Always and Forever - Book 5

The Quaterback

A/N: Get read to cry, cause I know I will

***

The news of Finn's death hung over the New Directions like a heavy cloud, casting a somber shadow over everything they did. It felt unreal, like a bad dream none of them could wake from. The halls of McKinley High, usually filled with laughter and the sound of rehearsals, were quieter now. Even when they gathered in the choir room, a space that had always been a sanctuary, the atmosphere was subdued, the weight of loss settling in every corner.

No one quite knew what to say. Finn had been more than just a friend, a teammate, or a leader—he had been the heart of the group. He'd lifted them up when they were down, fought for them when no one else would, and always believed in the magic of what they could accomplish together. Without him, it felt like a piece of the club was missing.

Gathered in the auditorium with some of the alumni after his funeral, they were all still processing. The only way they knew how was through song.

Mercedes, Santana, Kurt, Mike and Puck with New Directions and Alumni

Five hundred twenty-five thousand six hundred minutes
Five hundred twenty-five thousand moments so dear
Five hundred twenty-five thousand six hundred minutes
How do you measure, measure a year?

In daylights, in sunsets
In midnights, in cups of coffee
In inches, in miles
In laughter, in strife

In five hundred twenty-five thousand
Six hundred minutes
How do you measure
A year in the life?

Santana and Kurt (with New Directions and Alumni)

How about (Love?)

Puck (with New Directions and Alumni)

How about (love?)

Santana and Kurt (with New Directions and Alumni)

How about (Love?)

Kurt (with New Directions and Alumni)

(Measure in) love

New Directions and Alumni (Girls) {Boys}

Seasons of (Love) {Love}
Seasons of (Love) {Love}

Mercedes

Five hundred twenty-five thousand
Six hundred minutes
Five hundred twenty-five thousand
Journeys to plan
Five hundred twenty-five thousand
Six hundred minutes
How do you measure
The life of a woman or a man?

Santana

In truths that she learned

Kurt

Or in times that he cried

Puck

In bridges he burned

Tina

Or the way that she died

New Directions and Alumni (Hunter and Mercedes)

It's time now to sing out
Though the story never ends
Let's celebrate, remember a year in the life of friends

Remember the love (Oh, you've got to, you've got to remember the love)
Remember the love (You know that love is a gift from above)
Remember the love (Share love, give love, spread love)
Measure in love (Measure, measure your life in love)

New Directions and Alumni (Girls) {Boys}

Seasons of
(Love) {Love}
Seasons of
(Love)
{Love}

As they all turned to face the screen behind them, a picture of Finn appeared. He was in his football jersey, wearing that familiar, easygoing smile that had always made everything seem okay. The image seemed to capture everything he had meant to them—the strength, the kindness, the unshakeable optimism. For a moment, the room was still, everyone quietly absorbing the weight of seeing him like that, as though he was still with them in some way, even though they knew he was gone.