It pains me to say it, but this is the last chapter of New Perspective. *sniff sniff*

PLEASE stick around for the Author's Note at the bottom, though, for all sorts of lovely things!

The blue eyed girl leaned forward as she extended her two arms and reached for her left foot, pulling back the toes with her fingers as she reached – she sat, much like a teddy bear, with her legs spread and making an obtuse angle, stretching for Cheerios rehearsal that morning. Holding her position was almost completely effortless, considering how flexible the girl was, and it easily left her with time to ponder as she warmed up her muscles for practice.

As it always seemed to these days, her mind wandered over to thoughts about Ryder. The bitter smile after she won last week's assignment with their duet, his hurried footsteps as he marched out of the auditorium after she had sung about him… he was a code that she couldn't crack. And, that in mind, she still didn't really understand why he had left after her solo in the auditorium. Of course, it probably meant that he did not like her back, but was he scared? Marley inwardly fought with herself and tried not to groan out loud at how she was so obsessed with him. But sometimes it wasn't an obsession, it was a devotion - she was just trying to crack the code.

The brunette released her grip on her foot, and walked her hands on the floor, over to the other toes awaiting to be stretched. Grasp the foot, hold, and breathe. Inhale, exhale, hold. She repeated once more, but was awoken from her first state of serenity in weeks by her white and pink iPhone buzzing. Marley immediately released her foot early and cocked her head to the side, in the direction of her phone, and read the message she had just received.

'Meet me in the auditorium at lunch. We need to talk.'

She gazed up to see who it was from. Ryder. What was the problem? He hadn't texted for weeks… heck, he hadn't even talked to her in person for weeks. She mused for a while, trying to remember their last conversation as she typed the passcode into her phone, but before she could reply to him with a simple "okay", a shadow appeared above the girl. She gulped.

"Marley Rose, get off your ass and join the Cheerios outside! Or, do I have to dismiss you from our club again?" Sue Sylvester threatened.

"No, Coach." Marley immediately said as she threw her phone into her bag and stood up, running out of the girls' locker room and out onto the field.

He sat down with a puff of air escaping his nose in frustration, dangling his long legs off the side of the stage. He checked his watch for the millionth time in the last ten minutes; she should be here by now. Poor, naïve Ryder Lynn, always expecting the best of people… but he really thought that she would come. Why hasn't she shown up? What did I ever do to her? Maybe she couldn't make it, maybe she was already doing something at lunch… but, then, why didn't she text me back? After all she's done, a simple text is all I deserve. Just a few words so I know what to expect from her…

The boy was put out of his misery in a split second when he saw light flood into the ever-dark auditorium, and the curvy silhouette he knew very well in the frame of the exit door. Worry was replaced by nerves.

"Ugh, my class overran." Marley complained, walking down the steps. Good, Ryder thought, she has an excuse. She didn't run out on me. Her class overran. Breathe.

"I was beginning to think you weren't going to show up," Ryder admitted.

"Of course I was going to show up," Marley scoffed. "I may be a bitch, but I hardly ever ditch."

"Oh…" Ryder said. "That's good."

"Mhm." Marley dismissed as she stepped further to the stage, well aware of Ryder's sudden awkwardness. "You know, I missed lunch to be with you, Four Eyes."

"Oh! That's okay." Ryder grinned, pulling out a plastic bag from behind him and got out plastic containers. As Marley finally jumped up onto the stage, throwing her Cheerios backpack to the side of the stage, she saw what it was. She grinned.

"You remembered? I told you that sushi was my favourite food, like, five months ago…" Marley beamed.

"I guess I remember things," the chestnut haired boy shrugged in response as he stopped dangling his legs off the stage and faced her instead. "Have a seat."

And Marley did. She sat opposite him, cross-legged, and looked at the sushi; she then looked at him and decided the elephant in the room was too large to be ignored: "Why did you send me here, Ryder?"

"I guess… I guess I wanted to clear the air between us. Is that… okay?" Ryder sighed.

"Y-Yeah, yeah! Sure." The brunette nodded and looked at him in anticipation. Was she finally going to get an explanation to his sudden bitter behaviour?

Ryder looked at her intently, and God, she was so beautiful. Even with the uniform and her hair sculpted back into an immaculate ponytail – a look that would have terrified him months ago – she looked stunning. Her eyes, which she used to use as a weapon to pierce into people, had now softened. With him, they looked mixed with intensity, lust and regret… and anxiousness as what he was trying to say. Her eyebrows narrowed as the silence drew on longer and longer. Ryder realised a little slower than he should have that he ought to start talking, instead of worrying her more. He cleared his throat, and began to speak.

"When you did what you did, posting the things all around the school, using me… I hated you." Ryder admitted, gulping down the growing lump in his throat. "I wanted nothing to do with you. And then, when you came to Nationals and told me everything, I was so confused over my feelings about you, Marley. But… I was dating someone else, and it was no longer acceptable to be so conflicted, so I stuck with Katie anyway, because I thought it would be so much more relaxed and much less complicated, you know, a clean slate and no history – not like us. And then your reputation got spoilt and messed up like crazy," The boy remembered, "and I honestly thought that you deserved it for how you'd been playing everyone all these years." That made Marley ache. She wanted so badly to just erase all the memories of her wrongs or say sorry for the billionth time, but she wanted him to finish. Maybe he would stay something that would take away the aching. "But, nonetheless, I still felt awful, Marley, about how people were abusing you because of me. I felt so responsible, even though it was your bad press.

"And then you joined Glee Club, and I guess my rediscovered confusion towards you had made me mad again. But then, around the time of the dance practice when you showed everyone your backflip, and how badass you really were," Ryder chuckled, and the girl in front of him stifled a grin, "I started to fall for you again. But, damn it, I was still dating Katie, and it frustrated me how I could never be satisfied with someone so perfect because of you getting in the way; but as if she had read my mind, Katie mutually broke up with me days after, saying that she couldn't stand in the way of what I had with you. I felt guilty, but… strangely relieved." It was hard admitting that to her, and, unsurprisingly, Marley was a bit taken aback. Katie had sacrificed her relationship with Ryder so that they had a shot together. How often does that happen?

But Ryder still had more to tell. "…And then, last week's incident. I don't want you to get creeped out by this, Marley, but… when you were singing that song… Broken Record, or something like that... I was listening and watching you from up there. Sorry." He pointed to where he was, and was confused to Marley's unfazed expression – he had figured she would be a bit confused or creeped out at least. He pressed on. "It was such a good performance, and I didn't even know you could play the piano… it was amazing…"

"I know. I saw you sneak out – I knew you had found out that I liked you by the way you walked out." Marley admitted, making it clear to Ryder why she was unfazed. "I thought you just didn't like me back and got creeped out." The brunette giggled nervously. "And that's why I stopped talking to you in the hallways… because I didn't think you wanted me to, and because I was scared of rejection." Marley confessed. "Um… continue. Sorry."

Ryder nodded in response, although still soaking in Marley's new information. "Well, the look in your eye after the song untied all the knots in my brain, and I knew instantly you still liked me… I guess I know you pretty well now, huh? And for some reason, after I found that out, I panicked. I didn't ever get to tell you that I liked you too." Ryder said the last sentence whilst looking down into his lap, and Marley's eyes widened in shock. Composing himself, he persisted with his speech. "And then I got bitter, not because of you, but because I was such a puzzlement to myself." The boy chuckled, "I could never understand what I wanted." He paused, exhaling heavily. "But… now, I know. I know what I want, Marley. I want you." He looked up to her, looking her in the eyes, then shied away from her intense look of lust which she still maintained and looked back down instead. "And I'm just hoping that I'm not embarrassing myself and creating yet another blip in our messed-up relationship by confessing my love for you if you didn't still love me too."

There was a long silence after his declaration. Ryder shuffled slightly on the stage floor anxiously as Marley repeated everything in her head. He had given her his answer. He had given her the cheat to crack the code. He had given her everything she wanted, she just had to acknowledge it… and so, she was trying to. She was desperately trying to get there faster so not to hurt him in this agony of silence any longer, because she could tell as she gazed at his complexion how he was hurting – his face sagged more into a look of regret with every long second. So, after several more long seconds of contemplation for the both of them, Marley finally spoke.

"I still do."

With that, Marley looked to the floor at the sushi. Right now, despite her love for the food, it could definitely wait a little longer. She pushed the food between them to the side slowly, then crawled on her hands and knees a few paces, until they were face to face, centimetres away. Ryder wasn't sure what she was going to do until she spelt it out for him. Leaning ever closer, Marley looked into his eyes – brown, confused pools for eyes. His look of confusion made her smile as she closed her eyes and, now without vision, used the way his breath hit her nose as a clue to find his lips. And she found them. Marley closed the gap between their mouths, finally, passionately, softly, in seconds. It took only milliseconds for Ryder to kiss back. When they finally pulled apart, those seconds seemed shorter than ever to the both of them, so this time, it was Ryder who leant in for another kiss. Pulling away once again, the brunette girl rested her forehead on his as she finally opened her eyes; the first sight of Ryder's chestnut-coloured orbs behind his glasses was a blissful sight to her. Marley found herself in Ryder's lap as the boy stretched his legs out slightly, giving her more room. He had his hands on her waist, his eyes never straying from her. The sight of him made Marley blush and grin even more, and eventually, the Cheerio brought her hand up to his cheek, the smooth skin there caressing it softly; her other hand was on his left shoulder. The offer was still too tempting to resist, so Marley gave in and kissed him again, this time shorter. And another. And another.

Marley broke away after the fifth kiss, moving her hands from their previous position, instead running them down his chest. She giggled, pulling her forehead away from his, looking at the food beside them, telling him without words that they should probably eat the sushi before it started tasting old. It was funny how Ryder could read her mind like that.

"So, which one is the best?" Ryder finally said as he looked over to the assorted sushi. Taking off the plastic packaging, Marley sighed.

"Hmmm… that one." She finally exclaimed, pointing to a California roll. She then picked it up, looking at it between her index and thumb, but instead fed it to Ryder instead of eating it herself. They went on like that, feeding each other the food. "This is kinda cheesy," Marley admitted between mouthfuls.

"Sh, I'm feeding you." Ryder agreed, although the brunette could tell that he agreed with her. She didn't care enough to stop him, though.

After they had shared all the sushi but one, Marley lay down with her head in Ryder's lap as he still sat up. Inescapably, both their minds drifted to other places. The girl found herself thinking about their time together in the past year. "Ugh, when did things get so undeniably high-schooly?" Marley groaned, although giggling, leaving Ryder to easily guess what she had been pondering about. "Will you promise me something?" She said after a while, looking up at him. "Will you promise me that our relationship won't get so complicated next year?"

The chestnut-haired boy chuckled as he played with her ponytail, looking down at her. "Marley, it's us. Realistically, it's inevitable that the two of us out in a public relationship will cause complications."

"Yeah, true…" Marley sighed and agreed. "But it'll be okay." A comfortable silence followed for a few seconds. "Can I request something?"

"Sure. What?"

"That we don't walk out of this auditorium and instantly start being all lovey-dovey right away? Because although I'm not ashamed of us, what's the point stirring trouble and gossip when tomorrow is the last day of school?" Marley suggested.

"Yeah, that sounds good. How about this: we hang out in summer, and then… we start going out publicly when we get back to McKinley in September. That way, the shock will be slightly less dramatic – especially as there will already be a lot of changes next year for people to worry more about. Does that sound okay?" Ryder suggested gingerly.

"Yeah, that sounds great." The brunette agreed, leaning up to kiss the tip of his nose. "This year has been so crazy. But I know that next year will be even crazier, so…" Marley smirked as she reminisced (she couldn't seem to stop, no matter how many times the subject of the conversation changed).

"True." Her new boyfriend chuckled in response, and boy, did it make the girl happy to finally call him that. Reflecting, that was all she really cared about, after all this time. Junior year had been fulfilled, so now all was left was to conquer senior year. A Cheerio, dating someone who could easily be branded a dork at first glance… and now, she was slightly afraid of that thought. But that fear dissolved away almost as quickly as it came when she felt Ryder kiss her forehead, softly but surely.

"Hey, do want to come over to mine after school today?" The boy then offered. Marley sighed sadly in response.

"Can't. Last Cheerios practice of the year tonight. Can't ditch… I guess some things never change, right?"

"What are you even practising? The school year's almost over."

"Coach Sue always has something." Marley shrugged, eating the last piece of sushi. "Right, lunch break is almost over. I'll see you tomorrow?"

"Of course."

Marley beamed before kissing him one more time quickly. She didn't think it was possible to get tired of doing that.

Finally, rising with incredible reluctance, she jumped off the stage and started the descent up the stairs. "Catch me up," Marley yelled behind her as she sashayed up to the exit of the auditorium. "I'm getting out of here."

And that's the end of New Perspective! Thank you all to my lovely readers, followers and favouriters, it has been an honour! Special thanks to…

Jennoist-OTP

Texasgleek

savannaramirez35 (sorry, the full stops between your name don't work on my laptop!)

marceltheshellwithshoeson

cardigansand-fanfiction

undyingparticles

blahblahblah86

GleeJunkie007

Sux2budude

Book Worm 1121

Everllarkglee4ever

skycaro

chubby4567

joshiferjennoist

WildeAbrams

GleeForTheWin

And the countless amount of lovely guests

…for reviewing my story! I have honestly loved every single review, and I can't believe that at the end of 23 chapters, I'm just two off 100 REVIEWS! That honestly makes me so happy.

ANYWAY, if you thought the story was over, you are very, very wrong… soon, I will be starting the sequel to story, so look out for the name 'Regaining Repose' on here ;) The information/blurb thing for the sequel will be in my bio soon, so keep your eyes peeled.

Also, if anyone was wondering, the last bit of speech (Marley's "catch me up, I'm getting out of here") is also the last sung words from the song, New Perspective, by Panic! At The Disco – the song that this fanfic is based on! And 'Regaining Repose' comes from "…but I regain repose and wonder how I ended up inside" also from that song. Just if anyone was wondering. But you probably weren't, so oh well.

Thank you again to everyone that even just acknowledged the existence of this story. You don't know what this means to me, considering that a year ago I would curl up in a ball at just the thought of sharing anything I have written with anyone! Gosh, I promised myself I wouldn't cry…

Stay fabulous, and look out for 'Regaining Repose'!

-Beth :-)