Glee: Back to the Top (the third book in the Glee series)

Chapter 3: Burning Bridges

Well, you guys wanted more rock, and one of my favorite alternative rock bands is Keane so here goes. Enjoy chapter 3. Instead of building up to the climatic stuff, I figured I may as well start off with a bang already so here it is. You will either be upset or super happy. There's no in between. Jk, feel whatever you wanna feel. Obviously, I'm very tired so this is my last post before getting a good night's sleep! :)

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"Hey," said Shana as she approached Rory during passing periods. "I noticed you were a little withdrawn during Julie's song earlier. "You okay?"

"Sure," Rory nodded. 

"I don't believe you," Shana shrugged. "You were the one who spoke out about everyone drifting apart over break. Could that maybe have anything to do with it?"

Rory looked down at the ground. "I feel like I'm the only senior who isn't super eager to change, you know?" he asked her. "Like they're all moving on and leaving me behind."

"I'm sure that's not true," she responded. "They all seem like the same people they were before summer vacation."

He shook his headed and nodded across the hallway, where Bree was walking by on her cellphone. "I love you more!" she was saying lovingly into the other end of the line.

"Since when does Bree have a soft side?" Rory asked. "And look at that, Ryder and Julie not talking." Shana followed his gaze and saw that the two mentioned were passing by and completely ignoring each other, when they were madly in love before the break.

"That's just--" Shana began.

"Kitty is oddly quiet and keeping to herself," Rory went on. "And Jake doesn't have a girl around his arm 24/7."

"What about Harmony?" she asked, pointing to the other end of the hall, where the raven-haired, blue-eyed girl was cutting a corner to reach a group of girls who greeted her with a smile.

"She has friends," said Rory. "That's odd enough. And look at Marley, she's totally confident and radiant."

"True..." she mumbled, scratching her chin as she saw Marley and Unique strut down the hall. "Unique is still Unique though..."

"Unique is already taking steps towards getting herself a record deal," he informed her. "It's all she'll talk about anymore. I think I'm really the only one of us who is still the same guy as before vacation started."

"Okay," Shana nodded. "But why does that have to be a bad thing?"

She gave him a sympathetic look before turning and walking away. As the music began to play, Rory looked around at his fellow seniors and wondered whether they were even the same people who were once his friends anymore.

He looked at Jake, who was by himself at his locker. As he was joined by Julie, the two began to have a conversation and Rory watched, shaking his head and wondering when Jake was going to stop acting like he was fine on his own.

["Everybody's Changing" by Keane.]

Rory: You say you wander your own land... But when I think about it... I don't see how you can . You're aching, you're breaking... And I can see the pain in your eyes... Says everybody's changing. And I don't know why...

He walked down the hall, feeling as though he was floating in an alternate, slow-motion reality. Harmony looked at him and winked, as she was finally fulfilling her goal of making friends outside of glee club. He wanted to do the same, but someone he was still that awkward foreign exchange student he was as a freshman.