AN: Hey guys, I was listening to Billy Joel in the car and had to write this. And it struck me as Blam for whatever reason. As of now, its one-shot, I could write more, but only if any of you guys are interested. So let me know. But if I do write more, just know my serialkiller!Blaine story "Courage For You" will come first.
Disclaimer: This story is not offiliated with RIB or Billy Joel, I am making no profit from this.
It had been a while since Blaine had been back to this restaurant. Just a simple little Italian one outside of Lima. But he was back for the weekend to reminisce with Wes and the rest of his Warbler friends after not having seen each other for almost ten years, so he figured why not go back here, back where it all had began and where it had all ended.
It was weird, he ended up in the same corner booth where he had last sat almost twelve years before. Even stranger still was the shock of blond hair on the stage in front of him, but that would be too big of coincidence, things like that don't happen anyway, not outside of sappy romantic comedies that Blaine would say he detested, but secretly loved. He turned away from the blond setting up a piano for his performance, but instead found a tall dark haired Latina woman, standing to a slightly taller blonde one who was bouncing slightly next to her. He watched as she bent down and whispered something in her ear, and the girl turned and smirked at Blaine. It was the one and only, incomparable Santana Lopez, holding pinkies with the ever effervescent Brittany S. Peirce. She strutted towards him waiving off the hostess.
"Don't suppose this seat is taking ay Blainers?" Smiling Blaine shook his head and motioned for them to sit.
"Never taken for you two."
"Blaine Warbler!" He smiled wider, they hadn't changed a bit. "How are you doin'?"
"I'm doing wonderfully Britt. How are you? How are you both?"
Brittany bounced even faster in her seat and held out her left hand which had a good sized diamond ring on her second to last finger. "Tana proposed! Today is our fifth year anniversary, she put it in my orange juice this morning! Isn't she wonderful! Here is where we had our first real date!" She rambled excitedly while Santana just smiled at her, squeezing her knee under the table making the other girl giggle.
"I'm not perfect Britt, not even close, I just know you really like orange juice."
"Doesn't everyone?" Brittany asked seriously. "I mean, its orange, that's like the best color ever!" She really hadn't changed.
The door to the restaurant opened again, and in walked none other than Finn Hudson and Rachel Berry, they smiled at the three in the booth, but went to their own table. Finn looked nervous, but then again, he was with Rachel, he was probably worried that if he ordered the wrong thing Rachel would dump him for the third time that week.
Their waitress came over and the three of them ordered their food respectively, Blaine telling the waitress that he'd be paying for them all and fought with Santana until she agreed. But then everything stopped as a very familiar voice spoke through the microphone on stage.
"Hey guys, welcome to Breadsticks. My name is Sam Evans and I'll be serenading you all this afternoon." There were a few chuckles through out the restaurant, but Blaine could hardly breathe. He didn't look different, but he had to be, how on earth could this be the same man he'd left twelve years before? "I see a few familiar faces out here, and in honor of that I've got a special song for you. Dedicated to our years at McKinley High, may it rest happily in hell where it belongs!" There was a small cheer from those who had attend McKinley, knowing it was indeed hell. But poor Blaine was still remembering to breathe at a normal rate.
He watched as the first few chords were played, sounding so familiar he didn't really notice them until Sam started singing, only then realizing the truth in the words he had said.
"A bottle of white, a bottle of red. Perhaps a bottle of rose instead. We'll get a table near the street in our old familiar place you and I face to face." Smiling sadly at Blaine, he kept playing. "A bottle red a bottle of white, it all depends on your appetite, I'll meet you anytime you want in our Italian restaurant." Brittany and Santana were smiling knowingly at each other, and across the room Rachel and Finn were holding hands across their table, smiling widely at each other. Slowly Santana and Brittany snuck out of the booth to their own table, as Blaine sat oblivious. As the music changed it was no longer just a song to any of them, it was a story.
"Thing are okay with me these days, got a good job, got a good office, got a new life, got a new wife and the family is fine. Lost touch long ago, you lost weight - I did not know you could ever look so nice after so much time." Blaine began to relax because everything had melted away for him, the only thing left for him to notice was Sam Evans playing piano and singing to him. Something they had done a million times. "You remember those days hanging out at the village green? Engineer boots, leather jackets, and tight blue jeans. Oh you drop a dime in the box and play a song a song about New Orleans. Cold beer, hot lights, my sweet romantic teenage life." All of the McKinley students were paying attention to both each other and the lyrics of the song all bringing up old memories of the things they'd done, something someone had said, things they wished they'd had the courage to do way back when. The atmosphere in the restaurant was different for them, it felt the way it should have almost twelve years before, they were all completely happy with each other.
Sam stood up to play the big piano solo. A few in the restaurant who really knew the song stopped to see if he'd really do it, and were impressed when he did. But Blaine knew he could, for he had taught him how to get his hands to reach and how to keep the bass line steady. This was so much more than a song or a story for them, it was a memory. It was both old and new at the same time, an ending and beginning. It was a chance, and Blaine was willing to risk it.
"Brenda and Eddy were the popular steadies and the King and Queen of the prom." Sam took his eyes off of Blaine to smile at Finn and Rachel. "Riding around with the car top down and the radio on. Nobody looked any finer, former head of the Parkway diner, we never knew we could want more than that out of life. Surely Brenda and Eddie would always know how to survive. Oh, oh, oh, oh…Brenda and Eddy were still going steady in the Summer of '75, when they decided marriage would be at the end of the line." Santana squeezed Brittany's hand and pulled her up, dancing with her slowly, ignoring the stares of anyone else, some disapproving, some curious, some happy. But none of them mattered.
Sam watched smiling, knowing he was having trouble remembering either of them smile that wide because they never had before. "Everyone said they were crazy! Brenda you know you're much too lazy, and Eddie you know you could never afford that kind of life. But there we were waving Brenda and Eddie goodbye. Oh, oh, oh, oh…"
Rachel stood from her spot at the table to sit next to Finn. He looked at her confused but smiled, wrapping his long arm over her shoulder. Blushing she reached over and grabbed his other hand and placed it on her stomach. For once she was rendered speechless by nerves. Finn looked at her wide eyed with excitement, she gave a small jerky nod, her eyes filled with tears. The next thing she knew she was practically in his lap, being covered with kisses and happy tears. They were both crying from sheer excitement. They drew a few questioning eyes, but they were to happy to notice.
Sam had once again focused on Blaine, a wistful look in his eyes, one that only Blaine understood, because he was looking at him the same way. "The got an apartment with deep pile carpets, and a couple of paintings from Sears. A big waterbed that had bought with bread they'd saved for a couple of years." Sam broke the eye contact with Blaine, to stare sadly, almost darkly at his piano. "They started to fight when the money got tight, they just couldn't count all the tears. Oh, oh, oh…."
The bell for the door rang again. And in walked Kurt Hummel with a tall blond boy Blaine recognized as his friend and fellow Warbler, Jeff, and at his leg was small little girl, who had to only be about four. She had long dark hair, Blaine immediately knew it was so long because Kurt would never want to cut something like that. She looked a little nervous and tugged on Kurt's pant leg and held up her arms to Kurt. Smiling he bent down and picked her up, settling her on his hip and kissed her cheek making her giggle. He turned his head and saw Blaine smiled and nodded, and then turned his head towards Sam, knowing Blaine needed to listen. So Blaine turned his head, as Kurt, Jeff, and their little girl Molly sat down in a booth across the room, smiling giggling and chatting happily to each other.
Sam was singing at Blaine, no longer to him, the words painting the picture of what had happened to them. "Well, they lived for a while in a very nice style, but its always the same in the end. They got a divorce as a matter of course and the parted the closest of friends." Then Blaine realized why Sam sounded so bitter while singing this verse, they hadn't parted the closest of friends. They'd parted with a mutual hate of the other. There was too much pain for them both to be happy. "Then the King and the Queen when back to the green, but you could never go back there again. Oh oh oh…."
With a heavy sigh Sam went back to playing the song, less angry this time, but painting the picture of how he saw everything ending the second the last chord was played. "Brenda and Eddie had had it already by the summer of '75. From the high to the low, to the end of the show for the rest of their lives. They couldn't go back to the greasers, the best the could do was pick the pieces. We always knew they would both find away to get by. Oh and that's all I heard about Brenda and Eddie. Can't tell you more because I've told you already, and here we are waving Brenda and Eddie goodbye. Oh, oh, oh, oh oh…."
They music changed but the atmosphere didn't. Blaine was leaning half out of his seat, ready to run up to the stage and beg Sam to take him back, do anything but make him feel this horridly guilty and sad ever again. Santana and Brittany had moved up towards the front of the stage, tangled in each other's arms spinning slowly. Finn and Rachel were curled into the other, Finn smiling down at Rachel's belly, rubbing his hands across it, while Rachel had her face buried in Finn's neck, eyes closed perfectly content. Kurt, Jeff, and Molly were snacking on their food, Molly giggling happily as the three made faces at each other. All the while Sam was singing his heart out to Blaine, hoping he understood why tears were filling his eyes.
"Oh, a bottle of red, a bottle of white, whatever mood you're in tonight. I'll meet you anytime you want, in our Italian restaurant." As Sam played the final sad sounding chords, the spell was broken. Brittany and Santana broke apart slowly, and walked back to their table. Rachel crawled out of Finn's lap and rested her head on his shoulder blushing. Kurt and Jeff stopped making faces and debated whose turn it was to take Molly to the restroom. And then it was just Blaine and Sam, tears streaking their face because only they really understood what that song had meant.
All their scenes had finally come to an end.