𝚍𝚊𝚢𝚍𝚛𝚎𝚊𝚖 • 𝚐𝚕𝚎𝚎

𝚅𝙸𝙸

The past few weeks were crazy. Finn had come back to teach at McKinley--co-direct really. Regionals was easy. We had our secret Santa. Sam had gotten me. He got me a leather jacket that had Amelia Jane engraved on the back in blue jewels. I had never worn a leather jacket, but it was nice to have one. 

Nationals was a day away. We were all going crazy. It was my last nationals. All of us seniors were nervous out of our minds. The set list was strange. I mean, now wonder why. They were all Finn's favorite songs because Mr. Shue made him in charge of making the set list. The worst part of it all? Finn had gone back to New York to be with Lexie before her big test. Which meant that he wasn't going to be there for nationals. Great. 

"Alright. Last day before nationals, how's everyone feeling?" Everyone groaned a little. Sam turned to me. "Are you gonna be okay?" I sighed and just turned. "Am I gonna be okay at nationals? Why are you asking me this, Sam?" He shrugged. "Because normally Finn gave you a pep talk before you went on stage and sang. But, he's in New York, so now are you gonna be okay?" 

I sighed. "Sam, I'll be fine. I don't need Finn. I can do it by myself. Yeah, it'll be weird. It being nationals and all...Finn not being there, but he's with Lexie in New York. She needs him more than I do. This test that she has to take...it determines whether or not she moves onto the sophomore class." 

I turned back to Mr. Shue. "Mr. Shue, you still haven't told us where we're going. Where is nationals?" He sighed as he walked over to the piano. "We are going...to the land of stars." Sam leaned over to me. "Are we going to the moon?" 

I chuckled a little. "No...L.A. The land of stars? Hollywood?" He had a look of realization before turning back to Mr. Shue. He started singing a song, like he always did. 

**

Somehow, the song lasted all the way from Lima to L.A. Strange, but never underestimate the power of a glee club. After we had gotten there, it was time to prepare for the competition. We all put on our dresses and outfits that we had to wear before jumping on the bus to head to the competition. 

Once we had gotten to the theatre where we were performing, we stood backstage. We were third to go. I paced back and forth, trying to calm myself down. "A.J...are you okay?" I stopped and just stood there. "Yeah," I gasped, "I'm...I'm good...is it hot in here? It feels hot in here. Is the oxygen low in here? I...I can't breathe." I gasped for air, ignoring his attempts to calm me down. Then, something crazy happened. Something I never thought would happen in my entire high school life. 

He kissed me. Sam kissed me. Without any context. I froze for a minute. "Alright...well...I have to get to my wing. But...I will see you later. Bye, Sam!" I ran to the other side of the stage. Blaine stood there, just staring at me. 

"What happened?" I sighed. "I will tell you about it later. Right now, we have a competition to win." 

"All the way from Lima, Ohio. The McKinley High New Directions!" 

We walked out and started singing the songs. We started out with More Than A Feeling by Boston. Mid-song, as I stood there singing the song, I looked out into the audience. Four people were entering the theatre. I couldn't make out the faces until they all started shouting my name. 

They were here. They came. Lexie, Finn, Scarlett, Santana. They all came. I made out the one face that I knew would help me and just stared into his eyes. You can do this, he would mouth to me. Keep going. And I would. When the song ended, we went onto the next one which was America by Neil Diamond, Finn's second favorite song. Then, for the grand finale, we did I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For by U2. 

When we finished, we ran off stage and stood there. I was just praying to God that we won. 

**

It was the final moment. It was the moment that we figured out who won. I stood there, waiting. I was panicking. It was the final moment. 

"In first place....Throat Explosion!" 

I couldn't breathe. "A.J.." I shook off his hand. "Don't touch me." I said to Sam as I ran off the stage and behind the curtain. I just sat there. I didn't know what to do. 

"You did the best you could, A.J." 

"If I did the best I could, then we wouldn't have lost, Finn. We would have won." 

He sat down next to me. "You can't blame yourself, A.J. Okay? They were good. They were great. All that matter is that you did your best. You graduate in two weeks, A.J. You become an adult in two weeks." 

"I guess now is a better time than ever to tell you that I got into NYU." 

"That's amazing!" He hugged me. "Now, let's go home." I smirked. "Lima home or New York home?" He smiled. "Lima home." 

And we both walked out of the auditorium to head back to the hotel before leaving for Lima and never looking back.