"You really are the best thing that's happened to me."

Everything had been leading up to this moment. Every tear, every petty argument, every last minute glee rehearsal that you had to sprint down the halls to arrive on time all seemed completely worth it as they all took in the scenery of New York City. Rachel was obviously most excited, it was her dream after all, she was practically bubbling with joy, admiring all the pretty lights and broadway signs as the new directions sat together and ate some burgers. Katy sat between Sam and Mike, letting Kurt lean his head against her legs as she started to relax into the speed of New York.
"A year and a half ago the new directions were just nothing but a group of six misfits, stumbling their way through a horrendous rendition of sit down you're rocking the boat and now here we are...at the top of the show choir heap! Nationals!" Kurt beamed, excitedly.
"I wanna hit up Central Park, get my frolick on!" Tina exclaimed, as Mike made an impressed face,
"I wanna throw stuff off the Brooklyn bridge!" Puck added,
"I wanna visit central perk!" Katy chipped in, making a friends reference.
"Guys hold on, I mean we still have two songs to write." Finn put a halt on their excitement,
"Okay mr bossy pants, but I think we have time for a tune before we leave!" Kurt teased, getting approval from the small group around them. They started to sing New York, New York, laughing together and Sam did a Frank Sinatra impression, Katy was swaying side to side, her arms around Sam and Mike, really getting into the song when Rachel arrived, announcing her presence and stopping the song.
"Guys, I gave news. To celebrate our impending win at nationals I got us all fourteen tickets to broadway's longest running show ever, Cats!" She bragged, showing off the tickets as Brittany screamed excitedly.
"You might want to check the dates on those tickets Rachel because Cats closed about eleven years ago." Quinn retorted, spitefully, making Rachel blush, embarrassed,
"He did seem crazy, he charged by credit card by swiping it through his buttcrack." She admitted, as Katy grimaced at the thought.
The group made their way to the hotel, ready to check in and Katy had her hand in Sam's slightly nervous.
"You won't let me get lost will you?" She asked nervously,
"Of course I won't, you won't get lost." Sam laughed,
"I'm not a massive fan of big cities, which is annoying because I think I wanna go to NYU when I graduate, I always worry about getting lost." Katy explained, with a sigh,
"Well you have nothing to worry about, I'll keep you safe, so will everyone else I promise." Sam reassured her lightly.
"Good, I won't let you get lost either." She smiled.
"Great, and we'll both keep an eye on Mike, because without him that's the choreography for nationals screwed, I would be worried about Britt if it wasn't for Santana." He chuckled,
"Definitely, Mike's too cool to loose." Katy agreed,
"Agreed, he's not as cool as me though." Sam said.
"Eh, it's close." She teased him, lightly,
"I'm cooler." Sam insisted,
"Okay fine. You're the coolest, but that's only because you have the coolest girlfriend."
"Totally. We basically are the definition of cool." he nodded, as they went their separate ways to the boys and girls room.

　　　　　　　 ☆

Mr Schue had left the group in one room together to write some nationals winning songs, with only the walls and each other for inspiration.
Katy was laid on the bed, trying to come up with a song with Tina, who was sat leant against the bed. Sam had his notebook laid against her back and was fiddling with the hem of her skirt, trying to come up with any sort of ideas but was secretly distracted with Katy's ass.
She looked around, trying to see if anyone else looked completely clueless to try and make herself feel better and slightly less useless, it worked as she made eye contact with her brother, who made a face at her, trying to amuse himself.
"Oi, Puckerman's, stop making faces at each other and concentrate!" Finn scolded them,
The two muttered their apologies and Katy made one last face before turning back to Tina's notebook, trying to find a suitable rhyme for her song.
After a while of work, Brittany showcased her masterpiece song, my cup. Katy clapped, impressed but Quinn got up, putting on her coat, frustrated.
"We gotta get out of here." She sighed,
"Wait! No, no no! Mr Schue have us explicit instructions!" Rachel protested, sticking out her arms in a very pathetic attempt of making them stay in the room.
"To write a song. And our problem is that our only inspiration is mattresses and bathroom cups." Quinn explained, persuading everyone except Rachel and Finn to get up, put their jackets on and prepare to leave,
"Quinn's right, we're in the artist capital of the world! Poets, musicians, actors, play writes, every dreamer that has ever lived as passed through this city, if we want our dreams to come true we need to be out there with them. Not stuck in here." Puck agreed, further rallying up the troops.
"I'm not sure this is a good idea, we still have two songs to write and if we sing we'll loose!" Finn sighed, anxiously,
"Realistically, we should've written these songs weeks ago." Katy muttered to Tina, who nodded in agreement.
"No they're right! Can't you hear the city calling you?!" Lauren exclaimed,
"Please! I have your song!" Katy squeaked, trying to do an impression of New York to persuade an unsure Rachel and Finn.
"We don't need to write a song for nationals." Quinn said, "New York's gonna write them for us."

　　　　　　　   ☆

The boys were sat in their room, with their notebooks on their laps, using their New York inspiration to write a song.
Finn was focused on something else though,
"Hey, can I try something out on you guys?" He asked tentatively,
The guys nodded supportively, gesturing for Finn to tell them what was on his mind,
"I think that one of our songs should be a duet between me and Rachel." He explained, waiting for their reaction.
"I just want to win." Mike sighed, throwing a paper airplane at them, "and we all know that you two doing a duet is our best shot at that."
Finn beamed at him as there was a knock on the door. The five guys looked at each other, wide eyed, hoping that it was neither Mr Schue, Rachel or Quinn at the door.
"Open up you guys! It's me!" Katy shouted through the door, knocking on it again.
"Who is this mysterious door knocker?" Mike teased her, "me could be anyone,"
Katy groaned, "it's your favourite ginger, now open up Michael!"
Mike giggled and ran up to open the door giddily, Finn sighed in relief,
"Thank god it's only you."
"Sorry, i hope I'm not interrupting anything, I just need to grab my things from Puck's suitcase, plus the girls were giving me a bit of a headache." She explained guiltily,
"That's fine. You can stay here for a bit, I could do with a girl's advice." Finn smiled,
"You didn't have to pack this much stuff." Puck laughed, watching her take a large bag from his suitcase.
"Shut up! You brought a skateboard! Thanks Finn. It's so calm in here, they're screaming and doing pillow fights in the girl's room, only me and Rachel are actually writing songs." She gasped, rifling through Puck's suitcase to find the things that she couldn't fit into her own.
"That's because you two are nerds." Puck teased her, making her throw her jacket at him. "Anyway can we just talk about the Jewish elephant in the room? Ask her out already!" He added, persuasively.
"Who Rachel? But she's totally into Jesse right now!" Finn sighed, disheartened,
"I wouldn't be too sure about that." Katy tried to persuade him, being Finchel's biggest shipper, flopping down next to Sam.
"You're in New York! The city of love!" Puck marvelled,
"I thought that was Paris?" Sam questioned, thoroughly confused,
"It is." Katy agreed.
"Anything's possible here!" Puck continued, ignoring them, "you need to ask her out tonight! Take her out on one of those big awful dates you see in those  unwatchable romantic comedies that you grow a vagina if you watch all the way through!"
"They're not unwatchable they're adorable!" Katy frowned, "but he's right, pretty good advice if you ask me!"
"This is your shot dude! I mean if I wasn't homeless, I would love to take Katy on one of those New York dates." Sam added, making Katy lean into him, hugging him,
"How many times! I don't want any fancy dates! I want you!" She pouted,
"You are literally the least high maintenance person I've ever met." Artie marvelled.
Finn thought about it for a minute, his head clearly whirling,
"I'll do it. But you guys have gotta help me, yes you too Katy. You're my wing-men, and my number one wing-woman, you're gonna help me make this special." Finn insisted as they all nodded, happy to help.

　　　　　　　  ☆

Puck, Artie, Mike and Sam were stood at the meeting point, ready to serenade Rachel and Finn as they pass through the street, to try and initiate a kiss.
Katy ran over, trying not to trip over her own feet, pulling her jacket closely around her to try and shield herself from the cold.
"They're coming." She alerted them, standing infront of Sam, who put an arm around her waist, all of them huddling against her to try and keep warm.
Finn and Rachel turned the corner, chatting giddily.
"Being in New York is like falling in love over and over again, every minute." Rachel sighed, dreamily, "tonight was like one of those awesome nights you see in one of those amazing romantic comedies, all we need now is done street singers to serenade us and it would be perfect."
Katy and Artie smiled proudly at each other knowing that this was the perfect time to start the song.
(song- bella notte, sang by Puck, Artie, Sam, Katy and Mike)
The group were so invested in the song that they hadn't realised that Rachel had ran off. Katy was the first to open her eyes and when she did, her eyes widened, finding herself staring at a totally disappointed Finn. She quickly nudged the rest of them to stop singing and they ran over to Finn, ready to comfort him,
"What happened bro?" Puck asked,
"She ran off, she said she couldn't do this with me and just ran off!" Finn shouted, frustrated,
Katy's expression softened, sympathetically, "I'm sorry Finn, I had no idea."
"And I used all the tips you gave me and it still didn't work, what did I do wrong?" He sighed,
"I dunno man, but it's okay, let's go back to the hotel and do something to take your mind off it." Sam smiled slightly,
"Yeah, and it's kinda cold out here, you're gonna freeze in just that jacket." Katy agreed,
Finn nodded sadly, letting the group pull him into a comforting hug.
"We love you all the same." Mike whispered, in any hope of making his friend feel better.
Once they got back to the hotel a while later, strolling at a slower pace than normal to take in the beautiful city at night. Katy rushed back to the girls room and tried to open the door quietly but it was locked.
"Rachel? Brittany?" She whisper-yelled, knocking on the door, "it's me Katy, let me in!"
There was no answer. Katy cursed under her breathe, quickly dialling Santana's number, thinking she was most likely to pick up.
"Come on, Come on." She muttered quietly, groaning as it went to voicemail.
After a while of trying to get the girls attention, she decided it was best to try the guys room.
"Guys! Open up its me again!" She called, knocking on the door.
"Oh my god! What do you want this time?" Puck groaned, loudly, opening the door for her,
"The girls have locked me out! What do I do?" She sighed,
"Are you being serious? Knock on the door dumbass!" Puck retorted,
"I tried that! And I called them all at least twice, now what do I do?" She panicked,
"I mean you could stay here with us?" Sam suggested, patting the bed besides him,
"That's an absolute no! I'm not going to wake up in the middle of the night to see my sister and my best friend going at it on the bed next to me!" Puck protested as Katy rolled her eyes,
"Well where am I meant to sleep then? On the roof?" She sassed, sarcastically.
"Anywhere but here!" Puck replied,
"What do I do then? I need help!" Katy pleaded, getting frustrated,
"Ugh! I'll sort it out come on!" Puck rolled his eyes, taking Katy's hand and pulling her to the girls room, followed by the rest of the guys, curious to Puck's idea.
Unfortunately for them, Puck had no clever idea and just banged loudly on the door,
"OI! GIRLS WAKE UP AND LET KATY IN SO SHE'LL LEAVE ME ALONE!" He shouted,
"Shhhhh! Do you want to wake the whole hotel up?!" Katy whispered,
"Do you want to sleep?" Puck retorted, as Tina came groggily to the door.
"What? We're trying to sleep." Tina moaned,
"You locked out Katy." Finn explained, motioning to Katy who looked sheepishly at the floor.
"Why didn't she knock on the door herself?" Tina asked,
"I did! And I called you all twice!" Katy defended herself,
"Never mind, come in, I'm tired." Tina huffed, going straight back inside.
"Thanks guys, I love you all, see you tomorrow!" She smiled, giving Sam a quick kiss.
"You better not knock on our door and disturb us again sis." Puck sighed,
"I won't, I promise." Katy laughed,
"It wouldn't bother me!" Sam mumbled,
"Yeah that's just 'cause you wouldn't mind a bit of late night fun with your girl." Mike teased him with a laugh.
"Shut up Micheal, I'm tired." Katy retaliated,
"We'll see you tomorrow Kat." Finn chuckled, leading the guys away from the girls bedroom, leaving Katy to flop down on the only place left for her to sleep, on the floor on a pile of jackets.

　　　　　　　 ☆
"All right guys! Whose up for some real New York City pizza?!" Mr Schue cheered, excitedly, entering the room with multiple boxes of pizza, his expression dropping as he saw the group of teens sat together, looking slightly sad.
"We heard." Mercedes mumbled, being the one to initiate the difficult conversation.
"Heard what?" Mr Schue asked, confused,
"About you leaving to be on broadway." Kurt explained,
"Look, I haven't made up my mind..." Mr Schue said, with a sigh, looking at their disappointed faces and remembering why he hadn't wanted to tell them in the first place.
"We get it, and we're happy for you." Katy smiled sadly, putting her head on Sam's shoulder,
"You've inspired us in so many ways so this is just another." Rachel added,
"I don't understand. Who told you guys?" He sighed,
"Goolsby." Tina stated, bluntly, Katy watched Mr Schue's expression completely change.
"Are you okay Mr Schue?" Mike asked tentatively,
"I'm not going. I'm staying with you guys, I had my moment on that stage and it was glorious! But you and I have some unfinished business to take care of. Now get out your notebooks, time to work! Come on this is nationals people!" He smiled, the room cheering for him. Puck jumped off of the bed and threw his arms around Mr Schue in a hug, taking their teacher by surprise, quickly followed by Katy, Sam and the rest of the glee club in a huge group hug, all totally ready to take on whatever nationals threw at them.

　　　　　　       ☆

Despite the looming feeling that Finn and Rachel had ruined any of their chances at a nationals title, the glee club all tried to stay positive, just enjoying the moment together in New York before any dreams were potentially crushed.
"Don't you think this is gonna look so hot on lord tubbington? I'm gonna go find an extra large!" Brittany beamed, making Mercedes laugh,
"This has been fun, this whole trip, even if the snoggers ruined our chances at winning." Katy smiled at her friends who nodded,
"Yeah, it has, i love you guys." Tina sighed,
"Do you really think they've ruined our chances with just with a kiss?" Sam asked hopefully,
"I dunno, the judges will probably see it as unprofessional and mark us down, even if our songs were amazing." Mercedes explained, glumly, "Jesse's over there, he's probably lecturing the two about it now."
They all found themselves turning around to stare at Finn, who was standing up to Jesse, as Rachel stood back looking guilty.
"It's typical really, I think all of us, maybe except Quinn, were really routing for them to get together." Mike added, as the group nodded along.
Brittany ran over, with her new extra large tshirt for lord tubbington, shouting that the list had been posted. The group took a deep breath and ran over to the board with everyone else.
"Oh I'm too nervous to look!" Rachel cried, shoving her face into Katy's shoulder.
"I'll go." Mr Schue announced.
After a silence that felt like forever, the group began to loose hope. Mr Schue turned back around to face them, a numb expression of his face,
"Well Mr Schue? Where did we place?" Finn asked hopefully,
"We didn't." Mr Schue sighed.
Rachel lifted her head from Katy's shoulder, crying guiltily into her own hands as the new directions stood there, dead to the world, just trying to take in the news that they'd lost something they'd worked so so hard for.