Season 4, Episode 4:  The Break Up

Ownership of Glee:  FOX, Ryan Murphy, Ian Brennan, Brad Falchuk

= = =

Violet's getting ready for school at the Hudson-Hummel house when she hears another voice downstairs. She quickly finishes getting dressed and heads for the stairs.

Violet walks downstairs to the kitchen, where she sees the source of the third voice.

"Finn?" Violet asks, tears in her eyes.

Finn Hudson, after being away from home for four months, has come home.

Finn turns around and smiles at her. He stands up and walks over to Violet, wrapping his arms around her in a brotherly hug.

"God I missed you so much Violet." He says.

Violet breaks down into happy tears. She hugs back as she sobs into Finn, who's trying his best to calm her down.

"Hey hey. Don't cry. It's okay." Finn says comfortingly.

Violet looks up. "Don't you ever go four months without talking to me ever again Finn Hudson. You had me scared to death!"

Finn gives her his famous Finn smirk. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to scare you. I promise I'll never do it again."

Violet smiles.

"Good, because if you did, then I wouldn't have a brother-in-law to walk me down the aisle at my wedding."

= = =

Blaine sighs as he and Brittany look at a high school couple a few tables away from them in the cafeteria.

"Oh... young love. Do you remember when you first started dating Santana and I started dating Charlie, back before everyone was so busy and so... far away. Things were so much simpler. We had so much more hope and innocence. Every day was just like Valentine's Day. We're still young. Shouldn't we still be experiencing those things?" Blaine asks with a sigh.

Charlie's been super busy lately, between school, glee club, football, and his part-time job. He and Blaine haven't even gone on a date in a month.

Blaine missed his boyfriend.

= = =

In New York, Kurt has lunch on the table in his and Rachel's apartment.

"Hey. Somebody slept late. It's lunchtime. Do you want a Croque Madame?" Kurt asks as he hands her one.

Rachel smiles. "We didn't go to bed till late."

Kurt smiles. "Thank God for earplugs. I love you both but I don't want to hear any of that."

"We didn't do anything. He didn't even talk to me, we just, like, laid there." Rachel says. She would've expected her and Finn to have at least talked or make out last night.

Finn pops into the kitchen. There's awkward silence until Kurt speaks up.

"Well I'm gonna take this down to the park and watch drug deals go down. It's good to see you again, Finn." Kurt says to his stepbrother.

Finn smiles. "You, too, little brother."

"I'm older than you by 3 months, Finn!"

= = =

Kurt's phone buzzes and he smiles when he sees it's his fiancée.

"Hey, stranger." Her voice says.

Kurt smiles. "Hey. Uh..."

One of the phones in Isabelle's office is ringing. "Crap! Can you hold on one second?" Kurt asks.

"Yeah, go ahead." Violet says. Hearing him working was almost enchanting in a way.

Kurt answers one of the office phones. "Isabelle Wright's office. How can I help you?"

Another phone rings. Kurt sighs, and Violet knows how he's feeling:  disappointed and stressed.

"Oh, my God, I'm so sorry. Uh, look, I've taken over Isabelle's phones for the week, and they just won't stop ringing." Kurt rambles out an apology.

Violet just smiles. "It's... it's okay. If you want to call me back later, we can talk then."

"I can't. Isabelle says we have to get the column on the Web site by midnight tonight." Kurt says.

Another phone starts ringing, and Kurt groans.

"Look, baby I know this is frustrating." Violet says sympathetically.

Kurt nods. "It's frustrating for me, too, and I don't want to miss our phone dates but, you know, this-this could be a career for me."

Violet nods. "I get that; I-I do. I really get it. It's just... I... really miss you. A lot, okay? I miss talking to you and I miss hugging you and I miss messing around with you..."

Kurt smiles. "Me, too. But you're coming in two weeks, right?"

Violet smiles. "Yes! I'm coming to see my amazing fiancé in two weeks."

Violet seriously wants to disconnect the phone that is currently ringing.

"Shoot. Joan Didion's calling. She always has the best gossip. Um, all right, I will call you or text you on a break, okay?" Kurt asks.

Violet smiles. "Okay."

Kurt also smiles. "Okay. I love you."

"I love you more Kurt Hummel."

= = =

Violet decides to surprise her fiancé the next day by catching a last-minute flight to New York. She can't wait two more weeks. She needs to see him and she needs to see him now.

Violet appears at the door of Rachel and Kurt's apartment, her bag at her side and flowers for Kurt in her hand that's behind her back. She knocks on the door, and smiles brightly when Kurt's face is revealed on the other side.

"Surprise!"

Rachel perks up, hearing her sister. "Violet!"

"Hi." Violet waves.

Kurt smiles. "This is amazing! But I wasn't expecting you for another two weeks."

Violet giggles as she walks in the apartment. She puts her bag to the side and sets the flowers on top so she can hug Kurt.

"I know, I just couldn't wait any longer. I miss you too much." She admits sweetly.

Kurt smiles and kisses her face. "Oh, I miss you, too. So good to see you."

Rachel walks up to the soon-to-be newlyweds. "Wait! I can't believe you're here." She says and hugs Violet.

Violet laughs as she hugs Rachel back. "I missed you so much Rachel." Violet admits.

Rachel smiles. "I missed you too."

With Violet being a bit shorter than Rachel, Violet has to stand on her tippy toes to see Finn's head. "Hi. Oh, Finn! What are you doing here?"

Finn gives her a smile and a shrug. "I'm... not really sure at the moment, but..."

Rachel interrupts. "It's fantastic... we're all together here. Just like the good old days."

= = =

Kurt can see Violet's exhausted when they arrive to Callbacks, which is a NYADA student hangout bar.

"You okay? You seem a little..." Kurt asks.

Violet nods. "I'm-I'm great. It was just a... it was a rough flight. I had a middle seat because I booked the ticket so last-minute." She says honestly.

Kurt smiles as he grabs her hand. "Well, I, for one, am glad you did. It's our first night out in New York. We'll never forget this."

A waiter comes up to their table. "Uh, Coke and, uh... oh, amaretto sour, please... virgin." Kurt orders.

Violet raises an eyebrow. "Virgin amaretto sour? That sounds good."

Kurt nods. "It is good."

"Brody, hi." Rachel's voice cuts in.

Violet looks up to see Brody Weston, one of Rachel's new friends at NYADA.

"Hey, Brody, good to see you again, man." Kurt says.

Brody nods. "Yeah, you too, you too. So, how's the, uh, visit been going so far?" He asks.

Rachel's eyes light up. "Amazing. I took him to school to get the full NYADA experience together."

Brody nods. "Cool. Well, in that case, I hope you're singing tonight. You haven't really been to NYADA until you've sung at Callbacks."

"This is what I've been trying to tell him, and I really, really want him to sing "Give Your Heart a Break" with me, but..." Rachel trails off.

Finn shrugs. "But I'm not a student, so..."

"Well, you're with Rachel, which makes you honorary. And I'm buddies with Pascal, the piano player." Brody brags.

Violet doesn't like this guy at all.

"And the song works better as a duet, so..." Rachel encourages Finn.

"Well, why don't you guys sing it together? It's a NYADA tradition, right? And you guys are both NYADA students." Finn says.

"Finn." Violet warns.

Brody nods. "Yeah."

"All right, let's do it." Rachel says. She turns to Finn. "I love you. Wish me luck."

Violet cheers for Rachel as her sister and Brody sing Demi Lovato's 'Give Your Heart a Break.'

[Give Your Heart a Break by Brochel]

= = =

Violet looks at Kurt and then to Brody. "I want to sing something."

Brody nods. "Yeah, just, uh, ask Pascal."

Violet walks up to the piano player. "Pascal."

There's an indistinct conversation going on at the table before Finn sees Violet at the microphone.

"Um, hi, everyone. I, um... I want to sing a song that's very special to me. This is a song that I sang with my fiancé, and I wanted to sing this just for him. Um, so, Kurt, this is for you. I love you so much, and this song pretty much describes how you make me feel every day." Violet says.

Violet brings back one of the best songs she and Kurt ever sang:  Britney Spears' '(You Drive Me) Crazy.'

[(You Drive Me) Crazy by Violet]

She gets a thunderous applause from the crowd.

But the one person she focuses on is Kurt. He blows her a kiss, and she blows him one right back.

They know one thing's for certain:  they're two crazy kids in love.

= = =

Meanwhile at Scandals in Lima...

Charlie and Blaine leave Scandals after Blaine performs an emotional version of Katy Perry's 'Teenage Dream,' which was the first song he ever sang to Charlie.

Charlie feels as awkward as the tension between them. "So, that was... moving. I guess I'm kind of wondering why that was."

Blaine sighs. "Well, you know, I, uh... I really love you."

Charlie smiles. "I love you, too. But you've been so emotional and weirdly sad. Please stop pretending that there's nothing wrong."

"I was with someone." Blaine admits.

Charlie's blood runs cold. "It was Sebastian, wasn't it?"

Blaine shakes his head. "No, it... it wasn't Sebastian, but it doesn't... It didn't mean anything. It was just a hook-up, okay?"

"Who was it?" Charlie asks sadly.

"It doesn't matter who it was with, Charlie. What matters is that I was by myself. I needed you. I needed you around, and you weren't there. And I was lonely, and I'm... I'm really sorry." Blaine states.

Charlie's eyes harden into a glare. "You don't think that I've been lonely? You don't think that I've had temptations? But I didn't act on it because I knew what it meant. It meant something horrible and awful and..."

"I'm so sorry, Charlie. I really am." Blaine says.

Charlie walks away from Blaine, tears falling down his cheeks.

Rachel, Finn, Charlie and Blaine begin to sing 'Don't Speak' by No Doubt.

[Don't Speak by Finchel and Barlie]

The only couple that didn't break up that night were Violet and Kurt.

Y'all should be jealous of their unproblematic status. They're right underneath Burt and Carole.

= = =

"You can't just run away." Kurt says, seeing Finn getting ready to leave in the middle of the night.

Finn jumps. "Dude, you totally spooked me. I thought I was the only one awake."

Kurt sees his brother's things. "Guess I don't have to ask you what you're doing, apparently."

Finn shakes his head. He doesn't wanna talk about it.

Kurt nods. "I'll talk to her later about it."

"I... I just got to get away for a bit. Six months ago, did you ever think that things would be like this? Sometimes, I miss high school, you know?" Finn states.

Kurt sighs. "Sometimes I miss it, too. But I can't complain." He says.

Finn nods. "Come on, give me a hug before I go."

"Do you want me to say anything to Rachel?" Kurt asks as he hugs Finn.

"No." Finn answers.

Violet walks into the main sitting room of the apartment. "Hey Finn, do you mind if I come home with you?"

Finn shakes his head. "No I don't mind." He says.

"But you just got here baby." Kurt pouts.

Violet sighs. "I know, but I have to go home and kill Blaine."

Finn and Kurt look confused. "Why do you have to kill Blaine?" They ask.

"I just got a call from Charlie. Blaine cheated on him."

= = =

Blaine walks dejectedly into the choir room to see Finn and Violet sitting in the risers.

"Hey." Blaine says.

Violet's gaze hardens at the former Warbler. Finn puts a hand on her shoulder to refrain her from murdering Blaine.

"Why'd you do that to him?" Violet asks, wanting to know why Blaine would ever cheat on Charlie.

Blaine sighs. "I don't know. I just... There's no excuse. He won't talk to me. I don't even know if we're broken up." He answers.

Sam walks into the choir room to see his friend. "Finn! Dude, what's up?" He asks.

"I'm just passing through, visiting my mom and Burt, and Mr. Shue said I could come by if I wanted." Finn says, smiling as he hugs his friends.

"Finn Hudson in the house, yo!" Artie cheers.

Jake looks at Marley. "Do you know who that is?"

Marley shakes her head.

Sam smiles as he looks to the glee club. "Listen up! For all of you guys who don't know, this is Finn Hudson right here." He introduces.

Charlie walks through the door and smiles when he sees Finn. "My man! How've you been?" He asks.

"I've been good." Finn answers.

Violet notices that Charlie sits in the front, far away from Blaine, who's in the back.

Tina smiles. "I thought you joined the Army!"

"I-I did, but..." Finn doesn't get to finish.

Will smiles. "But things don't always work out the way you planned them to. And I said to Finn the same thing I say everyone who comes through this club:  We're a family, and you're always welcome here. Even if you just need to take a break and think things through."

Finn nods as he sits in the office chair.

"In any case, we have a lot to do today. First order of business:  Deciding what the fall musical's going to be." Will says.

There's cheers all around.

"All right!" Artie says.

"So I'm passing out a list of possibilities." Will says as he hands out pieces of paper to his students.

Violet is not impressed with the options.

"The challenge is picking something that plays to our collective strengths, and that won't set off a firestorm in the community like Rocky Horror did." Will says.

Violet shudders. "I hated doing Rocky Horror."

"You should do Grease." Finn states.

"Grease?" Charlie asks.

Finn nods. "I know it 'cause the song I auditioned for Glee Club was from Grease, remember?" He asks Will.

Will nods. "Yeah."

"Guys like it. Girls like it. People like my mom like it. It's about high school, and growing up, and... being true to yourself. Plus, the songs rock." Finn explains.

"The wisdom of Solomon..." Artie praises.

"All right. Grease is the word." Will decides.

"Yes!" Violet cheers.

Finn's back!

= = =

In the auditorium, Brittana, Wemma, Finchel and Barlie sing Coldplay's 'The Scientist,' thinking back to happier times in their relationships.

[The Scientist by Brittana, Wemma, Finchel and Barlie]

= = =

Charlie pulls Violet to the side after glee club the next day.

"Hey... I know it sounds a little weird, but will you sing this song with me? It's 'Apologize' by OneRepublic. I would sing it with him... but I just can't talk to him without getting angry." Charlie explains.

Violet rubs his back.

"Say no more. Let's go to the auditorium and sing."

= = =

Violet and Charlie sing OneRepublic's 'Apologize.'

[Apologize by Violet and Charlie]

Blaine watches from the far back of the auditorium audience, knowing exactly why Charlie wanted to sing this song.

It's too late for Blaine to apologize for what he's done.

= = =

2644 words

Songs Mentioned/Performed
1. Give Your Heart a Break - Brochel
2. (You Drive Me) Crazy - Violet
3. Don't Speak - Finchel and Barlie
4. The Scientist - Brittana, Wemma, Finchel and Barlie
5. Apologize - Violet and Charlie

I really hated writing the Barlie breakup!

*Also, Vurt is the second most unproblematic couple in this book. They're second because the most unproblematic couple in Glee is Burt and Carole.*

Next update:  The Role You Were Born to Play

2 episodes to Glease
3 episodes to Dynamic Duets
4 episodes to Thanksgiving
5 episodes to Swan Song
6 episodes to Glee Actually
7 episodes to Sadie Hawkins