The Way We Were

The Way We Love the Trio

Mercedes paced with the other seniors backstage at the high school as they waited for the ceremony to commence.

A ringing sounded and the drama club faculty advisor waved his hands dramatically. "Line up! Go here! Go here! This is your last performance of your high school career! Do me proud!"

"Uh huh..." Puck blinked, disinterested.

Mike and Finn snickered.

They all lined up according to the whacked out system the skitzy art teacher/club advisor came up with.

Principal Figgins began calling them out. "Felicity Amber! Ohio State University, class of 2016!"

Felicity sashayed out as her mom, step-dad and boyfriend, Ross made a bunch of noise.

"Rachel Berry! NYADA, class of 2016!"

Rachel stepped out happily and went to get her diploma, smiling for the cameras and trying not to laugh at hearing her dads, birth mother and overly excitable boyfriend cheer for her.

"Mercedes Catherine Chang! Pepperdine, class of 2016; Stanford, class of 2016!"

Mercedes burst through the curtain and struck a pose. There was so much noise from family that she couldn't help but smile wide as she went to accept her diploma and get her picture taken.

"Michael Chang Jr.! Pepperdine, class of 2016; Stanford, class of 2016!"

Mike blushed at all the noise his family made but he smiled brightly for pictures.

"Quinn Chang! Pepperdine, class of 2016; Stanford, class of 2016!"

Quinn struck a pose as she stepped out. She reveled in her family's noise.

"Finn Hudson-Hummel! Lima Community College, class of 2014!"

Finn ambled out, so excited that he was actually graduating. He could hear his parents and girlfriend screaming.

"Kurt Hummel-Hudson! NYADA, class of 2016!"

Kurt burst through the curtain and shimmied before making his way across the stage. His parents were loud and his boyfriend was whistling loudly.

"Santana Lopez! University of Kentucky, class of 2016!"

Santana burst through the curtain and danced across stage to get her diploma, hearing her brother whistling sharply and her parents chanting her name.

"Sophie Parker! Lima School of Cosmetology!"

Sophie proudly walked across the stage as her mother and sisters screamed. It'd taken her a while but she finally got her diploma.

"Brittany S. Pierce! University of Kentucky, class of 2016!"

Brittany skipped across stage, so happy that she was smart enough to graduate and go to a good school. Her parents, especially her untraditional Korean dad were loud.

"Noah Puckerman! Santa Monica Community College, class of 2014!"

Puck bust through the curtain and sauntered across the stage. His mother, grandmother and little sister yelled his name loudly not even missing his scummy dad.

"Richard Nelson! Drafted by the Detroit Red Wings!"

Rick smirked as his slimy self walked across the stage to get his diploma.

"Victor Stone! Drafted by the Green Bay Packers!"

Karen and Marcy were almost as loud as Vic's mother and grandmother but at least they were there, unlike his dad. He ambled across the stage with a wide grin and a sparkle in his grey eyes.

"Javier Xanthos! Peace Corps!"

Javier eased across the stage as his mom and sisters acted like he already won the Nobel Peace Prize.

"Lauren Zizes! University of Miami, class of 2016!"

Lauren strutted her stuff across the stage and gladly accepted her diploma as her parents yelled her name.

The students sat down for speeches then the valedictorians stood. Mike, Mercedes and Quinn gave a speech together that made everyone want to cry. Then the salutatorians, Santana and Kurt made it even worse.

After the ceremony ended, the group of graduates went to find their loved ones.

"I'm so proud of you!" Judy wailed.

"Thank you!" The Trio beamed.

"Are you going to the senior party?" Marc asked.

Mercedes shook her head. "Rachel wants to have a glee party. Kinda like the last one. It's going to be so hard to say goodbye."

"You can always keep in touch." Jeanette told her.

Quinn didn't plan on keeping in touch with anyone from high school. "Okay."

Marcy snickered. "What time is this party? We still have to make sure everything is ready for Monday."

They were going back to Montana for camp on Monday.

"What time is it now?" Mercedes pulled out her phone. "We've got about an hour. We'll be home in plenty of time and you can tuck these little cherubs in."

Riley, who she was tickling, laughed and swatted her aunt.

Michael smiled. "Go take pictures with your friends and then come back so you can take pictures with us."

"Okay." Mike agreed. "But we have to get Mr. Shue over so he can get a new picture with Grandmom."

Christina lit up as Donald groaned.