Graceland (A GLEE Fanfiction)

Musicals (Part 2)

Marley walked inside the auditorium after school the next day, looking for Ryder. After a few minutes of walking around, she saw him walk from the side of the stage.

"Hey!" he exclaimed, jumping off and walking towards her. "You came!"

"Well, I said that I would," she answered, putting her bag down in one of the front row seats. "Now, what do you need me for?"

"Well, I overheard this week's assignment for glee club-"

"As you always do."

"Yes," he chuckled, "as I always do. And I found this." He handed her the music sheets. "I know I'm not in glee club anymore, so I was hoping you'd sing it with me."

"Um, okay." She looked down at the music, but put it on top of the piano because she knew it all too well. Before he could cue Brad to play, she asked him, "Why won't you just rejoin? It's boring in there without you."

Ryder wanted to say that he didn't want to see her cuddled up next to Jake whenever he walked in. He wanted to say because it hurt to much. He wanted to say that he still loved her. Instead, he kept quiet and just cued the piano to play. Marley shook her head in disappointment, but she still sang. "Kiss me too fiercely, hold me too tight; I need help believing you're with me tonight."

As she continued, her mind suddenly rid itself of the thought of Jake. She forgot about her troubles, only seeing Ryder and hearing their voices to the piano music. As his arms wrapped around her, he began to sing his part. "Maybe I'm brainless, maybe I'm wise, but you've got me seeing through different eyes." He swayed her slightly, moving with the music as her back was pressed against his diaphragm.

Her mind wandered to an alternate reality in which she had chosen Ryder instead of Jake. She saw herself happy. Genuinely happy. She didn't feel at all forced to be in a relationship with him because she knew that he loved her too. Fading back into reality, she turned herself around so that she was facing him, wrapped her arms around his neck, and allowed him to press his forehead onto hers.

"Borrow the moonlight, until it is through...and know I'll be here, holding you"

She had fallen under his spell, but she didn't care. Because just like Fiyero, she fell upwards. When the song had reached its end, she smiled without any resistance to bring it down. Ryder seemed confused at this, prompting him to ask, "What is it?"

"It's just..." she replied, struggling to find the right words. "For the first time, I feel..."

"Please don't say wicked."

She chuckled and finished her statement before lifting her chin up slightly so their lips met. "Content."

Their movements stayed in sync, and the rest of the auditorium was silent. Brad awkwardly left the stage, leaving the two to go at it. It was when he closed the door when Marley pulled away, remembering Jake. What would he think if - no, when - he found out? An instant pang of guilt hit her like a wrecking ball, and she grabbed her bag and ran out, leaving Ryder confused and speechless.

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She was the first one in the choir room, and as she sat in the back, she was left alone in her thoughts. She knew what just happened between her and Ryder was wrong, but at the same time it felt so right. But Jake...

She was so lost in thought, she didn't even hear another pair of footsteps walk in. She jumped at the sound of another voice, prominently male. "Crap!" she exclaimed, finally seeing Gabe taking a seat next to her.

"Lost in your own thoughts, I see."

"You have no idea," she replied, chuckling at herself.

Looking at him, she could tell he was genuinely concerned for her when he asked, "Do you wanna talk about it?" Still, she was scared, promptly shaking her head to tell him that. "Well, we can't exactly stay in the silence forever, can we?"