I know I'm just a
Wrinkle in your new life
Staying friends
Would iron it out so nice
Guilty, guilty reaching out across the sea
That you put between you and me
But it's fake
And it's oh so unnecessary
~Taylor Swift, Closure
After a successful first-place Regionals showing over the weekend, Violet conferred with Sue, and they decided to give the Cheerios a day of rest for their record-high score. This meant that the football team got early use of the field, so Violet was alone.
But Sheldon Beiste was finally back, so Violet excitedly greeted her mentor.
"I'm so glad you're back! It feels like it's been a year since I last saw you!" Violet exclaimed, practically vibrating with excitement.
Sheldon rolled his eyes as he teased, "Were you always this overdramatic?"
Violet chuckled, "Yes, but I'm usually really good at hiding it. But I'm just too excited to keep it contained."
"Well, I'm happy to see you too, Vi," the man smiled fondly at his former student-turned-colleague.
"I also love the button-down. It's a nice change," Violet commented genuinely.
Sheldon looked at her with some insecurity, "Really? You don't think it's too jarring?"
"The button-down?" Sheldon then gave her a look, so the raven-haired girl answered his real question, "I think that you look good. The only thing that people will be thrown off by is the fact that you're no longer in athleisure."
He breathed a sigh of relief, "Good because I'm already nervous about people treatin' me different. I don't need people to gawk at me too."
She tilted her head in confusion, "I mean, surely our inner circle of people wouldn't treat you differently."
Sheldon chuckled at the girl's naivety, "I think you're the only one that'll be treatin' me like this has always been how I looked. I think you were more excited about me coming back than my new look."
"It's because your new look is really you!" Violet repeated before shaking her head. "I really don't think our people will make a big deal out of it."
"I want you to think about every single individual in our inner circle. Like really think about it, pumpkin."
The girl considered everyone and a look of realization and horror dawned upon her. And just as this realization hit, Sue and Sam walked up to the pair.
"Coach! Welcome back!" Sue exclaimed. "You know, from a distance, I almost mistook you for an aging, yet virile, James Garner."
Sheldon gave Violet a knowing look before shaking Sue's hand, "Oh, thanks, Sue. It's good to be back."
Sam was looking at Sheldon in awe, "Coach, it is so good to have you back and in true form. Oh, my gosh. We got so much guy talk to catch up on that we never even got to do before. Like, uh, about me and Violet and how my mom wants us to have babies–"
Violet face-palmed as Coach Beiste stopped his rant, "You're fine, Sam. Take a breath, so you don't blackout on me."
Sue wrapped her arm around Sheldon and started walking with him while the couple followed shortly behind. Violet whispered, "Did you really have to mention that?"
"What? Do you not want that included in guy talk?"
Violet looked up to the ceiling as if to ask for help from a god she didn't know existed. "Someone, please let the discussions about putting a baby in my womb stop."
"Coach, I want you to know that I've taken steps to battle the scourge of cisnormativity and transmisogyny and some other terms I'd never heard of until I did a quick Wikipedia search this morning."
Beiste gave another knowing look to Violet who was falling into step with the older adults alongside her oblivious boyfriend. Sheldon replied to Sue, "Um, thanks, but I just want things to go right on back to normal, you know.
Sam interjected, "Oh! Good because I had this list of all these pronouns. I mean, you just tell me which one, and I'll enforce it. There's 'he,' there's 'it,' 'zhim,' 'ze' –"
Violet took the paper from his clipboard and crumpled it up as Sheldon replied, "I– I think 'he' and 'him' works fine."
Sue then turned to face the returning coach, "Now, as you know, I've always been quite vocal about my opposition to bullying in any form–"
"Unless it's by yourself," Violet muttered.
" –And I want you to know that I am here for you as a friend, ally, and, uh, shoulder to cry on. Metaphorically, of course, because you're a man now, and real men don't cry," Sue continued, not hearing Violet's remark.
Sheldon commented, "I gotta say, I'm impressed, Sue. I kind of figured someone would say somethin' or gawk at me funny or–"
Sue interrupted him, "Coach, you will be happy to know that McKinley High is now a fully gender-fluid high school. Okay, now, if you'll excuse me, out of the corner of my eye, I see a fatty, who could use a good healthy fat-shaming."
The older man then turned to the couple, "Ah, I should get goin' too. I have some return paperwork I gotta fill out now that I'm back."
Sam grinned at him, "Okay, but bro-talk later?" He then offered Sheldon a high-five which he took. "Yeah! That's some strength, huh?"
Violet then smiled at the older coach, "It's good to have you back, Coach. Wanna eat lunch with me and Sam? That way we can talk about appropriate topics of conversation." She gave her boyfriend a pointed look at that last statement.
"I'd love to, pumpkin," Sheldon agreed before leaving the couple.
When he was out of earshot, Violet slapped Sam's chest, "Ow!"
"Did that hurt?" Her eyes of frustration changed to worry.
He pouted, "No, but it looked like it did."
Violet sighed and rolled her eyes before asking, "What was that about? Bro-talk? The list of pronouns? You haven't bro-talked since, like, the Men of McKinley calendar shoot, and I already told you that Sheldon preferred he/him pronouns."
"Well, when I finished up with football practice, Sue was waiting and told me to be extremely welcoming and accommodating to Coach Beiste. Like, she wanted me to welcome him into the man club, so she told me to do all this stuff. I had to remember all of the different pronouns you told me about because Sue wanted to be absolutely sure we didn't make Sheldon uncomfortable even though I told her that he already told you about it, and you told me."
Violet rolled her eyes, "Of course, Sue would do this. The intention was sweet, but Coach was just nervous about you guys treating him differently and that's why I got frustrated. It's actually pretty nice what you guys decided to do, and Coach looked amused. Just... treat him like you've always treated him, okay? Coach Beiste is still Coach Beiste."
He grinned and saluted her, "Ma'am, yes ma'am."
Violet chuckled at his ridiculousness before giving him a peck on the cheek, "Now, c'mon. I heard there were some 'Welcome Back' donuts in the teachers' lounge, and you know how rare that is. We gotta snag some for us and Coach before the other teachers hoard them."
§ § §
"I cannot believe that it took Will Schuester's call for you to come and visit Lima," Violet said exasperatedly as the three girls waited in line at a coffee shop.
Unique gave a look to the oldest girl, "Well, it's not like I got a call to come and sing for my other former Glee Club."
"Hey! I didn't get any power until, like, a week ago," Vi defended herself.
"And I didn't rejoin until a week ago," Kitty added.
Unique was visiting Ohio, and as soon as Violet found out, she invited her and Kitty out for coffee as soon as humanly possible– which happened to be Kitty's free period that Monday morning. After the girls ordered and Violet paid (after much protest), they took their number and sat down at a table.
"I can't believe you found this boujee coffee shop after I leave. We were suffering at the Lima Bean for years, and then you find a shop that brings you your coffee?" Unique shook her head in disbelief.
Violet grinned, "I know! And they carry matcha! I could barely find a shop in New York that had good matcha, but this place has some high-quality stuff. I only found out about this because an older lady who grew and served matcha in my grandparents' town said that she had a son who moved to Ohio to start a coffee shop after studying abroad and falling in love."
Kitty shrugged, "I don't care about the story. The coffee doesn't taste like a monkey's ass and that's all I care about."
Unique smiled at the girl, "I missed you, Kitty."
"I missed you too," the petite blonde grinned.
Violet looked at the college girl in interest, "So how's Boston? How's life at Berklee?"
Unique looked blissfully at the two girls as she recalled her university, "It's everything that I wanted. I was nervous because I wasn't going to New York or LA, but I honestly made the right decision choosing Berklee."
"That explains why Marley's going to Berklee," Kitty pondered. "Thing 1 and Thing 2 will finally be united. Yay," the smallest girl clapped half-sarcastically, earning a playful eye-roll from Unique.
The newly-minted Bostonian replied, "It's not a guarantee yet. She got a full ride, but Marley wants to keep her options open. I think she's just waiting to see where her partner goes."
Kitty rolled her eyes, "Please. She would not follow that four-eyed dingus all the way to college. She loves you and songwriting way too much to give it up for 'love.'"
"I still don't know why you're so against Marley and Harper. They're a cute couple," Violet chuckled.
"Have you seen them? Marley could do better," Kitty shrugged.
Violet rolled her eyes, "I thought you got over this whole shallow bit after dating Artie–"
"And look where that got me."
"But," Violet continued, "if you really want to see Harper after Jake discussed some styling tips with them, you should look at this picture Marley sent me over the weekend."
Violet handed over her phone to the Cheerio, and Kitty's eyes widened as she analyzed the picture of the couple.
"Holy shit, Harper got hot."
Unique rolled her eyes and laughed, "Sweetie, they've always been hot because they've always treated Marley the way she deserves. Like a queen."
"Okay, but they're actually hot now. I approve."
The oldest girl plucked her phone out of Kitty's hands before mentioning, "When Marley ends up going to Berklee with you, it'll be like a mini-reunion because Ryder's going to Emerson. It's his top school, and he just got into their writing program."
"So even when he doesn't want to go into singing or acting, he'll still end up broke," Kitty remarked wistfully.
Violet rolled her eyes and moved past the snarky comment, "Unfortunately, it seems Jake has his heart set out on New York. His NYADA dance auditions are this week, but he'll definitely get in with the way the dance department has been scouting him. And Kitty..."
The senior sighed, "Is considering New York still. I applied to a couple of schools there... You know, NYADA, NYU..."
"You better have a Boston school in the mix. Jake might not be coming, but I'm not letting the New York gang poach you even though all of them are here basically sucking you into their clutches."
Violet chuckled at the description, "You make it sound like we're evil villains recruiting Kitty to be in the Sinister Six."
"Aren't there, like, ten of you?" Unique asked confusedly.
"...Nevermind."
"Okay, moving on, and why we're actually here: what's the story with the Glee Club? How did it rise from the ashes?" the college girl asked.
Aside from Jake, who called Violet (and now Kitty) regularly, the diaspora of former New Directions members didn't know what happened to the glee club they were forced to abandon.
"Well, how much do you know?" Violet asked.
Unique replied, "Well, all I know is that Sue's still principal, Mr. Schue's the director for Vocal Adrenaline– who are honestly such assholes, but what's new– and Blaine is directing the Warblers which I saw from a mile away. Once a Warbler, always a Warbler."
"What about Rachel's failed TV pilot?" Violet raised an eyebrow.
"Well, that's a given! She had the worst TV show ever and then she went into hiding. I just never expected to see you and Kurt Hummel working with her to revive the Glee Club. I expected her to make a comeback on a reality TV show somewhere because even though it was bad, it became iconic with how bad it was. I mean everyone's watched it. Honestly, I love it. It's so camp," Unique replied.
"Was it really?" Violet pondered, "I guess I'll have to watch."
The two girls stopped and stared at the oldest at the table. At that moment, a server handed the group their drinks.
Violet smiled at the server and gave them a tip before noticing her former teammates staring at her, "What?"
Kitty nearly exclaimed, "You haven't seen That's so Rachel?"
She held up her hands in defense, "Hey. I was super busy when it came out, and by the time I had time to watch it, everyone said it was so bad, so I didn't even bother!"
"Well, I personally think that you should watch it especially because you're in it," Unique mentioned casually as she sipped her latte.
Violet's eyes bugged out of her skull, "Excuse me?!"
Kitty nodded in recognition, "Oh, yeah! Lavender Antoine. She was such a loveable bitch even though she was supposed to be the villain."
Unique added, "And that's why they're starting to produce a show about Lavendar Antoine and her life as a rockstar navigating Broadway."
"So let me get this straight," Violet tried to get her bearings. "Someone is using my likeness in a new TV show because this character was the only good thing to come out of that godawful show?"
Kitty and Unique nodded and agreed with that sentiment.
"I need a lawyer," Violet grumbled into her matcha.
And at that moment, Violet started to get a call from an unrecognizable number. Kitty quipped, "Hey, maybe that's your lawyer calling."
The oldest girl gave her a deadpan look before picking up her phone and leaving the table for some more privacy.
Kitty then asked Unique, "So how long are you in town for?"
"All week, I think. I'm getting a surprise ready for Coach Beiste because I had to find out from Mr. Schue, of all people, that he transitioned. And since I know how hard it is, especially in Lima where there aren't a lot of people who get it, I thought I'd try to get all the trans people near Columbus and do a performance for him."
Kitty rolled her eyes, "What is with you and the rest of Glee obsessed with doing everything in song? I remember hearing Violet and Santana complaining about it, but it's so much worse now."
Unique retorted, "Says the girl who confessed her love and support for Artie through song."
"Look, I made a lot of mistakes in that relationship."
Violet returned back to the table with a blank look on her face, but her eyes swirled with a hurricane of emotions.
"Who called?" Kitty asked hesitantly.
"Anastasia Anthony's new husband, apparently."
The younger two looked at Violet in shock as she returned to her seat and continued, "He called and asked me to be a part of their lives. He wants to be a family. He said that I have a 'sister' now too."
"What did you say?" Unique questioned in anticipation.
"I hung up on him," Violet replied simply. "And then he tried to call me back, and I didn't pick up."
Unique asked, "Will you call him back? I mean, I know you don't want anything to do with your mom but..."
Kitty looked at her incredulously, "But nothing. That bitch doesn't deserve Vi as family after all the shit that she's put her through."
"I'm not saying Vi should accept her as family again. I'm saying that I'd be curious. And maybe... maybe if Violet knows how her mother's doing and her new family, then maybe it could give some closure," Unique explained.
They looked towards the girl with an unreadable expression. She thought about both their words and furrowed her eyebrows in contemplation before saying, "I am morbidly curious."
Kitty rolled her eyes, "Okay, but that doesn't mean that you have to call that guy back. We have the internet." She pulled out her laptop from her bag and quickly did some research about the less-than-stellar mother and her new family.
"Okay, so they live in LA, and they met because he was your mom's driving instructor. They got married, like, 2 months ago, but they've been together for a year. His daughter's 16–"
"How'd you find all of that so quick?" Vi looked at the small blonde in shock.
Kitty laughed, "Old people put everything on Facebook."
Unique's curiosity then got the best of her and started to search more about Anastasia Anthony too. Her eyes widened, "Holy shit. Vi, your mom just did an interview with Broadway.com."
"What?"
"Oh, fuck I see it too," Kitty mentioned.
Before Violet could get any words in, the girls rattled off with details.
"I think this is supposed to be an apology letter to you," Unique started.
Kitty scoffed, "Of course, she'd call herself a shitty mother when they ask her why she isn't close with Vi."
"Yeah, but this entire interview is about how she's been struggling with infertility."
"How convenient. You know, I bet people started to talk about how bad of a mother she was when Vi won that Tony and didn't thank her. She probably had to own up to her mistakes, and now she's trying to make it into a pity party because what? The daughter she treated horribly won't talk to her, and she can't have any more kids? Oh, boohoo."
Unique, who always tried to find the good in people, tried to give Anastasia Anthony the benefit of the doubt, "But she has a new daughter, and she talks about trying to be the best mom she can to her and how she's putting her new family first and her career second."
"Oh, please. That's just PR."
"Then, why would her new husband call Violet asking her to be family?"
Kitty replied nonchalantly, "Because she's trying to repair her image, and she can't call Vi because she blocked her number and would probably just hang up right away if she heard her mom's voice–"
"Actually, she didn't know," Violet interjected with a conflicted look. "He– uh, he specifically said that she didn't know about this and didn't want him to call, and usually, I wouldn't believe him, but... the guy put on a good act. He was so panicky when Anastasia came to check in on him."
"It could've been an act," Kitty retorted.
"If it was an act, that guy shouldn't be a driving instructor. He should be an actor," Violet joked half-heartedly.
Unique then asked the burning question, "Are you gonna call him back then?"
"I don't know."
And Violet truly didn't. She spent the rest of the morning in such intense contemplation. She didn't want anything to do with her mother. She didn't see that woman as her mother anymore.
But when Sam walked into Violet's office before lunch, he saw her looking at her laptop screen quite intently. She was so engrossed in the screen that she didn't even notice him walk in.
So Sam walked behind her and peered over her shoulder to see her staring at a photo of a random family on Facebook.
"Who's that?"
Violet practically flew five feet in the air, and she clutched her hand on her chest, "What the fuck!"
Sam couldn't help but laugh at his one true love. He hardly surprised her because she scared so easy, so he never got to see her shocked expressions.
She lightly slapped his chest, "You asshole! And you have the audacity to laugh at me?"
As his laughs died down to chuckles, he cupped her cheeks and smushed them slightly which only accentuated her pout.
"I can't help it. You're too cute," he grinned at her. "Now, why are you stalking a random family."
Violet sighed, "It's not a random family. It's my mother's new family."
Sam gaped in shock before doing a double-take at the picture. He looked closely and recognized Anastasia Anthony smiling brightly at a man and a teenage girl who looked like she won an academic competition of some sort.
Violet read his expression easily, "I know right? That's how I felt. Anastasia Anthony, who despised that I went to a public school to live a normal life, willingly attended her stepdaughter's academic competition at a public school. I feel like we dropped into a parallel dimension. Honestly, I might've. Quick: What's my favorite tattoo?"
"The smiley face that's right near your ass," he smiled at her cheekily.
She rolled her eyes, "You're only saying that because you told me to get that one when we were drunk in New York when you were visiting."
He retorted, "Okay, well, that was my second choice. My first choice was you getting a tattoo of my kiss directly on your ass."
"So glad I vetoed that one."
Sam groaned overdramatically, "It would've been so good! You could say 'kiss my ass' to me and then I could just say 'I already did and you have the mark to prove it' and it would've been the best thing ever."
Violet rolled her eyes, "Yeah, yeah, yeah. I guess I can say that I'm on the same Earth even though you didn't answer my actual favorite tattoo–"
"Which is actually the sakura tree on your shoulder that you got our senior year," Sam replied sincerely.
"Oh," Violet straightened slightly, a small smile gracing her lips.
"I know you, Vi," Sam said fondly. "Which is why I know you wouldn't stalk that woman without a reason. What happened?"
Violet looked ashamed at her actions, "I was going through their social media because her new husband called me. He wants to be a family and reunite his wife and his wife's estranged daughter, so we can finally be a happy family and live happily ever after."
He led her to the couch, and she continued, "She's actually different now. Uncle Maxim wasn't wrong when he said that she changed. Yeah, she's still acting and singing, but she's making time for her family. She's on this TV show now called Smash, but she's still making time to be there for her daughter. And this kid is just a normal high schooler. She goes to public school. She's doing Model UN and student council. She doesn't do anything remotely arts-related unless you count the fact that she posts the occasional cover on her Instagram."
Sam threaded his fingers through hers, and she gripped his hand back.
Violet thought back to the phone call and clenched her eyes, "He– he kept talking about how great a mom Anastasia is to his daughter. He wanted me to give her a chance because she talks about me and how much she fucked up and missed me. He talked about how tensions were probably high after I got shot, and how he didn't know if I really meant that I wanted her out of my life. But either way, she decided to respect me and give me space."
She opened her midnight eyes to meet his spring-green eyes. "And the worst part is that I know that he was being sincere. He loves her the way that my dad loved her. He just wants the best for her because she's giving her best to him, and I know that she's giving her best because I am apparently an internet stalker now, and everyone in our parents' generation is surprisingly vulnerable on social media."
"How are you feeling?" he asked softly, bringing her closer so she could lean her head on his shoulder.
"Angry. Frustrated. Because why did it have to take years for her to clean up her act? Why does this random girl get the mom I always wanted? Why couldn't I have this mom? Was I just not a good enough person to get better for?"
At that last statement, he took her face in his hands and peered deep into her eyes with concern, "Violet–"
Violet sighed but made no attempt to move out of his grasp, "I know... Bad thoughts. Untrue thoughts."
"I'm glad you know that because I got better for you," he gently kissed her forehead, and her eyes softened at this.
"Buttercup, can you tell me what to do?"
"What do you mean, Vi?" he asked as he brushed some of the hair away from her face.
"Should I call him back? Should I try to give her another chance?"
Sam thought that this was the most vulnerable he'd seen her. She's cried in front of him. Hell, she's died in front of him. And yet, when she's asking about the woman at the root of all her issues, she's completely lost and wants him to make the decision because she doesn't trust herself.
But Sam knew Violet. Sam knew that after everything, she's learned from her mistakes.
"I think you know what you should do," he replies, gently rubbing her cheekbone with his thumb.
She looked at him so sadly, "I'm just so tired." Violet wrapped her arms around Sam and tried to hold him as close as possible as tears leaked out of her eyes and onto his neck.
Sam rubbed her back soothingly as she silently cried, "I know."
Violet's voice trembled, "I just want her out of my life. S-She's like this toxin that I need to cleanse out of my body. I just want to remove any trace of her."
He brushed his fingers through her ever-growing hair, "I think you need closure."
"How do I get closure without talking to them?"
An idea popped into his head, so he broke their embrace to look at her. He wiped the stray tears on her cheeks.
"I have an idea, but I want it to be a surprise."
She pouted, "I hate surprises. You know that."
He smiled softly, "I do know that, but I want you to trust me on this. Can you trust me?"
"I trust you." She paused for a moment, "Just... no jumpscares, okay?"
"No promises," he smirked mischievously.
"Sam!" she whined.
He chuckled, "Okay, okay. I promise no jumpscares. But only because you called me Sam."
"Thank you, buttercup."
"Better," he grinned infectiously, drawing out a small smile from her lips. "There's my girl."
She just chuckled at his cheesiness and kissed him again.
§ § §
Sam knew that he didn't come up with the best ideas.
Sometimes his ideas were a little outlandish, unrealistic, or nonsensical.
But he had an idea to cleanse Anastasia Anthony out of Violet Suzuki's mind. To him, the idea was amazing, but that wasn't enough because Violet deserved more than amazing. She deserved the world.
He knew that he'd messed up before. And now, he just wanted to be the best boyfriend he could possibly be for her.
This is why he asked Kurt if he could help with his idea.
Kurt Hummel was basically Violet's brother and understood her plight with Anastasia Anthony more than anyone. Luckily, Kurt thought that Sam's idea was brilliant, but they needed more help which is why they gathered Violet's closest friends within a 20-mile radius.
"Hey, guys. Thanks for coming," Sam greeted as he and Kurt rushed into the room.
Kitty gave a deadpanned look at the duo who didn't mention what the meeting would be about. "Oh, for the love of all that's sacred, what now?"
"Well, I, uh, called you here today because of Violet," Sam replied.
"Oh," Kitty's expression softened.
Mercedes looked at the ceiling, "Oh, please Lord, say that that girl isn't injured again. I can't keep doing this."
Sam gestured to Kurt for him to continue, "Thankfully, no. But one of Violet's demons reared its head back into her life."
A flash of anger appeared on Santana's face, "I swear to god if that bitch tried to talk to Vi again–"
Kitty interjected, "She didn't call her. Her new husband did. Me and Unique were there when it all went down. I was trying to get her to not call him back."
"And she's not," Sam said quickly to quell any bouts of anxiety or frustration from the group.
"Good," Rachel nodded. "Clearly, Violet's finally healing, and she doesn't need her back in her life. She should be able to move on from her like how she's been helping me move on from my past."
Artie then raised his hand, "Okay, so why are we all talking about this? And why is Violet not here?"
"She's having trouble moving on." Kurt added, "And we wanted to help her move on."
"Whatever it is, I'm in. Vi's my girl, and she deserves to be happy," Santana started.
Brittany nodded, "Violet's super sweet, and she needs to reach her full bad bitch potential and she can't do that without getting rid of her mom."
Artie looked at the soon-to-be brides incredulously, "But your wedding's in less than two weeks. You guys are really wasting a good chunk of your prep time for her?"
The entire room glared at the boy in the wheelchair fiercely. Kitty spoke first, "If you don't want to be a part of this, then you can roll away."
Artie just sighed, "Fine. I'm in."
Rachel then looked at the boys hosting the meeting, "I'm in too. Vi's been a big help to me. She helped me move on from my childhood home, so the least I can do is help you guys help her."
"Yeah, especially after you slapped her," Sam mentioned, hardly under his breath.
Blaine deadpanned, "Sam, move on. They already made up."
"Fine. Whatever."
"Also, count me in. Vi's a part of our trio. I'll always support her."
Kitty, looking up from her phone, then raises her hand, "I'm in, and Unique says she's sorry she can't make it because she's going to be busy all week with her surprise to Coach."
Sam nodded understandingly, "That's perfectly fine. Vi wouldn't want Unique to give up planning a surprise for Coach."
Mercedes smiled at the group, "I'm also down to help her move on. She's done so much for all of us throughout the years. The least we can do is go along with this plan however simple or elaborate it may be, but knowing you two, it's probably gonna be a lot."
"Well, elaborate might be subjective," Kurt retorted.
Sam explained, "I want to throw a goodbye party for her mommy issues."
Most of the girls looked at him questioningly, so Kurt clarified, "It's more than just a party."
Sam continued, "Violet sees us as family. We were the family that was there for her when Anastasia Anthony wasn't. So I think if we throw her a party that's basically a show of support, then it might make letting go easier. I'm gonna get anything that reminds Vi of her– any pictures or anything that makes her sad from her childhood– and we're gonna have a bonfire and burn it all."
"Burning her mother out of her life. I like it," Kitty nodded in approval.
Rachel suggested, "Oh! Why don't we gift her a scrapbook of all the Glee memories too? She looked at my wall of dreams with all the pictures of us from high school, and she looked like she wanted something like that."
"That's perfect! I have so many pictures of us from high school," Mercedes happily added to the small girl's suggestion.
"Oh, we do too," Santana offered for both she and Brittany.
Sam narrowed his eyes slightly at Santana, "Appropriate pictures?"
Santana rolled her eyes at his implication, "Yes, Trouty Mouth. Also, let it go. That was an eternity ago, and I'm getting married soon."
Brittany smiled at this and pecked her soon-to-be wife, "Yes, you are."
Kurt, who vaguely remembered the incident from his junior year, rolled his eyes at the situation, but then his eyes brightened with another idea.
He turned to his co-director, "We can totally make this into an assignment! It's way better than our 'Ohio' idea, and we can call it 'Transitioning' –"
Kitty interrupted and tilted her head, "Awh, are you coming out again?"
Kurt sighed at Kitty's quip but then refocused his attention to Rachel who looked just as excited as he was.
"Oh! We can totally invite the kids to the party and integrate everything together!"
"Yes!" Kurt exclaimed.
Blaine nodded his head, "That would be a good idea, and you guys can potentially get the kids to perform with alumni–"
Sam and Kitty automatically shook their heads in protest. Sam commented, "Violet would hate that."
"Oh, c'mon. She loves the kids!" Kurt exclaimed.
Kitty deadpanned, "Do you guys not remember how she was against Mr. Schue befriending his students? She might like her students, but she does not want them at her house and partying with her."
"Okay, but, Kitty, you're technically our student too," Rachel retorted.
"That's different. I went to high school with, like, half of you."
Blaine points to Kitty, "She makes a good point."
Sam then got their attention again, "Okay, so this party's gonna be at our house on Friday starting at 8pm. I already have the bonfire permit, but I'll get anything that reminds her of Anastasia Anthony ready to burn. Rachel and Mercedes, you guys are in charge of the scrapbook, so if you have any pictures, send it over to them. Santana and Britt, you're in charge of getting the alcohol–"
Santana interjected, "I'll make sure to get her her own bottle of tequila."
"We should probably get two," Brittany mentioned, remembering Violet's tolerance, and Santana just nodded in agreement.
"Artie and Blaine, you'll help with food and music, and then Kurt and Kitty, you'll help me get the house ready."
Blaine then offers, stealing quick glances at his former lover, "I- I mean, I can always help you guys get the house ready too."
"Okay, fine. As long as you get the food. You know Vi. As soon as we tell her about the party, she'll want to make food for everyone."
Kurt smiled at Sam's idea coming to fruition. He's seen the couple grow so much over the past five years. He knew they would make it in the long run, even if they were a bit idiotic and dramatic at first. He was just happy to be able to see it.
author's note
I love this episode because it's ~mostly~ original. I completely scrapped Rachel's party and instead in this universe, Vi helped Rachel come to terms with moving on. Also very sweet Sam x Vi content in the next parts (yes this is only 1/3) so also expect that coming. I might start spacing out the chapters again, so I can get more writing done and release the chapters consistently.
I'm determined to get this done for yall <333