⊹ 　　　　 ✺ . . 　　 　 . ✺ 　　　　　　　· ✵ ✧ 　 . 　　　　　 　 ✫ 　 　　 ·　　 . 　　　　　　 　　　 * ✫ 　　 　 ·　　　　 . *. * ⊹ 　 ⋆ .. 　　　 　 · 　　　　　　 . ·　 ˚ ✵ 　* 　 · . ⋆ 　　 ✹ ⋆ 　 . . . . . ˚ 　.

⊹ 　　　　 ✺ . . 　　 　 . ✺ 　　　　　　　· ✵ ✧ 　 . 　　　　　 　 ✫ 　 　　 ·　　 . 　　　　　　 　　　 * ✫ 　　 　 ·　　　　 . *. * ⊹ 　 ⋆ .. 　　　 　 · 　　　　　　 . ·　 ˚ ✵ 　* 　 · . ⋆ 　　 ✹ ⋆ 　 . . . . . ˚ 　

⊹ 　　　　 ✺ . . 　　 　 . ✺ 　　　　　　　· ✵ ✧ 　 . 　　　　　 　 ✫ 　 　　 ·　　 . 　　　　　　 　　　 * ✫ 　　 　 ·　　　　 . *. * ⊹ 　 ⋆ .. 　　　 　 · 　　　　　　 . ·　 ˚ ✵ 　* 　 · . ⋆ 　　 ✹ ⋆ 　 . . . . . ˚ 　.

⊹ 　　　　 ✺ . . 　　 　 . ✺ 　　　　　　　· ✵ ✧ 　 . 　　　　　 　 ✫ 　 　　 ·　　 . 　　　　　　 　　　 * ✫ 　　 　 ·　　　　 . *. * ⊹ 　 ⋆ .. 　　　 　 · 　　　　　　 . ·　 ˚ ✵ 　* 　 · . ⋆ 　　 ✹ ⋆ 　 . . . . . ˚ 　.

⊹ 　　　　 ✺ . . 　　 　 . ✺ 　　　　　　　· ✵ ✧ 　 . 　　　　　 　 ✫ 　 　　 ·　　 . 　　　　　　 　　　 * ✫ 　　 　 ·　　　　 . *. * ⊹ 　 ⋆ .. 　　　 　 · 　　　　　　 . ·　 ˚ ✵ 　* 　 · . ⋆ 　　 ✹ ⋆ 　 . . . . . ˚ 　.

𝐒𝐋𝐎𝐏𝐏𝐘 𝐉𝐎𝐄𝐒 𝐖𝐄𝐑𝐄 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐌𝐀𝐈𝐍 𝐃𝐈𝐒𝐇 𝐅𝐎𝐑 𝐓𝐎𝐃𝐀𝐘 𝐎𝐍 𝐌𝐂𝐊𝐈𝐍𝐋𝐄𝐘'𝐒 𝐌𝐄𝐍𝐔. A brown and gloopy mess stuffed into between two partially stale burger buns. The American Dream. Aerin always wondered who exactly this supposed 'Joe' was. Historians, better known as the creators of R/ FoodForDumbDumbs on Reddit, had claimed to come around when a cook from Sioux City came up with the idea to mix ground beef with tomato sauce.

" I'm sorry but I can't eat this," Catalina remarked in disgust as she watched oil heavily leak from the side of her dish, " It's a heart attack in a hamburger bun. One bite of this crap and I'll be more overweight than my tío."

Aerin definitely didn't disagree with the raven haired girl there, eating 5 Sloppy Joes on any day of the week could probably cause anybody to gain a certain amount of extra weight. But, it also didn't hurt to pig out every once in a while either.

" You wanna trade ?" There was no point in Aerin saying once that question left her girlfriend's lips, because she knew that she couldn't blurt out the two letter word known universally to dismiss anything, shut down everything .No . Along with nail biting, and fidgeting obsessively with loose string on her tops, it was her worst habit.

The sandy blonde's cherry chapstick covered lips upturned into a soft smile. " Go ahead, babe," her tone dwindled at the last part of her sentence, she had never used that word to describe Catalina before. Babe.

" I didn't want my PB & J sandwich anyways-"

Lie

" Or the Bag of Crisps, definitely didn't want those either."

Another Lie

She moved closer to Catalina and placed a hand over her shoulder, whilst the crescent eyed girl placed a kiss on her cheek, " I love you so much, to the moon and back my dear."

Was that a lie ?

Before Aerin could respond with another cheesy, cliche remark, the pair's lunch alone time was interrupted by a new tray banging down right beside them. Finn looked at the pair in his usually gauche manner, and took the seat facing his friend. " Am I-uhm...interrupting anything ?"  the dark haired brunette mumbled once he caught sight of Aerin's arm still clung onto Catalina tightly.

" We were actually about to get hot and heavy on the cafeteria table," Catalina smirked, making Finn widen his eyes. He aimlessly scratched the back of his neck as his eyes then trailed to meet Aerin's smokey brown ones, face filled with confusion.

" She's kidding," she reassured, which ultimately softened Finn's features.

" I knew that," he mumbled, looking back down at his cold, and rather bland bowl of spaghetti. Silently digging his fork prongs into it whilst both girls stared at him in confusion. Aerin had no idea what his motive was to come their way, why he'd just decided to randomly plop himself down in the chair across from her and awkwardly slurp on the most sauce-free pasta she'd ever seen. The blonde wanted to ask, but it seemed rude. Maybe, the boy was simply just being friendly.

Peering at the boy's plate, she made a slight face, dark brows knitting inwards. It looked inedible and frankly rather gross, almost cold to touch.

" I don't mean to be rude, but, can you not look at me when I eat,"  Finn's foggy browns had finally darted up from his plate once he felt the girl staring at him. He hated when people did that, watching him eat.  Rachel did that on occasion whenever he had dinner over at her place, and weirdly, so did her dads. It was mainly always due to their worries about how he'd react to their tofu turkey and kale salad, or any other dish that was mainly 99% vegetable based. Which was why he had then subsequently decided to just regulate his visits to Rachel's home for afternoons, or evenings when both Hiram and LeRoy were out.

Aerin let out a soft chuckle. "Sorry," she could see his cheeks brighten with a splash of baby pink, had her staring embarrassed him that much ?. This was probably one of the many things the blonde would be looking forward to when she officially moved in with the Hudson's  tomorrow and became their abandoned stray. With a voluminous amount of baggage. Internal and external.

" Why are you apologising ?" A bitter scoffed rolled from the tip of Cat's tongue as she suddenly spoke from Aerin's side, Lay's Salt and Vinegar crisps firmly in her grasp.

Silence fell between the three. Both Aerin and Finn's gazes moved towards the raven haired girl, who's brow was drawn slightly upwards. Aerin scrawled her brain for something to say, for each minute that passed, the overbearing tension increased to heights that made her all too uncomfortable.

" I'm...Sorry ?"

Close enough.

Catalina lowered her crisp packet, mahogany browns practically piercing into the blonde's soul, " Quit saying sorry all the time. It makes you seem unconfident and insecure. If you want people to respect you, fear you, want to beg for your friendship; then you'll have to try and seem tougher and headstrong."

" But I don't want to seem tougher or headstrong,"  Aerin's tone lowered, as did her gaze on her weirdly annoyed girlfriend. According to Quinn, a small part of her wondered if Catalina knew how harsh her words sounded at times, but then again, the girl apparently had always been blessed with an intuitive personality. But she knew that too. Obviously.

"Don't you want people to respect you though ?"

Another brain stumping question. Aerin didn't know what to say. Sorry apparently burned a gasolit fuse in Catalina's system, so that was way out of the question. She wanted people to respect her, be kind to her at a point where it was honorable. 

But if she had to earn others respect by obscently taunting someone, hurting them, maiming them from any self worth...then the blonde would have rathered been a speck on the wall. But to Catalina Guzman, it seemed as though, respect meant more than self worth. To her, if you could gut the respect out of subordinates (or in other words people in Glee Club, and lower) then you would've somehow made it it. That nothing else mattered expect ruling an invisible kingdom and claiming you heiress thrown as Queen Bee.  Another misconstrued concept invented by masses of television and media, a concept which had now long plagued high schools across the globe.

She opened her mouth, jaw merely agape, but then once her topaz eyes glanced back up to Catalina's awaiting kiwi brown's, the girl simply shrugged her shoulders. A silent yet, confident bundle of the word sorry and I don't know. Finn had never felt this much tension in one atmosphere since last years Regionals, the constant back and forth was making him feel he was a outsider looking in. That Catalina and Aerin were communicating in their own non foriegn morecode, through stares and brow furrows and jabs that made them both look away from one another.

" Aerin,"  Finn mumbled under his breath, tone laced with unease and awkwardness. " We, uhm, need to talk about something."

She darted her gaze towards the boy. " About..."

" You moving in with me," his tone had unintentionally risen, which ultimately caused Catalina's attention to bounce and halt right to the pair. Crap.  Finn knew that was supposed to be confidential, his mother had specifically told him to 'not say a peep'. Though, he couldn't see why it was such a big deal anyways. Bunking with your friends was a completely normal thing to do, especially when they were the only people who could help you out of turmoil. Quinn stayed with Mercedes when her father decided to kick her out for getting pregnant with his baby, well, Puckerman's baby. And there were countless of times when Rachel stayed over at his place, or vice versa, whenever one of them were going through a crisis and needed a shoulder to cry on. That's what friends were for.

Catalina bit into Aerin's PB&J, tiny laugh parting from the brim of her lips. " No way, you never told me that you were moving in with Hobbit's ex," she remarked, jelly staining her chin.

" Rachel's not a Hobit ? And we're still very much together,"  Finn replied back, with a surprise stern in his voice that Aerin never knew the boy had. Once those words left his tongue and escaped out of his own lips, the raven haired girl took in another chuckle. Sure, Rachel wasn't one of the greatest human beings to exist, and rightfully deserved the harsh criticism she got from others who decided to stand up from time to time. But that still didn't excuse the excessive bullying and name calling that was targeted towards her on the daily.

The raven haired girl clicked her tongue and took another bite out of her sandwich, head silently shaking. " No you're right," the girl echoed back, " She's a Freak," another chuckle rippled from her lips. And for some reason Aerin felt the sting of her words, in offense for Rachel of all people.  Finn's nose crinkled, as did his forehead, and a deep furrow formed between his brows. He was trying to bottle his annoyance, Aerin knew that look for anywhere.

" Listen-"

" Ah, If it isn't my favourite Latina Fireball, poised in perfection and glam," Sue's voice suddenly evoked amongst the table, her usual abrasiveness making Aerin roll her eyes. Great. She strutted towards the three, clipboard in one hand and the clasp of her megaphone in the other.  Catalina sat up in her cafeteria chair, molten browns brightening, " Coach Sylvester, I see that your new tracksuit came in."

" Ah, indeed I did my little mungbean, thank you for noticing," The Cheerio's couch smirked, lowering her clipboard. Aerin personally couldn't tell what exactly  was new about it. The two piece sweater and sweatpant tracksuit looked vibrantly similar to the ones that she wore on a daily basis around campus on any other normal day. Minus the bodacious and frankly large collar that seemed to stick out more widely from the top of her top. Maybe that was the so-called new feature Cat was talking about.

Sue's icy blues moved towards Aerin as she continued to look at her slyly, whilst Finn shuffled in his chair still wondering why he hadn't left the table long ago, "What are you staring at, Ghetto Mary Poppins ?" 

Ghetto Mary Poppins. Now that was a new nickname Aerin had never heard anyone call her. Though it was vastly more harsher, and took her aback greatly, she still preferred it over Stretch Marks McGee. Or Juno.

" Nothing," she responded, gaze still fixed on her seeping narrowed slit eyes. " What are you staring at ?"

" Hmmm, let me see," Sue tapped her chin with her pen as she moved closer towards Aerin. " Well, for starters I can see that your fashion sense is the equivalent to an uncultured inuit banshee who's been hiding out in a cave for nearly half a decade," she began, taking the free seat beside Finn. "You also reek of major daddy issues, repulsive insecurity and is it me or is one half of your face non-symmetrical ?"

A dry heaving lump formed in the back of Aerin's throat, grip tightening on her fork. This was just Sue being Sue, her words were as empty and meaningless as a creaky wooden box. " It is, Not everyone's face is symmetrical," she sniped in a low tone voice,heaviness rising from her chest. The blonde drew her chair into the table, head tilting slightly to the sides as she trained her eyes on Sue.

She didn't need to say what she meant before Coach Sylvvester finally put two and two together, " You've gotta lotta guts on you, Juno. Insulting your superiors? Aren't you afraid that I might report your scrawny backside to Principal Figgins?"

" Not really,"  Aerin smirked in a low tone.

Another glare flickered across Sue's face before she rose from her chair. She'd done it, the girl had finally out Sue'd, Sue Sylvester. Killed the beast before it could have its chance to attack.

" Guzman, you and I need to talk immediately," It seemed like she didn't know what to do with her emotions now. Her upper  lip twitched up and down simultaneously as she waited for the girl to stand up.

" About what exactly ?" she questioned, rising from her seat.

Sue's brows immediately shot up, " You know what, Tumbleweed."

It took a moment for the Guzman girl to process what she had meant, but once she eventually did a tiny smirk suddenly appeared on her lips before she picked up her stuff.

" Where are you going ?" Aerin asked, meer confusion laced in her tone.

" Nowhere," the raven haired girl responded as she placed a kiss on her forehead, one that was all to quick and fast paced.

"Love You"

𝐀𝐋𝐋 𝐓𝐇𝐈𝐍𝐆𝐒 𝐌𝐔𝐒𝐓 𝐂𝐎𝐌𝐄 𝐓𝐎 𝐀𝐍 𝐄𝐍𝐃, even if you've just begun to fall for what you're leaving behind. Novels, Movies, People. Traditions Old and New. Happy memories and memories that only made you feel glum on the outside and in. Aerin had learned to leave things behind long ago, not too get too temporarily attached. It started at the age of 6 with her favourite stuffed animal, a patched up brown bear named Sidney Sweets. She could still remember the day when she found him, abandoned and scared right next to a dustbin on the playground in her elementary school. Like a stray with nowhere to go. There was no tag, no squiggled sharpie name to identify that anybody owned it so she stole it and stuffed it into her backpack.

From there, she then brought it home and began to properly mend it. Aerin had started by placing 10-20 different banadages of the teddy bears opened stitches, but to no avail, once it's skin met contact with any form of liquid all of it feel off. So, the blonde then did what any other six year old girl would do and immediately dialled - 911. This was an important emergency after all. They showed up to her home with a stretcher and a 4 person armed ambulance in toe ready to assess and save the 'very badly injured' relative who the Cline girl had said was cut up and bruised.

You could only imagine their shock and confusion when a little pale blonde girl in a mint coloured dressed opened the front door and handed them her teddy bear with a glimmer of hope in her eyes that they could save it's life.

Luckily, the Bisbee Police Department were kind enough to not fine her family a large grand sum of money for the time she had taken away from them when they could've been actually saving someone's lives. But, Astrid had still forced her to return to where it originally came from as her way of punishment. And though that bear, Sidney, was nothing more than same bland and oblique piece of lint that she had found next to a bin she had still managed to fall for it in a matter of hours. Form a connection to something that was originally hers.

Lima was her Sidney Sweets. The hallowed halls and off the chart weird individuals of McKinley High were her Sidney Sweets. Her friends, old and new were her Sidney Sweets.

They were things, people, places that she couldn't live without. She hadn't known them for that long, but the blonde still had still grown to love them as if she'd known them her whole life.

Everyone already knew about her going back to Arizona, which was most likely due to Sam considering that he was the only person who knew besides her own brother. Questions about her leaving were the only thing on mainly everybody's lips. She ignored mostly all of it at first, replying with classic head nods or shrugs. But now, they had multiplied and almost intensified in number. And it made it all the more hard to ignore their burning questions when Aerin had been forced to do Homecoming set up with almost everyone in the Glee Club. Even if they were currently in the middle of trying to rehearse for one of their most important competitions.

" So, you seriously thought that you could just leave without us finding out ?" Mercedes quipped as she taped bunting onto one end of the gymnasium wall, Artie struggling aimlessly on the other side, " What kind of a fool do you take me for, Aerin ?"

A sigh escaped from Aerin's lips, palm gently tucked under chin as she played with silver glitter particles, " I was going to say something, honestly, but it just didn't seem that appropriate. Everyone's in such a good mood, and I didn't want to destroy that by announcing my departure. but it's not like any of you guys are gonna care in another couple months to a year from now."

" That is not true, and you know it," Mercedes interjected, though her reply was slightly muffled due to the tape roll she's placed at the corner of her mouth since her hands were already full.

She was right though, it was most definitely not true. Saying she wanted to leave was the only way to deflate the mooshy gooshy sadness that was appeasing her heart. 3 more days, that's all the blonde had. 3 more days till she had to pack her whole life in one small duffle back and leave everything behind

"C'mon 99% of people who move away from this school after a year basically disappear into oblivion," Aerin retorted, blowing a couple glitter particles from her jumper's sleeve.

" Like who ?" Tina asked as she passed thread through a poorly constructed paper model of the Eiffel Tower, hair slightly drooping in her eye view.

Now that wasn't a hard question to answer.

Matt Rutherford.

However, before the blonde could respond the two's conversation was suddenly bombarded by Santana who had been lugging a large disco light in her grasp. " This is literal child labour," the raven haired girl remarked, a large huff parting from her lips.

" That's kinda offensive to the millions of children who are actually suffering from child-labour in third world countries," Tina murmured, eyes meeting Santana's disinterested scowl, " I'll just shut up now-"

" Why are we even being made to set this stupid crap up in the first place, isn't this Student Councils job ?" Santana wined once more as she leaned on Aerin's chair, long ink black hair spilling past her shoulders.

Aerin slightly tilted her head upwards, just enough so that she could see Santana properly without having to turn around fully,  " Students Councils on strike. And the president of the AV Club has already threatened to talk to the board of commissions against Sue and Figgins if they make them do unwanted work."

" They're supposed to serve the freaking community, it's their job to load unwanted work," Santana replied, gaze finally interlocking with Aerin's. A hot breeze sweeping her system. She'd never stared at Aerin for this long before, this close and grounded. Whether it was from where she was leaning, or how little distance there was between the two of them, there was something different about the girl. And not in a bad way either. Aerin had a vibrance, a spark of happiness that was mostly sublimely forigen to the Sandy blonde when the pair were still going out.

Aerin moved her head back down to sit upwards in her chair, whilst Stantana took her arms off of that said chair. Her cheeks were burning up, not from a fever, but from a sudden weird kick that had taken over her stomach. A non-stop fluttering sensation, constantly never ending. What was happening to her ?.

"Well maybe if Brittany wasn't so incompetent, then things could actually change around here," Artie called out as he wheeled himself to the table, flinging all his props down with a huff.

" You're in the Student Council ?" Aerin asked with a raised brow.

He quickly shook his head, "No way, AC, I've got a lot more better things to do than sit around in a stuffy empty classroom and argue about things nobody will ever listen to unless I was popular ."

"She's trying her best," Santana snarled, hands placed firmly on her hips.

" You say best, I say very incompetent," Artie sniped back.

" Do you think that you could do a better job ?" Aerin challenged, inching closer. The boy's brows raised as his gaze slightly trailed to Tina, who shrugged and continued to fold makeshift eiffel towers. However, before he could respond, a rippling eruption of pinging and cellphone buzzing suddenly went off throughout the gym.

Santana scrawled for her phone from her back pocket, once she had finally found it her eyes immediately widened from the image that had been sent to her. It couldn't be true. All eyes soon pointed at Aerin and an eerie silence evoked the area, whispers and pointing in the bitter mix.

" What ?" A confused, yet immensely nervous chuckle spewed from Aerin's lips as she sat up. More whispers, more direct contact. Her worst nightmare. Mercedes moved to lay a hand on her shoulder, the kind that spoke of people's pity for you. Preparing you for the wine before a blasted storm.

Santana took in a sharp intake of breath and moved towards the girl, still trying to process what she had just seen, " Uhmm...I don't know if this is real, or a spoof...or some weird joke-"

Anxiousness crept into her system at the speed of light. Hands tightening, heart rate pulsing. Everyone kept staring at her, beady eyed and shocked. She could see Sam from across the gym, worried yet disappointed . Brittany doe- eyed expression faultirimg, Rachel shaking her head whilst Finn continuously pointing at the image on his screen. Mike, Lauren Zises, even Puckerman. even Quinn.

Aerin couldn't wait any longer for Santana to spit it out, she immediately snatched the phone from her grasp.

" What are you loo-"

Her eyes widened, shock finally hitting her core system. The pictures, her secret that had been perfectly locked up in her biscuit tin. All those horrible memories from the night she had drank and did illicit drugs. had made decisions that were the furthest fr her moral code. All wrapped in one little miniature bundle, sent out in a mass text to every McKinley student/ faculty member who had a cellphone.

This was it

This was the end of the road for her as she knew it

◜ -ˋˏ 𝗿𝗼𝗻𝗻𝗶𝗲'𝘀 𝗻𝗼𝘁𝗲𝘀 !
ooo new chapter! how y'all feeling about it ?? who do you think sent the pictures ?

for anybody who's confused, or who isn't reading this book in order i honestly advice that you read chp 28 before coming here, because none of this is going to make ANY SENSE LMAOO

but neither does 90% of this book :/

ANYWAYS, im going to leave this note short and sweet this week because i'm currently sick in bed trying to recover from COVID-19. which also the reason for the slight mass rush at the end of the second part. I'll be fixing that in the morning so if this chp suddenly disappear..you'll know why

I HOPE Y'ALL HAVE A GOOD DAY/ EVENING

I LOVE YOU <3