looked at him amusedly, "Well, it was really great to meet you, Sam. Best of luck, New Directions. We really can't wait to see your set. And crush you like a bug. Bye!"
Violet then walked up to Natasha and Annie, who both looked like they were expecting her to approach them. Violet commented, "Annie, I'm surprised you're wearing a turtle neck. You've always hated how claustrophobic they make you feel."
Annie's face softened slightly at Violet's observation. But before Annie could even speak, Natasha crossed her arms, "Well, Annie's changed and she's grown as a person. Something that you wouldn't know about."
Violet glared at Natasha, "Like you would even know what growth is."
"Personally, I think growth is moving on from the ex that scorned you so badly, but I still see you're with that country hick," Natasha retorted.
Violet scoffed at the blonde, "Ironic that you think growth is moving on when you can't even do that yourself."
Natasha smirked, "I have no idea what you're talking about." She then turned to her girlfriend, "Annie, we should go."
The redhead just simply nodded before following her girlfriend and the rest of Throat Explosion. Violet looked at her go sadly before turning back and joining her own team.
§ § §
"Are you sure we should be doing this? Because if we get caught–"
Tina cut Unique off and pushed her forward slightly, "Oh, just go!" The New Directions all had flashlights in hand as they entered the dark stage at the Orpheum.
Blaine reassured everyone, "Trust me. When I was in the Warblers, sneaking onto stage the night before a show was tradition. We had other traditions, but I can't speak of them."
Violet chuckled, "Why am I not surprised that rich, prep school boys didn't get punished for trespassing."
Sam replied, "We're not doing anything wrong. We're just, you know, getting a feel for the layout of the stage– our stage."
"I don't know. I still feel like they wouldn't care if we weren't doing anything wrong because they'd be too focused on the fact that we're trespassing," Violet retorted.
Evidently, Violet wasn't a fan of this idea. She just wanted to do things by the book for once. They've already broken the rules once and got punished for it at Sectionals, and she didn't want to risk their place on the National stage just because they wanted to do something stupid.
"So should we sing a song or hold hands or say a prayer or something?" Artie asked. "Because if I'm being honest, this ghost lighting's kind of freaking me out."
Sam announced to the group, "Alright, everybody, circle up. I have a surprise."
Sam took center stage as everyone created a circle, and he started to make his speech, "Finn Hudson made us a promise at the beginning of the year: that we were all going back to Nationals together."
He started to walk around the group, and he was talking to each of them individually, or at least, that's what it felt like.
"Even when we lost Sectionals, which was totally not Marley's fault, Finn told us that it wasn't over. He said that we'd be right here, together. Now, maybe you're thinking, 'Finn isn't here.'"
Sam then pulled out Finn's plaque from the silver case he brought, "Well, he is. I made sure of it."
The tender moment was interrupted by Jean-Baptiste's boisterous voice, "Les Directions Nouveau! Uh, apparently we had the same plan for an illegal midnight rehearsal."
"'We'? You're alone," Blaine rolled his eyes.
"Am I?" Jean-Baptiste asked as he made his way onto the stage. Loudly, the auditorium lights turned on which revealed the rest of Throat Explosion in the wings. "Existentially, yes, Blaine. Perhaps. We are all alone. But tonight. Tonight, this stage belongs to us from midnight until dawn."
"You see, I called in a few show choir favors. So, we'll just give you three minutes to gather your feelings and leave," he got into Violet's space since she was glaring holes into his head.
"Who is that?" one of the Throat Explosion members pointed to the plaque. "Your spirit guide?"
"Dolph, enough. Have some respect," Jean-Baptiste said sternly. His face softened when he looked back at his competition, "Look, everyone knows you're that show choir. And everyone knows it's been a very rough year for you. And now, everyone is just waiting and watching... you."
As he was finishing up his speech, Natasha came up from behind Violet. Violet didn't even need to turn around to notice her, "So you're still lying to your girlfriend?"
"Girlfriend is such a stringent term. You know I don't like labels," Natasha replied.
"And yet you're still letting her believe that you are her loyal girlfriend," she scoffed.
"And doesn't that make your blood boil? Seeing how happy we are together? You know, this could be you again because I'm sure Annie would just forgive us if we got back together. You'd have it all again. A loving girlfriend and your best friend."
Violet pursed her lips, "I wouldn't do that to Annie, Nat. She deserves to be treated better than this. Just be happy with her if you really love her and leave me alone. I'm happy with my life. I'm happy with my boyfriend."
"You're naive to think that your life in Ohio is fulfilling," Natasha emptily chuckled. Her eyes focused on the part of Violet's face she could see since Violet still had her back turned to her. Natasha's blue eyes swirled with memories from their past and how much they've all changed, and how much she missed her life before Violet left.
Her voice then became sincere, "I never stopped loving you. You were my first love, after all."
"What happened to 'we weren't meant to be'?" Violet remembered their conversation from sophomore year.
"I was wrong, okay? You were just... still so damaged by your parents, and I wanted to give you space to heal. I didn't want to drive you into someone else's arms," Natasha explained truthfully.
Violet furrowed her eyebrows, "So you thought that the best way to get me back is to get me jealous by dating our best friend?"
"We are Throat Explosion! Expect us!" Jean-Baptiste announced before he gestured for the rest of his show choir group to get into place. "7-8!"
Violet just shook her head and left with the rest of the New Directions. She knew that this was a possibility, but Violet still couldn't believe that Natasha was just using Annie to make her jealous. The worst part was that Annie still had no idea.
AUTHOR'S NOTE
lol I wanted to release this earlier, but then I got distracted from editing and made banana bread. oh! and part 2 shall be released tomorrow, so you won't have to wait too long:)
GOOD NEWS!
I'm starting to develop the Sebastian fic now! It'll be taking place partially in season 5A, but it'll take place the fall semester of their freshman year at Stanford. The OCs name is Demi Nguyen, and I'm actually excited for this to happen.
keep in mind, this Sebastian fic is still in this universe, but it won't really follow any episodes because this follows him in college.