⤷ 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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With her last Nationals coming up and everything that had happened that school year, Keilani knew she had to find some way to make it special. Late one night, she was suddenly been struck with the idea of making Nationals a tribute to Finn by performing some of his favorite songs. She had been nervous about bringing it up, but Mr. Shue was all for Keilani's idea of a tribute performance to Finn. It was one of the rare occasions where Keilani and Mr. Shue were in complete agreement.
Keilani had made a call to Kurt, asking him if he had remembered what Finn's favorite songs were. While Kurt had come up with a few songs, he ended up talking with Rachel, who had been emotional but happy to talk about the songs, especially after hearing about Keilani's idea.
When the New Directions arrived at the hotel in Los Angeles, they were stuck waiting in the lobby as Mr. Shue argued with the hotel front desk employee about their rooms. As most of the teenagers sat around chatting with each other, something – or someone – else caught Unique and Kitty's attention. "Don't look now, but I think someone famous just walked in."
Keilani turned her head and gasped excitedly. "Even better" She exclaimed, already out of her seat. "It's Mercedes!"
Keilani practically ran across the hotel lobby to pull her best friend into a hug, which Mercedes happily accepted. "I'm so glad you made it."
"Are you kidding?" Mercedes responded. "I wouldn't have missed this for the world."
Unique walked up behind Keilani, gushing, "I heard that you got a record contract because either Usher, Kelly Clarkson, or Michael Jackson's daddy bought your album in a 7-11 parking lot."
"I've been waiting to hear all about these rumors too," Keilani added. "You keep saying it's the crazy story that you only wanted to tell me in person."
"Right, right," Mercedes nodded, a huge grin appearing on her face. "I was selling my CD Hell 2 the No in a parking lot. Now, I'm not gonna lie, business was wack, But then this Mexican lady bought one – I think she felt sorry for me. 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 you know, I'm sipping Perrier with a bunch of rich old dudes."
"You're like who my 10-year-old self wanted to be when I grow up." Keilani thought about it for a moment, but then added, "But also my 17-year-old self now."
Despite Mercedes' wild story, Artie had a more important question on his mind. Pointing at her bag, Artie asked, "Hold up, is that dog alive?"
"Oh, it's a faux-huahua – a fake Chihuahua."
As the New Directions stared at her, stunned, Tina shouted over at their teacher, "Mr. Shue! Mercedes is here!"
Mr. Shue gave her a half-hearted wave, but turned back after a second to argue once again with the people at the front desk. Kitty turned to the group and commented, "How much do you want to bet Coach Sue had something to do with this?"
