So here's what you missed on Glee. Leila and Jake are pregnant and couldn't be happier, and Amity's pretending to date Christopher to get Tabitha off her back. Not awkward at all. John's acting totally weird, maybe because he had sex with one--wait, two--no, three different women recently and he has to face the consequences sooner or later. Alex and Julie have been apart for longer than anyone had expected -- that can't be healthy for newlyweds. Sebastian has been nowhere to be found since Travis chose Luke over him. Wonder what he's up to. It's probably evil. And that's what you missed on GLEE!
------------------------------
I didn't feel like making charts. But here is where we are going into this chapter:
Sep 16
#1(=) Side to Side *1*
#2(+1) Glamorous *NEW*
#4(+4) Don't Let Me Down *NEW*
#5(+4) Best Song Ever *NEW*
#6(=) Say You Won't Let Go *1*
#9(-5) Sorry *2*
#13(-3) Ain't About What You Got *4*
#16(=) Style *1*
#17(-3) Before He Cheats *10*
#19(-1) Love On The Brain *5*
#22(-2) Light Em Up *14*
#21(=) Scars to Your Beautiful *15*
#30(-6) Shout Out To My Ex *4*
#25(=) Starving *12*
#46(-6) Needed Me *33*
#70(=) Could Have Been Me *64*
And here are the league points.
1. Kitty (Julie) = 1740.3
2. Stefan (Crystal Army) = 1354.8
3. Bree (Santana) = 1102.5
4. Harmony (Amity) = 1051.5
5. Kara (Rhythmix) = 961
6. Artie (Sarah) = 662
7. Marley (Travis) = 490.25
8. Luke (Mercedes) = 488.5
9. Charlie (Lyric) = 412
10. Peyton (Dean) = 160
11. Jeremy (Jake) = 0
12. Rory (Xavier) = 0
13. Ryder (Riley) = 0
------------------------------
"You're back!" Julie exclaimed when she opened her front door for Alex and Sam. They each took their turns hugging her as she said, "I was gonna drop in at your Baltimore show tomorrow, oh my gosh. What are you doing here?"
"I figured you're making the effort," said Alex, "and I wanted to make the effort too."
"The girls?" asked Sam, pointing upstairs. Julie nodded and he immediately hurried up to surprise them.
"I really wanted to make your tour opening night," said Alex, "but even though I don't have a show Saturday night, I do on Sunday and it's the other side of the country so—"
Upstairs, there were a couple of heavy stomps before loud shrieks from the twins. Julie smiled and then told Alex, "It's ok. I'm just happy you're here. Now we can all head out to your show together. Right?"
"Yes," he said, "but today since I'm sure Sam will want to be with the girls all day... You and I are gonna have some catching up to do."
Julie put her arms around him and said, "Yes, of course. But... Where are Sam and Tyler?"
"Ty's at his house," Alex answered, "and John... Let's just say he's occupied. But come on, I want to surprise Izzy and Gaby. I'm sure John is fine wherever he is."
***
John arrived at his house, not eager to make hello trips, and immediately made himself comfy on the couch. He had less than 24 hours to be in his own space before hitting the road again but didn't know how to spend it.
He had flipped through enough channels to be in the 400s by the time that his empty time was interrupted by a phone call. He almost ignored it but after glancing over for just a moment and seeing that it was Travis he decided to answer.
"What's up?" he mumbled.
Travis, with far more energy, said, "I hope you're ready for tonight!"
"Tonight?"
"Our song? It's out at midnight!"
"Oh, right," John rolled his eyes. "The pre-order. Right." As Travis talked about the plan to use the song to hype up his album with this collaboration, John remembered what it had been like to put it together. The freedom. And it was such a great song that he could actually be proud of instead of embarrassed to perform it.
"So do you think we can ever meet up to perform it?" says Travis. "I know I'm a long way from home but maybe there's a show you can fly out to and join me on stage or I can go to one of yours when I'm on break."
"I'm sure we can make something work," John agreed. "I wouldn't mind missing a tour date to make it happen. In fact... I have a show in Baltimore tomorrow. I can probably ask for a couple of minutes to do the song or even just a verse. Give it some promo."
"That'd be awesome," Travis agreed. "I have a 5 AM radio appearance in Saint-Petersburg on Sunday and I could probably tease it a little there, sing a couple lines."
"It's gonna be great," said John, smiling though he didn't have a guarantee that everyone else would be cool with him making a last minute change to their setlist. He sat back on the couch once the call was over and repeated, "It's gonna be great."
***
Also still in Lima, the ladies of Rhythmix were busy preparing for their final rehearsal before their tour was set to start. If all went well with this, Shana had figured, it would be no time before they got to headline their own tour. In fact, there were already talks that Blackbird was planning to remove them from Julie's tour after the first leg and give them their own headlining tour that could start as early as the following summer or even spring.
But for now the priority was to kick ass on the Blame Me Tour, so when Leila showed up late to their final rehearsal, the other girls were pretty annoyed.
"Where have you been?" Zoe asked. "We texted you a thousand times."
"I had a doctor's appointment early in the morning," she said apologetically as she ran up the stage. "But actually, I have to talk to you girls about something really important."
"No, no," said Kayli, not letting her continue. "We have to start practice because we only have this space rented out for two hours and if we waste anymore time we won't get to practice again until we get to Seattle."
"Alright," said Shana, leading them into their formations. She gave Leila a look and the latter was forced to set her bag down at the edge of the stage and quickly join them in position.
"Which one are we doing?" asked Leila, confused by where they were all standing.
"We were talking and we think Touch needs some work," said Zoe. "The choreography, mostly."
"Yes," Kayli agreed, "and now that we're promoting this as a single it's even more important to perfect this. Ready everyone?"
"Ready," someone called out from behind the stage. Leila took a deep breath and nodded, though nobody had bothered to ask if she was ready. Still she prepared herself for the song to start.
["Touch" by Little Mix aka THAT song.]
Shana: You and I and nobody else. Feeling feelings I never felt. The way you got me under your spell. Don't you keep it all to yourself.
After Shana was done with her part, she, Zoe and Leila began to dance, shaking their hips from side to side while Kayli sang her part. It was during this that the backup dancers were supposed to come out, but they weren't in Lima anymore.
Kayli: So won't you take it, I feel like for the first time I am not faking. Fingers on my buttons and now you're playing. Master of anticipation. Don't you keep it all to yourself.
The four girls began to dance, pretending that the dancers were there with them as they did the choreography. All of them had their smiles already plastered on since rehearsing facial expressions was part of it all too, but Leila couldn't really do it at the moment.
All: Just a touch of your love is enough to knock me off of my feet all week. Just a touch of your love, oh. Just a touch of your love, oh. Just a touch of your love is enough to take control of my whole body. Just a touch of your love, oh. Just a touch of your love, oh. Just a touch of your love is enough. To knock me off of my feet, all week. Just a touch of your love (Hey!) Just a touch of your love (Hey!)
When Zoe's solo came on, the girls were in a diamond and unfortunately Leila was beside her, so she couldn't exactly hide.
Zoe: Photograph with no T-shirt on. Why you making me wait so long? (Wait so long) I promise to keep this a secret, I'll never tell. But don't you keep it all to yourself.
Her part came next and she was sure she had killed it despite how uncomfortable it was making her to move around the way she was now doing.
Leila: So won't you take it, I feel like for the first time I am not faking. Fingers on my buttons and now you're playing. Master of anticipation. Don't you keep it all to yourself (To yourself)
The girls then made a train in which she was at the front, doing her adlibs while they sang the chorus, and she wondered how upset they would be if she just cut out of it and stopped the song right there and then.
All: Just a touch of your love is enough to knock me off of my feet all week. Just a touch of your love, oh. Just a touch of your love, oh. Just a touch of your love is enough to take control of my whole body. Just a touch of your love, oh. Just a touch of your love, oh.
But she knew for her to deliver the news of her departure, she would need them to be as happy as could be, and that meant giving them a perfect rehearsal.
All: Just a touch of your love is enough. To knock me off of my feet, all week. Just a touch of your love. Just a touch of your love. Just a touch of your love is enough to take control of my whole body. Just a touch of your love, oh. Just a touch of your love, oh.
The girls were practically at the edge of their rehearsal stage, singing the bridge, when she was filled with sudden anxiety about what every move she made could be doing to her baby. In the actual performance she was supposed to be in a crop top. But her pregnancy was so obvious without baggy clothes.
All: And now my whole week, my whole week is golden. Can you see me glowing? That's how I feel. And I'm not afraid to feed into emotions. 'Cause I know that this could be something real.
There was a musical break for the dance breakdown but Leila stopped moving, calling out, "Ok, stop, stop the music please!"
"I have to tell you girls something," she said when the music was off. "Can we please step outside and talk?"
Confused, the other girls exchanged glances. Leila was the most focused, hardworking out of all of them. For her to not only be late but also cut the rehearsals short before the first song was even over meant this was serious.
***
"You're pregnant?" Kayli exclaimed when Leila had shared the news back in the temporary dressing room. "Since when?"
She tried to lift up Leila's baggy tee but the latter pushed her hand away lightly and answered, "Almost thirteen weeks now. It's really terrifying but mostly... I can't do this tour."
"Why not?" Shana frowned.
"She's pregnant," Zoe emphasized.
"Well, yeah, but..." Shana said, trying to figure out some sort of way this could all still work. When she couldn't she said, "Well then we can't do the tour. We should tell—"
"No, no," said Leila, shaking her head. "I can't do the tour but I think you three should still go without me."
"No, it won't work without you," Shana insisted. "We're four girls and I love that you're having this baby and I'm so excited and I better already be your top choice for godmother but... We can't do this without you."
"I agree," said Kayli, to their surprise. "Leila, we're a group. None of us will do the tour. We can just go on some sort of hiatus for the baby and then we'll get back to this once you're ready."
"No, I can't let you do that," said Leila, shaking her head. "It's sweet but... Think of our fans? They're excited for this tour. Some of them bought tickets to Julie's concert just for us. We can't let them down. I think after we talk to our team and to Julie's that we should put out a statement immediately. I'm sure with or without me there will be many people out there thankful just for a chance to hear you three."
"Can't you at least do a few shows?" asked Kayli, looking down at her stomach. With that shirt, she really couldn't see any bump.
"I really don't want to though," Leila admitted. "I want to take care of myself and of this baby and be here with Jake through this."
"And you will be," Zoe nodded.
"We'll support you through all of this," Shana agreed. "And we'll go on without you and your fans who love you will understand."
Leila smiled, silently thanking them for their compassion, and then Kayli exclaimed, "You're pregnant!"
"I'm pregnant!" she said in response and then they all said it together as they came together for a group hug.
***
"I'm just leaving the hospital," said Marley as she searched the parking lot for her car in the staff area. "No, I didn't work today. But I had my monthly checkup."
"Monthly?" responded Kitty from the other side of the line. "That's a little much."
"Well, I like to be as careful as I can be," said Marley, finding her car and pulling out her keys. "I did a pap smear the other day and now everything else just to make sure I'm staying healthy. You should do the same. You have yourself to care for but also Alexa."
"No, don't say her name!" Kitty begged. "I miss her so much."
"I'm sorry," Marley sighed as she opened her front door. She tossed her bag into the passenger seat and said, "How are you holding up?"
"You mean since Vince showed up to DC and took my daughter from me again?"
"I thought you said you wanted him to."
"I didn't want it. I just needed it. I mean I'm sure she's having fun being Alexa on the East Coast and then Lexie Southwest. But I'm miserable without her. Apparently in Ohio people call her Allie, thanks to Stefan, so she may have some confusion to deal with. The only thing that's helped me out is staying busy at work."
"How's the election going?"
"Terribly," Kitty sighed. "We're busy busy prepping our team for the upcoming debate and the democrats are too busy calling us evil, racist, and god knows what else. They're already saying we lost. Liberals are so cocky." Marley, a liberal, didn't say anything. "And we're so busy that now I had to cancel on Julie. I was supposed to see her at Crystal Army's concert since I'm not that far from it but now I can't even do that. Are you going? Bree mentioned perhaps tagging along."
"Oh I don't think that's a great idea," said Marley, who was now sitting in her car since it had cooled off. "I mean... I'm so busy with work and with Ben."
She looked out the window, like there was someone there waiting to call her out on her lies. Ben was out of town with Ryder and Brooke. She didn't have any shifts over the weekend.
"Well, if you change your mind you should go," said Kitty. "I think all the guys are taking their ladies which basically means Julie, Morgan and whatever two skanks John and Sam are dating on the road this time around."
Marley faked a laugh.
"Well I'd better go before they start this meeting without me. Later!"
"Later," said Marley as the call cut off. She set her phone down in one of her cup holders and banged her head forward in frustration, accidentally honking and scaring herself. She was a mess.
***
"Mr. Smythe," said Sebastian's secretary as he sat on his desk flipping through a magazine catalog. "Santana Lopez is here to see you. She says it's urgent."
"What is it about?" asked Sebastian, uninterested.
"She says we didn't give her important documents," was all the secretary said.
Sebastian sighed and figured, "Sure, let her through."
As he sat back, the door opened and Santana immediately stormed in ready to fight, but she was struck by what she saw. Surrounding Sebastian, scattered all across the floor, were a bunch of baby items, from furniture like changing tables to all sorts of toys.
"What is all of this?" Santana asked, utterly struck with confusion.
"Oh, this?" said Sebastian, nonchalantly glancing around. "Just samples."
"For the topic of Amity's next album or..?" she said, wondering if this is how far the baby craze phase of artists had gone.
"Of items I'll be purchasing soon," he answered. "I'm getting a baby."
Santana laughed, "Yeah, right. A Smythe mini-me? That's hilarious." When she realized he was serious she said, "O-M-G who's the prostitute you knocked up and how much did you initially offer her for the abortion?"
"There's no prostitute," he laughed, oddly in a great mood about it.
"Do you have a secret boyfriend you're adopting with or..?" she said next, still as confused as she was when she walked in.
"I'm adopting, just like you," he responded, flipping a page in his catalog.
Slowly she asked, "Why..?"
"Because I want to be a father, believe it or not," he explained. "So I had all of these items brought in so I could choose the sets that best go with the furniture in my home without actually having to bring all of these items into my home. I want to handpick every single thing my son or daughter will own. I'm leaning towards son right now. Colors are very gendered for babies and I just can't imagine pink or yellow looking good anywhere in my place. But I can work with blue. A dark, deep blue."
Santana, still in shock, said, "You're actually serious."
"I'm turning over a new leaf," he nodded.
"Does this have anything to do with needing to fill the Travis-sized hole in you?" she asked.
He responded with a simple, "Who?" Then he added, "Oh, Travis Hilton. The only hole he's left is the one burning in my wallet. He's contributing to making my future baby's life perfect so I can't complain. What do you think of the name Santiago for a boy? Or Kendall? I'm not sure which direction I wanna take with the name. I've arranged a list of favorites by meaning, origin, sound, and probability to succeed in a white-ran society. It needs to sound right but convey him as strong and interesting and make him marketable one day."
"You know what?" said Santana, taking a couple steps back as best as she could without touching anything. "I'll just let my lawyers deal with getting the rest of my paperwork because I don't want to stay in Crazy Town any longer. Good luck with... whatever crisis you're going through."
Sebastian waved, unbothered, and as she left he turned his attention back to the catalog of baby clothes he had been looking through. "Kevin...?" he said under his breath, mentally adding more names to his list.
***
With a towel wrapped around her waist, Julie stepped out of her bathroom in a bra and returned to her bedroom, where Alex was lying down in bed texting.
She set the phone down on her desk and stepped into her closet for clothes while Alex said, "What was that?"
"Apparently," she said from inside, "Leila can't do the tour."
"Is she ok?" Alex asked.
"More than ok. She's pregnant. Apparently already 3 months in."
"No way," said Alex, surprised. Julie came out of the closet with a shirt on and then climbed into bed. "Jake's baby?" said Alex.
She gave him a look and said, "Duh."
As she rolled her eyes, he said, "Wow, so he's locked in for sure. Good. That means now there's no way he steals you back from me."
"Never say never," she warned, heading back to the closet. "Though I just said it twice."
"So are you looking for a new last minute opening act now or...?"
"No, the other girls are staying on without her I guess," Julie said, searching the closet for a set of jeans. "I remember being pregnant on Tracy's tour. I can understanding her wanting to back out. But now the girls have to fill the gap Leila is leaving. All of their choreography needs to be adjusted for two people, the harmonies reworked, her parts re-assigned. It's gonna take them some time to make those changes."
"Speaking of changes," Alex said, "while you were in the shower, John texted us. Asked if we could take out one of our songs from the set so he could sing his dumb song with Travis."
"Wait," Julie stopped him, "what dumb song with Travis? I'm lost here."
"You haven't heard?" he asked. Julie shook her head. She hadn't heard anything from John in a while.
***
As Santana returned home, she dialed Travis, who was at the moment going to an interview. "I don't have much time," he told her. "I hope you know how late it is in my side of the world."
"I checked and it's not that late," she said. "Besides this is important. It's about Sebastian. Apparently he's got it in his head that he can just adopt a child out of the blue."
"Adopt a child, really?"
"Yup. I bet it has something to do with the man he loves refusing to be with him for another man he sorta loved too. He's acting really weird now and wants to give his love to a child, which is ridiculous since I don't think he ever was one. Maybe you should talk some sense into him. Adopting a child isn't easy with two people, let alone one. He shouldn't take it so lightly, especially for the possible reasons he's doing it."
"Sebastian's personal matters aren't my business, Santana. I can't tell him what to do nor do I want to. But thanks for worrying enough to let me know what was happening. I can't do anything about it and you shouldn't either but... I think deep down you care about him. You might even call him a friend."
"Ew, ok, I'm hanging up," said Santana. Travis smiled and set his phone down. Why on earth was Sebastian adopting a kid?
***
Still watching cartoons in his living room, as he had done most of the day, John had been fairly interrupted until Julie showed up. The moment he opened up for her she said, "What are you doing with your life, John? I'm so worried about you."
"It's nice to see you too," he said while she stepped inside.
"Is it?" she said. "Because you didn't even tell me you were here. I just... I'm really confused. Why would you record a song with Travis behind your group's back?"
"Alex did it with Travis and then released it without us having a clue it was gonna happen," John said. "Sam collaborated on Amity's first album, on your latest... I figured it was something I was allowed to do."
"You are," she assured him, "but you're... It's just confusing, ok? We're worried."
"I'm fine," John assured her, putting an arm around her. "Better than fine, actually, I feel great. Come watch TV with me."
She saw the cartoons he was watching and said, "No thanks. I get enough of that with my babies."
He rolled his eyes and said, "Fine, then go back with Alex and make more babies and leave me alone."
She caught a whiff of something as he pulled away from her so she asked, "Are you stoned?" She checked his eyes and shook her head. "You are, aren't you?"
"No," he said. "Not right now... I told Sam I was gonna do it less and I'm doing it less but you both know I need it to get on stage sometimes. Did he send you here to check on me? Or Alex?"
"I came here on my own," she assured him.
"Well it was fun but now I think you should go," he pointed her to the word. "Go back to being the dutiful wife I'm sure you are and let me enjoy my final hours of being at home."
Julie scoffed, watching as he practically kicked her out, and on her way out wondered why on earth he was so cranky.
***
The next day, when she was already sitting in a hotel room in Baltimore, Julie told Alex for the dozenth time how weird John had been.
"I'm worried even more about him after seeing him, Alex," she said. "He was so out of it."
"Well, it's kinda normal for him," said Alex, stepping out of the bathroom with his hair wet from the shower. "I mean, not always but... On tour he's like this. A lot of pot, a lot of drinking, a lot of... I don't know. He just goes all dark when we're away from home or something. Who knows what it is but he's good on stage."
"Well if it's touring then maybe he shouldn't be touring," she suggested, staring at the ground and wondering where he was currently.
***
Sebastian, meanwhile, was taking his commitment to adopting very seriously and was starting out his Friday morning with a visit to an adoption agency.
There he met Rita, who was the woman in charge of setting him up with the perfect child.
"Before I get you started," Rita said, "since you are doing this through a private agency it is important to go over some of our—"
"Actually I don't think you understood me over the phone so maybe I should reiterate," he interrupted, a smile on his face. "I'm Sebastian Smythe. I am pretty wealthy, I come from a great background, I am educated and I have one of the most successful businesses in the Midwest. I'm the most eligible homosexual white man in Ohio and society has all but sent me a medal for being perfect. So here's how it's going to go. I'm going to give you a ridiculously large sum of money and you're going to show me every child available for me to adopt. Don't call it buying the kid. Call it donating to your agency for you helping me speed up this process. It will mean great things for your company and I will get my child, let's say... Within a month?"
"A month?" said Rita, a bit overwhelmed and now terrified of him. "Well, uh... We do have a lot of children we would love to help." He smiled wider and she reached under her desk cabinet for a folder. "Here's a scrapbook with all of the children currently in orphanages and foster care who we are working with."
She handed him the lookbook and he immediately flipped the page, eager to find himself the perfect kid. "I've decided I want a boy," he explained as he skipped through perfectly healthy and innocent looking girls. "Hmm... Too old... Too old... Too old... God, an actual newborn? No thank you... Too old... Too ugly."
Rita looked a bit alarmed by his harsh criticism of the toddlers and children, but she powered through with thoughts of the check he had promised to write.
"Too old," he continued. "Too fat, look at these cheeks. Too ugly, too ugly. Too... ethnic. Oh, what about this one?"
He pointed at a photograph. Rita pulled it out and looked on the back as she said, "Oh he's lovely. Just turned one."
"That's a perfect age," he said, slamming down on the desk and scaring her. "This is the one I want. When can I get it and for how much?"
"You are sure you know this is about adopting a child, right? A real live child?"
"Yes. So how much money will it take to have him legally be my son by the end of the month?"
***
It took a few hours for Marley to realize she had snoozed her alarm over twenty times. She had woken up so late that she felt tired, sleepy, sick, and sad.
After getting out of bed, she walked into Ben's room and remembered that he wasn't going to be there. She had until Monday to see him again, which only amplified her current state of loneliness.
As she went to pour milk for her cereal, the only thing she had the energy for, she realized that she had forgotten to put on a bra, so she put the cereal down on the counter and hurried to her bedroom for one.
She pulled out the first one at the top of her drawer and removed her shirt, standing in front of her mirror and staring at her body, noticing how different she looked. She had lost her hips and her breasts and tummy were fuller. Her arms wiggled more.
For a moment she felt disgusted by the image so she turned away, afraid of gagging at the sight of her own body. Looking down, she tried to pinch the body fat on her stomach but couldn't. Was she imagining it there?
She put on the shirt quickly, grabbed her phone, and rushed to the kitchen, where she dumped the cereal in the sink and then began to make a call.
"Pick up, pick up please," she muttered, nervously tapping her foot and scratching at the counter with her bitten nails. "Doctor Glass? Hi, thank you for taking my call. I know I just saw you but I'm worried. I've been stressing out a lot and I think that I'm at risk of relapsing into holding back my eating and I... Yes?" She stopped, listening as her doctor talked to her, first calming her down. "I'm listening."
***
When Shana walked into her house, she tossed her shoes off immediately and set everything she was carrying down by the entrance, making her way through the kitchen to the living room and saying, "These rehearsals went all night and all morning but I think we finally..."
Her voice trailed off as she witnessed Santana laughing while Tabitha sat beside her on the couch and said, "And she's obviously lying, right? I'm sure she likes guys, she was with my brother forever and practically obsessed with him all those years but like... There's no way she got back with Christopher. Or rather that he would go back to her. He was way out of her league as it is and I don't think he could be that desperate for money to be back with her again."
Irritated, Shana cleared her throat and both women turned her way. "Hi hon," said Santana, smiling but more in amusement at what Tabitha had said.
"Hi hon," Shana repeated with plenty of spite to spare. "Can I talk to you in the kitchen for a sec?"
"Sure," agreed Santana, telling Tabitha that she'd be back in a minute and then taking her sweet time to join her wife many feet away. "What's up?"
"What's up?" said Shana. "What's up is what the hell is she doing in our house?"
"She works for me," Santana reminded her.
"You don't have to make your employees your friends," Shana said, putting her hands on her hips.
"Aw, are you jealous?" Santana teased. "This is the first time you're seeing me make a new female friend."
"I'm not at all jealous," Shana said. "I trust your loyalty. What I don't like is guests who badmouth my friend. And seeing you laugh at it. Besides, I just got back and I hoped that before I had to head off to Seattle I could spend some time with my family."
"You totally can," said Santana, "but Tabitha is older than me and she gets a lot of things about me that my other friends don't so I'm trying to hear her out and be a good friend to her. Is that so bad?"
"It's not bad at all," Shana shook her head, "but it's not about you. It's her."
"Why don't you go up and play with Val, ok?" Santana said in what Shana felt was a patronizing tone. "I'll catch up with you girls later."
Shana glared at her but Santana went back to Tabitha without noticing, eager to go back to the gossip, so Shana walked upstairs as suggested. Valentina didn't deserve to be ditched by both moms.
***
"Thank you Dough," said Amity as the agent at the Lima Dwellings real estate office handed her a folder full of pictures she was going to look through. She joined Christopher in the lobby and smiled.
"Ready to go?" he asked. She nodded and together they stepped out to the parking lot.
While they returned to his car, she said, "None of these houses seemed right. Real estate in Lima is crazy as it is but there are way too many empty lots and the houses are either too small or too big."
"Is there such a thing as too big?" asked Christopher, unlocking his car doors. "I mean, considering your means."
"It's just me," she shrugged. "I really don't need the space."
"What about your family?"
"My family doesn't want to live in Lima ever again. And if I ever start one of my own... I could change houses. But a big house just doesn't seem right to me. I grew up with nothing, in a really small house with a lot of sisters. And going from that to the apartment I have now has really been a blessing but getting a huge mansion would just feel like too much. I need something small. Humble."
"So what are you gonna do?" he asked when they were both seated inside the car.
She looked down at the folder she had received and said, "I guess I'll just have to keep looking." As she began to flip through it again, Christopher pulled out of the lot and thought about houses. Then he had the perfect idea.
***
After soundcheck, Sam noticed John stick around with the fans and was surprised by how much of a better mood he was in now. There were still hours left til the show and he spent an extra fifteen minutes meeting fans and talking to them, so by the time he returned backstage to prepare for the meet-and-greets, Sam was curious about what had changed.
"How are you feeling?" he asked, meeting up with him on the way to the dressing room.
"Great, actually," he answered. "The fans gave me some sort of energy, I don't know. It's like they recharged me."
"Uckle John!"
As they walked into the dressing room, he was delighted to find that the twins were there, so he got down on their level and opened his arms for them. "Hey, what are you little nuggets doing here?" he asked as he hugged them.
Sam smiled out at them, then watched as the nanny began to pour juice into their sippy cups. "Not too much sugar, right?" he said to her.
Meanwhile, John was still squeezing the girls until they made exaggerated complains, giggling as he said, "I missed you both so much."
"Did you get us a present?" Gaby said, pulling away from him.
John laughed. "Who taught you how to put that sentence together? Let me guess, Santana." He dug into his pockets and felt a bill, so he pulled it out. "A twenty. Do you take cash or credit?"
"I don't know," said Gaby, staring at the money in confusion.
But Izzy quickly snatched it from John's fingers and ran off, taking circles around Gaby shouting, "Money! Money!"
"I want!" Gaby said, though she clearly didn't know why.
They chased each other around for it, laughing as Sam turned to John and said, "You're gonna be just fine, you know that?"
"Yeah, I think so," he responded, smiling at the girls as they made faces at each other.
"I haven't listened to your new song," Sam continued. "Wanted to hear it for the first time live. But I'm sure I'll be amazed by it. You're a great writer. And I know you don't always get to shine that through with the kind of music we make but we do know you have that talent, John. It doesn't go unnoticed."
"Thanks," John turned to him. "I really appreciate that, man. More than you could ever know."
"Daddy, gotta pee," Izzy interrupted them.
"Potty training," Sam told John as he picked her up. "I should go quick. See you in a bit."
As Sam walked out of the room with Izzy, John turned to Gaby and asked, "Who took the money in the end?" Gaby simply stared at him and smiled.
***
"Blackbird and Smythe are already pushing for bigger shows in the next leg," said Travis's manager as they drove ridiculously early for his radio show in Russia. He hadn't slept at all and Luke had stayed back to rest at a hotel, but for him the grind continued.
It was still Saturday night for Sebastian, however, which is why Travis decided to give him a call. Sebastian answered pretty quickly and said, "Hey. Can we make this quick? I'm in the middle of something."
"Oh, sorry," Travis responded. "I just... I wanted to thank you for your continued support of my career. I know you're in talks for upgrading the next tour leg even though my single is slipping on the US charts so thank you for that faith in me."
"It's not faith," Sebastian assured him. "It's a calculated profit. You're doing well worldwide and that's where you're touring now so your sales in the states don't matter in this decision."
"Well, thanks anyway," Travis said, holding back the desire to bring up the adoption. "We're making history together."
"Yes, we are," Sebastian agreed. "Good luck on your radio show."
"Thank you," said Travis, smiling because of course Sebastian already knew exactly where he was headed. Then the call came to an end.
***
With John now in such a great mood, Alex and Julie were glad to join him, Sam and the twins in the dressing room, hanging out after meet-and-greets to spend time together one last time before they went in separate directions again. Julie was going to be on tour and she was taking the twins both with her, which meant even less opportunities to meet up between dates.
They were making a joke about how glued to the hip Tyler and Morgan, who were elsewhere in the building, had become when the door opened unexpectedly and instead of an assistant getting ready to rush them, Marley stood there, surprised at how many people were there.
"Oh hey Marley!" said John, seeing her first and causing everyone else to look up.
"Marley, what a surprise!" Alex said while Julie chimed in, "Hey! Look who's here!"
"Ben!" Izzy exclaimed, searching for her friends, but Marley just smiled politely at all of them and then looked to John.
"Can we have a second?"
"I should go set up the girls with their earmuffs," said Julie.
"And we're starting our set any moment," Alex nudged Sam. "We should, uh, go set up."
"But I wanna know why she—" Sam began. Alex yanked him away however, and the four of them left the room as quickly as Marley had showed up.
As soon as they were gone, John shut the door and said, "What are you doing here?"
"I just..." she said, anxiously knowing she wasn't wanted there at all. "I haven't been ok." He seemed concerned for just a second but then he seemed to lose interest so she said, "I know we haven't talked in a while but I figured if I came to you first maybe we finally could."
"What's there to talk about?" he said. "You made it clear you wanted me to stay away and I did so... There's nothing else to be said."
He began to open the door but she said, "John, I'm pregnant."
He turned to her immediately and let go of the doorknob. "What?"
"It's not..." she began, confused as to what she was going to say even though she had been rehearsing it the moment she'd gotten off the call with her doctor. "I'm not here to... I don't want anything from you, John. And I understand that you have a certain... lifestyle. One that I want no part in. And I don't think a baby would be fit into it either but... I figured you should know you're going to be a father."
John opened his mouth but sound didn't come out. He wasn't sure he'd heard her correctly. But then the door opened via someone on the other side of it, who said, "Mr. Brown, you're needed on stage now. Three minutes til showtime."
Marley looked down at the floor. He could stay behind in talk or he could go play his show, but there was never really a choice for him. So she watched as he was pulled out of the room, looking back at her for only a second before he was taken out of view, completely speechless.
***
As Amity sat in her apartment, already in her pajamas and preparing the last of her things that she was taking as she flew back out to promote her music, Christopher showed up at her front door, knocking three times before she opened up.
"Oh hey," she said, embarrassed by what she was wearing. "I didn't expect you to come by again..."
"I've been working on something since I dropped you off," he said. "Mind if I come in?"
She moved aside and he quickly stepped into the apartment, carrying a sketchbook with him. He sat down on the couch and she shut the door, joining him.
"Check this out," he said, opening the book to a recent sketch. It was a house. Or at least, the skeleton of one.
Shocked, Amity said, "Is that for..?"
"Your perfect house," he said. "Or the beginning of it. I work on a lot of projects at once but I'm always sketching. The Blackbird fifth floor is a pretty small job since right now the construction crew is taking care of it so I've been wanting a new, bigger project and that starts with a design. How great would it be for me to say I built a house from scratch for Amity Hills."
She was still staring at the sketch, completely speechless. "It's so... Christopher, I don't know what to say."
"Just say you accept," he said. "And if you don't like the end of result, you have no obligation to move in."
She stared at the picture, then looked up at him and smiled. It really was the sketch of her perfect house.
***
When Marley finally left the dressing room, too tired of being all alone, she walked through backstage unnoticed by most people until she reached the stage area, where Morgan, Julie and the twins were watching the show.
Crystal Army:Oh, whoa, oh, oh, whoa, oh, oh, whoa, oh, oh, whoa.
After their hit, My Songs Know What You Did In The Dark, stopped playing, Tyler, Alex and Sam came running off stage but John stayed on, walking closer to the crowd and sending the fans into screams.
Marley stood back, watching while the others came by to watch with them.
"The other guys," John told the fans, "are gonna go on a quick break but I'm too full of energy to leave." The fans cheered, with plenty of energy themselves. "Yeah, exactly," he forced a laugh. This was all rehearsed, down to every word, but he couldn't do it right, not while he was thinking about what Marley had said.
He had paused for too long and the guys watching backstage worried that he had frozen up. "He was doing so well," Tyler pointed out.
"Come on, John," Sam muttered under his breath, rooting for him to get through that momentary lapse.
Marley pulled her nails up to her teeth and bit, anxious as John recovered. "How many of you have heard of Travis Hilton?" he asked them.
The fans answered his question with shouts and he said, "Yeah, I figured. He's a fantastic artist who I had the honor of working with this summer. We put together a song for his upcoming album and we were both so proud of it that he decided to put it out ahead of the release so it's actually out now. And in celebration I thought I'd perform it here."
The crowd went crazy. Some of them thought Travis was waiting backstage and others didn't know who he was but screamed anyway.
"Unfortunately, he's on tour on the other side of the world right now," said John as he was handed a guitar. A stool and microphone were placed out for him so he sat down, adjusted his guitar and said, "But I figured I could handle it on my own. And, uh, I hope you like it as much as I do."
["Dark Times" by The Weeknd featuring Ed Sheeran.]
John: Waking up, half past five. Blood on pillow, one bruised eye.
Julie looked over at Alex, who raised his eyebrows, completely impressed.
John: Drunk too much, you know what I'm like. But you should've seen the other guy.
But as he sang, John was only thinking about Marley, about her news, wondering if she was there watching with everyone else, if she had stayed in the dressing room, if she had left completely.
John: This ain't the right time for you to fall in love with me. Well baby I'm just being honest. And I know my lies could not make you believe. We're running in circles that's why...
It wasn't the right time for something like this to happen. But timing didn't matter anymore. Marley said she didn't want anything from him and it seemed like she meant it. What did he really have to offer her anyway?
John: In my dark time I'll be going back to the street. Promising everything I do not mean. In my dark time, baby this is all I could be. And only my mother can love me for me. In my dark time, in my dark time.
***
In Russia, before the crack of dawn, Travis was recording his upcoming radio appearance and meeting early rising fans. They all sat around him as he sat on a chair with a guitar player beside him and sang his verse from the song, which was far more authentic to John than it could ever be to him.
Travis: Light one up, let me bum a smoke. Still coming down, dripping throat. I got another man's blood on my clothes. But it ain't his fault, it's the life I chose.
***
Back in Lima, Amity continued sitting in her living room with Christopher, despite how late it was getting. She watched him sketch, smiling as he came up with more brilliant ideas for her house design and took in any input that she gave him.
Travis: This ain't the right time for you to fall in love with me. My baby I'm just being honest. And I know my lies can never make you believe. Running in circles, that's why.
***
Shana was still spending time with Val, and Val only. They played with Val's dolls and Shana forced a smile, though she was worried about what Santana would be like when they were apart and Val was with her.
Travis: In my dark times, I'll be going back to these streets. Promising everything I do not mean. In my dark times, baby this is all I could be. Only my mother could love me for me. In my dark times, in my dark times.
Would she pay attention or remain distracted as she currently was? Downstairs, Santana was laughing and laughing with Tabitha, bonding until Tabitha received a call. "Hold on," she said, "it's my mother." She rolled her eyes and smiled, answering, "What is it now?" But soon her smile disappeared.
Both: In my dark times I've still got some problems I know. Driving too fast but just moving too slow. And I've got something I've been trying to let go of. Pulling me back every time.
***
A couple blocks away, Sebastian's house was already filled with baby things. He had decided on midnight blue for the color scheme. It looked great in his black and silver current design.
Both: In my dark time, taking it back to the street. Making those promises that I could not keep. In my dark time, baby this is all I could be. Only my mother could love me for me. In my dark time, taking it down to the street. Making those promises that I would never keep.
***
As Alex thought about the lyrics John was singing up on stage, he worried about his friend and how honest and dark the song was. He'd written a few like these but it was a different thing to hear it from John.
Both: In my dark time, this is all I could be. Only my mother could love me for me.
Still, it was a brilliant track.
Both: In my dark times, in my dark time. In my dark times.
As the song came to an end and John spoke to the audience quickly again, an assistant appeared at Alex's side and said, "Sorry to interrupt, but you've got a call on the line."
"Can it wait?" asked Alex, knowing he'd have to be on stage soon.
"It's your sister," she said.
"Then it can definitely wait," he said jokingly.
"She insisted that it's an emergency," said the assistant.
For a second Alex thought it was some sort of Tabitha hoax but he took the call anyway, dismissing the assistant and answering, "Lima Mortuary speaking. You kill 'em, we chill em'."
He laughed at his own snark but then shut up and listened to his sister. After a few seconds he said, "Thank you for letting me know," and quickly hung up.
"We gotta get back out there in less than a minute," Sam warned.
He nodded and handed his phone to Julie, who asked, "Is everything ok?"
"Not really," he answered, grabbing his guitar from a stage crew. "That was Tabitha. I have to go back to Lima after the show."
"What? Why?"
He began to walk back on stage and said, "My dad had a stroke," to which Julie responded with wide eyes, but he was already off to sing his next song.