UPDATE: Sorry about this everyone. I uploaded this yesterday really late and only managed to actually review it today. After careful review, I found some missing words which were in the original and somehow disappeared (I blame my tempermental laptop) so I've fixed the errors. I hope to have a new chapter update later today.
A/N: So this is another story line I've been dabbling with; I always forget the disclaimers, so here it is: I don't own Glee, the characters of Sebastian Smythe or Blaine Anderson. The song lyrics (in italics at the start of the chapter, are Lady Gaga's You and I).
Thanks to everyone who follows or likes my stories. You guys give me inspiration to continue writing.
Review are love people. And without further ado...
Part 1
"Been a long time time since I came around,
Been a long time but I'm back in town.
This time I'm not leaving without you."
"Can I get a bourbon on the rocks?" Sebastian asked, not paying any attention to the bartender as he took a seat at the bar. In front of him, the latest baseball and football games played on the flat screens. Pulling out his most recent legal proceeding, he set about reading it, sighing as he saw the lawsuit requirements.
He had retreated to an old haunt, only to be pleasantly surprised as its transformation. No longer was Scandals the run-down, drab club it had been in his wayward youth. Now it was a vibrant sports bar, the sign out front proclaiming its rebirth as Haven. The interior was furnished well and comfortably, making it a relaxing atmosphere where one could enjoy a beer, play pool, and enjoy the company of old friends. Off in the corner, by the pool tables, a beat-up jukebox quietly hummed a country classic.
A glass was placed in front of him, filled with the amber liquid. "On the house," a vaguely familiar voice stated.
Frowning, Sebastian looked up and gasped quietly. The wraith-like figure in front of him resembled an old friend. Blaine Anderson was thinner, the defined muscles of his teenage years having melted from the lean frame due to, impart, what appeared to be weight loss. He hadn't gotten any taller and Sebastian knew the haunted look of someone running on consecutive days of little or no sleep. His usual dapper style had been replaced with a wild head of curls.
"Blaine?" he asked tentatively, afraid of the truth that the once vibrant man he knew had morphed into this shadow of his former self.
Blaine smirked humorlessly. "Hi Sebastian," he replied. "It's been a while."
"What are you doing here?"
Blaine raised an eyebrow. "Bartending." Okay, even to Sebastian it sounded like a stupid question to ask.
"No, I mean why are you back in Westerville?"
Before Blaine could respond, a voice from the pool tables yelled his name. He grimaced apologetically at Sebastian and made his way over to the group of guys playing pool in the far corner, a pitcher of beer in his hand. Sebastian watched him go, a deep feeling of dread settling in the pit of his stomache. He knew Blain; hell they had dated for a while in their senior year of high school and probably would have been stayed together if he wasn't such an ass and scared commitment. The man he was observing from across the bar sure as hell wasn't his old boyfriend. Blaine had been a passionate, fun-loving guy who was a people pleaser. The man wearing Blaine's skin didn't evencompare. Even his clothing was different, baggy sweater and jeans, every possible inch of skin covered save for his hands and face whereas in high school Blaine had worn shirt-sleeve polos and bow ties.
"Hey Blaine, wanna give us some loving?" one of the men Blaine was currently serving demanded, reaching forward and pulling the small bartender flush to his front.
Blaine squirmed uncomfortably."Let go of me Jonah, or I'm going to have to throw you out."
The man laughed, and leaned forward, foul breath wafting over Blaine who turned his head away. "And how you gonna do that?" he leered.
Sebastian saw Blaine freeze, Jonah's hand squeezing the dark-haired man's ass. Seeing the panicked look Blaine shot his way, Sebastian found himself striding over to the group of men. "Kindly let him go," he ordered, standing in front of Jonah.
Jonah snickered darkly. "And what are you gonna do about it, Pretty Boy?" he sneered. "I'd be more than willing to share if you let me watch."
Sensing Blaine starting to panic, pulling desperately on the other man's hold, Sebastian wondered darkly what would have caused the other man to be so affected by this poor excuse of human life. Blaine from before (as Sebastian was quickly coming to learn was no longer the existing Blaine) would have laughed, stomped on the guy's foot or kneed him in the groin, and would have danced out of his hold. This Blaine seemed to have frozen in fear and panic.
"I couldn't honestly take you up on the offer," Sebastian sneered in return. "But what I can do," he leaned in conspiratorially. "Is have you thrown in jail for sexual harassment, attempted rape, and physical assault.I am one of the best lawyers in the county, after all."
Jonah's grip loosened at the threat, and Blaine broke free. Sebastian watched as he shook himself out of his stupor, slamming the beer pitcher on the pool table, and stalking back to the bar. He watched amused as he pulled out a wooden baseball bat and marched back to them, anger rolling off him in waves.
"You ever do that again, Jonah Hill," he hissed angrily, pushing on Jonah's chest with the bat, not-to-lightly. "And I'll make sure you sing soprano for the rest of your miserable life since your balls will be so far up your fucking gullet, the doctors will suggest transgendered surgery. Now get out of my bar!" Blaine went to take a swing with his bat, but Sebastian caught it one handed.
"Blaine," he murmured. "I'm sure they were just leaving." He glanced over his shoulder indicating to the group to make haste to the exit. He was surprised he was able to stop Blaine from following them threateningly with the bat but once they were out of sight, Blaine seemed to collapse into himself. He dropped the bat from its raised position and headed back to his post behind the bar.
The rest of the bar was empty now that the group playing pool had left, and Blaine sighed tiredly."Thank you, Sebastian," he murmured, placing the bat back into its place and heading for the exit to lock up.
Sebastian frowned at the fact Blaine was closing, glancing at the clock, surprised at how late it actually was. "You can finish your drink," Blaine called, disappearing into the back for a moment before return with cleaning supplies. "I have to clean up anyway, and you didn't get to enjoy it because of me."
Sebastian shrugged. "It was on the house anyway." He paused, seeming to consider whether to broach the subject. Having been working in the courtroom, Sebastian would hazard a guess as to the reason for the change in Blaine. It made his blood boil in anger that someone would do that to his friend, forever changing the happy-go-lucky man.
"Blaine?"
"Not tonight," Blaine sighed having guessed what Sebastian was going to ask. He continued wiping down the tables before lifting and placing the chairs on top. When Sebastian looked to protest, he added quietly, "Please, Bas."
Sebastian bit his tongue and enjoyed his bourbon in silence, watching Blaine clean and prepare the bar for the next night. He tried to ignore the warm feeling being called Bas by Blaine created. When they had dated, it had taken him a while to warm up to any nickname but Blaine had managed to weasel his way in. Being called that now made it seem like the sense of friendship they had enjoyed in high school had never been lost. Blaine had known him better than anyone; had been his best friend and confidant when no one else could be bothered to breach his walls and actually get to know him. When they had dated, they had been good for each other; the balancing act for their personalities.
Sebastian had provided a stable emotional and physical environment for Blaine, keeping him grounded in the reality of the present while teaching him it was okay to be confident and to fill his own wants and desires even if others weren't happy with the outcome. Blaine had simply made him human, reigning in his anger, sarcasm and resentment, allowing him to make fiends and not perceive everyone as a threat. His biting tongue and lashing out with words which served him well in the court room now had not been conducive to lasting relationships but had served to alienate everyone until the curly-haired boy had entered his life and altered it dramatically.
Pulling himself from his stupor of memories, Sebastian drained the tumbler of bourbon, welcoming the burn it caused. Once finished, he waited, making sure to walk Blaine to his car in case the neanderthals had hung around waiting for the bartender to be alone. Sebastian held back his surprise at the beat-up, broken down car Blaine was driving. He knew the Andersons had money, and Blaine had never driven anything but top-of-the-line when they had been in high school. Then again, this new Blaine wasn't anything like he remember his old boyfriend as being.
"Thanks again, Bas," Blaine stated, opening the door to the car, and getting ready to climb in. "If you're ever in town again, drop me a line. I'm usually here."
Sebastian nodded stiffly and sighed in slight relief as Blaine drove away with no further problems. He climbed into his own rental and thought again about the contract offer from Dalton sitting in his suitcase. He had been looking for a change as well as something more and he wondered if he had found it in Westerville, Ohio after all these years. If nothing else, the mystery that Blaine Anderson now presented may be too good to pass up.
