CHAPTER XIX : GOODBYE
Sit Down You're Rocking The Boat — Guys & Dolls (Sung By Artie, Rachel, Mercedes, Tina & Kurt) 
Everyone cheered loudly for them as they finished the song and I ran up to the front hugging Tina tightly "That was the most ghetto number I have ever seen" Santana said, smiling genuinely at the five original Glee Club members "Then just call me George Jefferson because we went from the ghetto to the penthouse. National champs, baby!" Artie said, earning another round of cheers and applause. Everyone went silent soon after though as we realized what Mr. Schue was writing on the whiteboard 'Goodbye' "This week's assignment is easy. Graduation is just a few days away. There's nothing left to prepare for. Our work here is done, so there's only one thing left to do. Say goodbye. Underclassmen, pick some songs to say goodbye to the seniors; seniors, pick a song to say goodbye to us" Mr. Schue said and I could already feel tears springing to my eyes. I hadn't known these people for as long as they had none each other, but they were my family and I loved them with all of my heart "A part of me wants to lock these doors and stay in here with everyone forever" Mercedes said sadly "We can use the wastebasket for the toilet, and then we could eat Joe for the food since she's been here the shortest, so we know her the least" Brittany said, not realizing that Mercedes was joking "I really hope you're about to rap" Quinn said, smiling softly. Mr. Schue laughed and shook his head "No such luck. I'm leading by example here. This one...is for you guys" Mr. Schue said, sitting down on a stool with his guitar. I leaned my head on Finn's shoulder as Rachel leaned hers on mine, Finn resting his cheek on my head and I reached down towards Tina taking her hand.
Forever Young — Rod Stewart (Sung By Will)
__________
"I wanted to dedicate my goodbye song to all of you," Kurt said in Glee Club the next day "But I wanted to mostly thank the men in this room who have truly inspired me and never saw me for the things that made us different. You only saw me for the ways that we're the same. Because in this room it doesn't matter if you're gay or straight what matters is that we're friends"
I'll Remember — Madonna (Sung By Kurt & The New Directions)
"We love you, Kurt!" I shouted out once the song was over and everyone crowded around Kurt, giving him one big group hug.
__________
Santana and I were walking down the halls of McKinley High when suddenly we were bombarded with balloons right in the face. We stumbled past them, smacking them away from our faces as we spotted Mercedes and Sam in the middle of all of them. Pushing our way through the balloons, we joined the two who had big smiles on their faces "What is this crap?" Santana asked, smoothing out her hair "Balloons don't hurt but they're not exactly pleasant to walk into" I said, stopping a couple of stray hairs from attaching themselves to a balloon "Oh, didn't you hear? Mercedes got a recording contract. She's moving to Hollywood and she's going to be a superstar by Christmas, guaranteed" Sam said excitedly "Mercedes! That's amazing!" I said. pulling her in for a hug. She chuckled and pulled away from me after a couple of seconds "He's exaggerating, You remember that video that he posted of me on YouTube, singing 'Disco Inferno'?" Santana and 1 both nodded and Sam continued for Mercedes "Well, this music producer in L.A. saw it and he wants to sign her" He said, placing his hands on her shoulders and squeezing them "As a backup singer on an indie label. I'm going to be taking extension classes at UCLA" She said, smiling brightly "If this was happening to anyone else, I would be extremely jealous. This is really cool. Congratulations" Santana said sincerely "I'm so happy for you!" I exclaimed happily taking her hands and squeezing them "Thank you, guys" She said, pulling the both of us in for a group hug "And I couldn't have done it without you" Mercedes said, turning to Sam and pinching his cheeks. She went to close her locker and I said a quick goodbye to the three of them, heading to the choir room to meet Tina so we could practice our song for the Seniors.
__________
"Hello, everybody!" I said, waving at everyone as Tina and I walked to the front of the room "Tina and I have a song for you, but first, I wanted to say a few words. Um, I only joined McKinley this year, and I know I've only known you guys for about 9-10 months, but honestly, you guys are my family. When 1 moved here, I was just coming out of a dark place and I was depressed. But then I met you guys, and you welcomed me in with open arms. I met the love of my life and met my absolute best friends. You have no idea how much you guys have helped me, by simply just making me feel appreciated and loved. They say friends are the family you choose, so by that logic—you guys are the best family I could've ever asked for. You're all amazing in your special little ways. And even though some of us got off to a rocky start—looking at you Rachel, Santana—we managed to turn it around and find a way to love each other and I couldn't be more grateful. I'm lucky enough to get another year, with Blaine, Artie, Tina, Sam, Joe, Sugar, and even Britt but the rest of you are graduating or getting deported and Tina and I just wanted to let you know that you can count on us, no matter what. We love you, so much, don't we Tina?"
Count On Me — Bruno Mars (Sung By Tina & Naya)
"Naya, Tina, I think I speak for all of us when I say, that was beautiful, and thank you," Rachel said, wiping her eyes "We love you both too! So, so, so, so much!" Quinn said, standing up and pulling the both of us into a hug. One by one the rest of the Glee Club joined the hug until Tina and I were almost being crushed by the weight of fourteen people hugging us tightly.
__________
"And now the seniors of McKinley High School, class of 2012, are going to sing for you. This is your glee club. Take care of it. It'll take care of you" Finn said, smiling brightly in Glee Club the next day. The non-graduating members of the Glee Club cheered loudly and clapped as the seniors began to sing.
You Get What You Give — The New Radicals (Sung By The Seniors Of The New Directions)
By the end of the song, the
Underclassmen had traded spaces with the seniors and we were all sobbing whilst laughing. Blaine wrapped his arms around me tightly, wiping away my tears and kissing my head. Rachel and Kurt did a little wave to the both of us and we waved back, chuckling softly.
__________
"Okay, Seniors. The Underclassmen have something they'd like to say to you" Mr.
Schue said, as we all got up out of our seats and walked to the front of the choir room "With all the dedications being thrown around McKinley this week, there was one that we wanted to make sure didn't get missed. Finn. Right now, you're something I never thought possible when I first rolled down these halls. You're my friend—our friend. Even before Glee Club was kind of cool, you had our backs. You were on the football team. You were one of the most popular kids in school. You had a lot to lose, and people forget the sacrifices you made. We wanted to thank you" Artie said, and I could already feel the tears pricking my eyes. 
In My Life — The Beatles (Sung By The Underclassmen & Will)
After the song, Finn got up and hugged us all individually. I held him tightly, never wanting to let him, and buried my face into his neck. I straightened up, wiping my tears away and Finn chuckled "Come on now, Naya. Don't cry for me, I'll be back visiting you all before you know it. It's not like I'm about to die or anything" Finn said, placing his hand on my shoulder "I know, I know, I—your like the brother I never had. I'm going to miss you so much" I said, chuckling sadly "I'll miss you too, but—just don't waste your tears on me, save them for Santana or Quinn or Rachel or Kurt, I hate seeing you cry over me" "I have separate tear stores for each of you," I said, making him chuckled. He pulled me in for another hug and I patted his back softly, resting my chin on his shoulder as I stood on my tiptoes.
__________
I sat in the library, studying for my last final test of the year when Quinn came walking in. She sat down opposite me and slid an envelope over to me "What's this?" I asked, picking the envelope off the table "A gift from me to you" She said, smiling softly. I opened the envelope and smiled brightly when I realized they were train tickets "Train tickets. From Ohio to New Haven" I stated, placing the tickets down on the table "I know the train ride is quite long but I couldn't afford plane tickets" She said sheepishly "I also got myself one, from New Haven to Ohio" "I love it, Quinn thank you" I said, smiling warmly before remembering something "Oh, I have something for you two!" I exclaimed, jumping out of my seat and taking Quinn's hands. I dragged her out of the library and towards my locker. I opened it quickly and searched through the stack of framed pictures. Picking up the one of me and Quinn, I handed it to her, and I saw her eyes become glassy with tears "It's a picture I took of us, do you remember? Right after our performance at Sectionals, I had my tripod set up, ready to take pictures with you and Tina. I set it on a timer, set for when we would walk in and it captured this. A picture of the two of us, our arms around each other as we jumped up and down" "This is amazing, Naya" She said "I love it, and you" "Quinn I—your one of my best friends. You're such a fantastic person and I honestly don't know what I would do without you. You've gone through so much and you're still such a lovely person, and I honestly have no idea how I'm going to survive next year, not being able to turn to you for every little thing I go through. You are the absolute best person to be around and my life is better now that you're in it. The first time we met, you hugged me like you had known me for years and honestly, it felt like hugging a long long-lost sister to me. I love you, so much" "I love you too, Naya. I don't know what I would do without you either, you helped stop me from imploding my life and exploding Beth and Shelby's. And even though you didn't know who I was before this year, you helped me turn into a better person, the person I was before I was a Skank, but better. My life is so, so, so much better with you in it and it's killing me having to leave you" "I don't want you to leave me either" I said, hanging my head "I'll always be in here" She said, taking my hand and placing it over my heart "A piece of this kind, loving, caring heart will always be reserved for Quinn Fabray, promise me?" "I promise," I said, I then took her hands and placed them over her own heart "But you have to promise me that a piece of this fantastic, sweet, and adorable heart will be reserved for me, Natalia Vasquez" "I promise," She said, before pulling me into a hug and we both began to cry softly into each other's arms.
Space Between — Descendants 2 (Sung By Naya & Quinn)
[Naya]
I didn't know what you were going through
I thought that you were fine
Why did you have to hide?
I didn't want to let you down
But the truth is out
[Quinn]
It's tearing me apart, not listening to my heart
I really had to go
[Naya]
And I would never need you
[Quinn]
Even though we've changed
[Naya]
Nothing has to change
[Naya & Quinn]
And you can find me in the space between
Where two worlds come to meet
I'll never be out of reach
'Cause you're a part of me so you can find me in the space between
You'll never be alone
No matter where you go
We can meet in the space between
[Quinn]
And nothing can stay the same
It's growing pains
[Naya]
Be proud of all the scars
They make you who you are (oh, woah)
I know you have to stay
[Quinn]
But I'll never really leave you
[Naya]
Nothing has to change
[Quinn]
Even though we've changed
[Naya & Quinn]
And you can find me in the space between
Where two worlds come to meet
I'll never be out of reach
'Cause you're a part of me so you can find me in the space between
You'll never be alone
No matter where you go
We can meet in the space between
[Quinn]
There are no words left to say
[Naya]
I know you gotta find your place
[Quinn]
But this is not the end (no)
You're part of who I am
[Naya & Quinn]
Even if we're worlds apart
You're still in my heart
It will always be you and me, yeah
[Naya]
You can find me in the space between
[Naya & Quinn]
Where two worlds come to meet
[Naya & Quinn]
I'll never be out of reach (I'll never be out of reach, no)
[Naya & Quinn]
'Cause you're a part of me so you can find me in the space between
[Naya]
You'll never be alone
[Quinn]
No matter where you go
[Naya & Quinn]
We can meet in the space between
[Quinn]
Yeah, no matter where you go
[Naya]
No matter where you go
[Naya & Quinn]
We can meet in the space between.
__________
In my hands, I held 7 framed photos. One for each of the graduating seniors, I had already given Quinn hers and now I just needed to hand the rest out. The first one—Puck's one—was one I had taken during West Side Story near the beginning of the year, since he had played Bernardo, Maria's older brother we took a silly photo together, his arms around my shoulders as we were in our costumes—pretending to be siblings. The second one was Mercedes'. I had taken it after hooting the Lima Christmas spectacular and we were in our silly 1950s-esque outfits, we were hugging both of us with one leg flicked up. The third one—Mike's one—was from the Senior Ditch Day that I had been dragged on. I didn't personally take this one, it had been taken on a ride. We sat next to each other, as Tina had been too scared to go on it, and we had wide smiles plastered on our faces. The fourth one was Finn's one—I hadn't personally taken this one myself either but it had been taken on my camera. I had asked one of the crew members to take it, backstage at Nationals. It was Finn, lifting me off the ground when we had won our first-place title. The fifth one was Santana's, it was from the 'Lady Music Week' when we just become friends. The picture was of me pressing a friendly kiss to Santana's cheek after my performance of 'girls' by girl in red. She had one arm wrapped around my waist, whilst the other ruffled my hair. The sixth one was Rachel's this one had also been taken during the 'Lady Music Week' but not by me. At first, I didn't even know it had been taken, because Blaine took it. He took it after the I Kissed A Girl performance where I had—without thinking—hugged Rachel and she had hugged me back. The last one was Kurt's one—we had taken it just after the Mash-Off performance so I was in my leather waistcoat and leopard print tutu and he was dressed as Hall from Hall and Oates. We looked ridiculous, but we were happy. I was happy in every photo. I gave each photo to each of the seniors and pretty much all of them cried when they saw them. They all hugged me tightly and by the end of the exchange I had cried about seven times. Half of my friends were leaving me, and I was going to miss them all so, so much "Naya, these are wonderful. You spent all of your time, taking and making these?" Mike asked in astonishment "Of course like I said the other day, You guys are my family. And I hate the thought of any of you forgetting me, and now you won't. Every time you look at your bedside table or your window sill or your dressers and desk, you'll see me and never forget me. I love you all so much and it would break my heart if you guys left here without a gift from me" "You seriously are the best Naya, like no lie. You're the little sister none of us ever had. We could never forget you, even without these photos" Puck said, standing up and walking over to me. He wrapped an arm around my waist and another around my knees and lifted me into the air. I squealed slightly and slapped his arm until he put me down. But then Finn, Mike, and Kurt joined him and all four boys grabbed me, lifting me above their heads and spinning me around. I shrieked loudly and eventually, they put me down "Lucky I wore jeans today, huh? Don't think Blaine would be too happy if all of you just saw up my skirt" I said, flattening my wild hair back down. Santana, Mercedes, Quinn, and Rachel came up to me next and pulled me into a tight group hug, seeming like they were never going to let go "We should sing a song!" Kurt exclaimed, clapping his hands "The usual" Santana said, jokingly rolling her eyes "Don't be such a Debbie Downer" I said, nudging Santana "I think that's a great idea Kurt" I went and sat down at the piano as Finn sat down at the drums and Puck grabbed a guitar. 
Thank You For Being A Friend — Andrew Gold (Sung By Finn, Naya, Quinn, Puck, Santana, Kurt, Mercedes, Mike & Rachel)
__________
It was finally time for the seniors to graduate and despite being devastated, I found it in my heart to be happy for them and cheered them on at the graduation ceremony. 
Glory Days — Bruce Springsteen (Sung By Finn & Puck)
During the song, each of the seniors was called up and handed their diplomas. I screamed and cheered for each of them as loudly as I could, trying to convey how proud I was of them all. Mike was called first and as he passed us he hugged Tina lovingly. Then Quinn was called and she walked down the front where we Underclassmen were. She hugged me tightly before going up to the stage and getting her diploma. Next Mercedes was up and she blew a kiss on us as she walked past. Then it was Puck's turn and we cheered for him as loudly as we could, so proud that he had passed his test and was graduating. Santana came next, high-fiving us as she walked past and hugged Britt and me. Next Kurt was called and he hugged Blaine tightly, then pressed a friendly kiss to my cheek as he went past. Finn was called next and he waved to the crowd, afterwards he did a special little wave to the Glee Club and we all blew him a kiss. Lastly was Rachel and we all screamed. She joined the rest of the seniors on the stage—Finn pulling her in for a kiss "Ladies and gentlemen, I present to you William McKinley High's class of 2012!" Figgins announced and the seniors throw their caps in the air. We cheered for them as loudly as we possibly could.
__________
"Everything's going to change now, isn't it?" I said, sitting in the choir room as Blaine walked in "Well, yeah. But it's going to be okay" He said, coming to sit down beside me "How is it going to be okay? They're leaving. Half of our friends are going to be gone. Yeah, they'll come back for holidays, and things like that but it won't be the same. They're leaving—just like my parents" I stood up, starting to pace around the room. Blaine grabbed my hand and gently pulled me down into his lap "Naya, you know it's not the same. They don't love their jobs more than you, they're leaving so they can have lives outside of Lima. It's going to be okay because you'll have me still, and Sam and Tina and Britt and all the others. I know there's going to be a new batch of students, but I'm sure they're going to adore you, just like I do. And they'll become your new friends. Everything's going to be okay, I promise" "How can you promise that?" "Because I love you. And I know that as long as we're together, as long as you are by my side, everything will be fine. Even if we lose all our friends, even if we lose, well, everything—we'll always have each other. You're the love of my life, Naya. And I will do everything in my power to make sure everything turns out all right for you" I smiled softly and leaned my head on his shoulders, wrapping my arms around his neck "I'm going to miss them all so much" "I know, Naya, I know. And that's okay, that's perfectly natural. But, you listen to me, okay? Just because they are leaving, does not mean that you are alone. As I said, you're never going to be alone, because I'll always be there" I nodded my head and cried quietly in his arms, never wanting to let go "I love you, Naya, I'm always going to be here for you, I swear" "I love you too"
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The entire Glee Club was at the Lima train station, waiting for Rachel and Finn to arrive. We saw them walking up and we each individually hugged Rachel as tightly as possible.
Roots Before Branches — Room For Two (Sung By Finn & Rachel)
She got on the train and we waved to her, as the train started to move Finn ran along with it. You could see the way his heart was breaking and honestly, my heart was breaking for him. But everything was going to be okay, Blaine promised it and I was going to hold onto that promise for the rest of my life. 
                                      
                                          
                                   
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