⤷ the one in which the quiet girl and the dorky new guy fall for each other and sing more than a few times along the way.
♫ [s2-s6] [sam evans] ♫
published: 09.18.2020
completed: 05.21.2023
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It was Christmas time again at McKinley, and Keilani was loving every minute of it. Redecorating the choir room had been one of her favorite moments. Pulling out the decorations she had brought in the year before and singing a duet with Mercedes to 'All I Want for Christmas is You', Keilani hadn't been as happy in ages. She hadn't stopped wearing Christmas sweaters and cute little plaid skirts for days now, prompting many in the New Directions to ask her where she had gotten so many sweaters. The mood in the choir room had been especially high for everyone that holiday season, especially after Mr. Shue announced the New Directions were asked to be a part of the local televised holiday special and that Artie was going to be directing it.
Of course, the tension between Keilani and Sam was strange to say the least. Keilani hadn't exactly forgiven him, but she wasn't angry anymore. There was still this lingering hurt between them, and the two hadn't spoken since that morning in the hallway after Sectionals a few weeks before. That didn't stop from Sam and Keilani stealing glances across the choir room, but always when the other was looking away.
The New Directions were now sitting in the auditorium, watching Rachel perform a somber Christmas song. 'River' had always been one of Keilani's favorite holiday songs, but Rachel's performance of the song had Keilani falling asleep on Kurt's shoulder, who was snoring quietly. Beside her, Quinn was trying to stay awake, but seemed to be dozing off as well.
Keilani felt someone lean into her from behind, and she heard Tina whisper, "Why exactly is Rachel singing this?"
Shrugging, Keilani said, "I'm pretty sure she's pitching for a big solo in Artie's Christmas special." Keilani glanced over at Artie, who was staring up at Rachel with a bored and annoyed expression. "Although I don't think it's working too well."
When Rachel finished the song, she had a content smile on her face until Artie plainly stated, "Rachel, your song made me want to kill myself."
"What?" Rachel exclaimed in shock, catching everyone's attention and causing the sleepy mood to disappear immediately as they began to pay attention to the drama. "I'm sorry but Joni Mitchell isn't depressing, she's emotional!"
"It doesn't fit the vision of my Christmas spectacular!"
Artie started going into detail about his vision for the TV special, causing the sleepy feeling to return once more for many of the members. The more Artie talked about what he wanted for the special, the more Keilani found herself bored.
When Artie explained the grand finale with Frosty the Snowman, Sam – who was starting to get tired of all the ridiculously over-the-top Christmas celebrations – finally cut in with, "Dude, that Frosty story isn't fun. At the end, he melts and dies. What's wrong with a story that's a little sad or a song that's a little depressing? It's the sad things that make you remember what's really important."
