𝐰𝐢𝐥𝐝𝐞𝐬𝐭 𝐝𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐦𝐬 | s. lopez + b. pierce

One

a/n - first chapter of season four! who's here?

-

Being 17 meant that Jayden Bernadette Berry finally got to be a dancing queen, young and sweet. Or so she thought.

Everything was different now. She was different. The people she's grown up with were different. Life was just...different. There was so much changing. It was all so fast, and it seemed like she was barely able to catch a moment to breathe without another curve ball being thrown her way.

She and Brittany had barely heard from Santana all summer long, and now that school was back in session, Jayden was starting to think that this was the beginning of the end.

"September 1st, 2012," Jayden sighed as she got out of her dads' car. She hoisted her backpack up over her shoulders and held Oliver securely on her hip as she made her way to the large double doors. "Dear Diary, I believe I'm a good person. You know, I think that there's good in everyone, but...here we are! First day of senior year! And uh...I look around at these kids that I've known all my life and I ask myself...what happened?"

She walked through the doors, rolling her eyes when she spotted a group of sophomore bullies.

"Freak! Slut! Burnout! Bug-eyes! Poser! Lard-ass!"

"We were so tiny, happy and shiny, playing tag and getting chased," Jayden sang, protectively holding her son as she pushed through the crowd of students to get to Sue's office.

"Freak! Slut! Loser! Shortbus!"

"Singing and clapping, laughing and napping. Baking cookies, eating paste."

"Bull-dyke! Stuck-up! Hunchback!"

"Then we got bigger, that was the trigger, like the Huns invading Rome," Jayden told Oliver as she gestured around the hallway with her free arm. "Welcome to my school, this ain't no high school. This is the Thunderdome. Hold your breath and count the days, we're graduating soon."

"White trash!"

"College will be paradise, if I'm not dead by June!" Jayden rounded a corner, smiling in relief when she saw Brittany at the end of the hall. "But I know, I know, life can be beautiful. I pray, I pray for a better way. If we changed back then, we could change again. We can be beautiful..."

One of the new bullies slushied Matilda.

"Just not today," Jayden sighed. She walked up to the petite sophomore and used the sleeve of her letterman to gently wipe the slushie off her face. "Are you okay, Matti?"

"I can't feel my face," the blonde shivered, her jaw still dropped in shock as she walked off towards the nearest bathroom.

Jayden hoisted Oliver up higher. The 9 month old hugged her neck tightly, whining softly. "We're almost there, Ollie."

"Freak! Slut! Cripple! Homo! Homo! Homo!"

Jayden rolled her eyes, continuing to make her way down the treacherous hall to her girlfriend. "Things will get better soon as my letter comes from Harvard, Duke, or Brown," she sang. "Wake from this coma, take my diploma, then I can blow this town. Dream of ivy-covered walls and smoky French cafés. Fight the urge to strike a match and set this dump ablaze!"

"Guppy!" Brittany gasped when she spotted Jayden. She closed her locker and jogged up to her girlfriend. She took Oliver and kissed his cheek. The baby giggled and grabbed the sides of her face. "I tried texting you earlier. I was gonna meet you outside the school."