Part of Me
Chapter One - Muddy Footprints
Authors Note:
This fic is for the beautiful and talented and inspiring Brittany, who is my Beta. It is her belated birthday present, which I hope she and you all enjoy very much. I'd tell you about the inspirations behind it, but I'm lazy and it's my birthday so I can do what I please :) Prepare yourself for cute dogs, fluff, cheese, fluff, little kids, funny best friends and general fluff. I loves fluff. Enjoy!
Disclaimer:I do not own anything here that you recognise, like all the Glee characters for example. Plus, song lyrics. I don't own them either *sigh* If I did, I wouldn't be writing fanfiction. Also, I've only been to New York once. This is all research (done badly) and imagination. Don't sue me, kay? :)
"That was great man, take five"
"Thanks, Bennet"
Blaine hooked the headphones over the music stand in front of him and grabbed his dirty brown messenger bag from the corner. As he left the recording booth he stuck his head into the other room.
"Bennet, I gotta go meet Nate, is that cool?" he threw his most dashing smile at the older man who just chuckled and nodded in response.
"We'll pick up where we left off on Wednesday then?" yelled Bennet as Blaine backed back out the door. He promptly shoved his head back through and grimaced, eliciting another chuckle from his long term friend and father figure. "What is it?"
Blaine shuffled into the editing suite, head lowered slightly looking like a guilty child. It was unbelievable how at the ripe age of twenty-four Blaine could still be made to feel like a child by Bennet.
"Well... I've got an audition on Wednesday..." muttered Blaine, refusing to remove his eyes from the shaggy beige carpet in the room. However, a hearty laugh drew his eyes upwards towards his old friend. In all the years he had know him, Blaine was still not able to gauge how Bennet would react to various things.
"You go, kiddo, it's about time you got your big break. What's it for?" asked Bennet, all kind-old-grandpa about it.
Blaine just beamed at him and gave a wink before turning on his heel and practically running from the room and out into the cold New York streets.
-.-.-.-
"You're late, Dude!"
Blaine looked up from his iPod to see a boy of eight sprinting to him from the school gates and beamed at him. The kid sent a smile back that was practically a mirror image of his own. He slowed as he reached Blaine, extending his fist, bumping it against the mans before completing a complicated handshake.
"Hey, kid!" grinned Blaine. He looked up towards the gate to see Mrs Clarkson staring after her young charge. He raised a hand in acknowledgement and the young woman blushed before returning his wave and turning her attentions to other parents and guardians of the children of her class. He grimaced slightly, well aware after the last parent-teacher conference that she had a slight crush on him. When he'd later told his best friends about it at their weekly martini night he distinctly remembered Will laughing wildly and asking how slight the crush was. When he'd explained the "symptoms", as Jess had called them, both of them had rolled with laughter at the fact if she were to crush any harder she'd be a crazy fangirl of the Twilight Saga. He let out a little sigh before turning his attention back to Nate.
Nate had the Anderson male hair, which was to say wild and curly and dark. The bushy eyebrows were also there as was the strong jaw. His eyes, though, weren't the customary Hazel. They were a very bright sky blue, almost clear crystal in an odd, eye coloury way. His mother had had the same eyes. They were about the only trait he had gotten from that side of the family. The young boy was staring up at him expectantly. Blaine took his hand in his own and turned about to walk back to their apartment.
"How was school today, champ?" he asked as they took a leisurely pace.
Nate shrugged.
"What did you do today?"
"Nothing"
"Really? I never got that subject when I was at school, what it like?"
"Well, you are, like, super ancient." Nate grinned cheekily down at the sidewalk.
"Oh, haha." Blaine rolled his eyes playfully before stopping and scooping Nate up in his arms and holding him upside down. "If I were so old would I be able to do this?" He laughed. Nate squealed in glee.
"Let me down, let me down!"
Blaine just wiggled his fingers into Nates side.
"Never, sir" yelled Blaine, in a weird voice. Nate just screamed some more, eliciting strange looks from passersby.
When one old woman gave him a particularly disgusted look Blaine sung Nate the right way up and round on his shoulders.
"You're getting too fat for this, kid." Blaine joked. Nate just punched him lightly on the head. "Seriously, how was school?"
"It was ok, I guess." He mumbled in response, leaning forward to rest his head ontop of Blaines.
"What happened?"
Nate just shifted his head face down and mumbled into his arms.
"I don't speak mumble-nese" Nate prodded him in response but didnt say anything else the rest of the walk home.
-.-.-.-
It was almost dinner time once Blaine had dug his keys out his messenger bag (How did they always get to the bottom?) and pushed open the door to be greeted by Link. The six month old Springador charged at Blaine who stood his ground as per routine. Nate ran past the two of them into the front room of their moderately sized apartment and proceeded to dive onto the sofa, grabbing the remote. Seeing the fast movement, Link bumbled after him and jumped up next to the boy, curling up with his head on the boys lap. Blaine shut the door and hung up his coat and keys next to Links leash. Smiling fondly at his two boys, he pulled his phone from his pocket to be greeted by a text from Jess.
[4.46pm] Jess-Face
On my way, bum bum! xox
Blaine sent a quick smiley face as a response before proceeding to grab himself a soda from the fridge and Nate some orange juice. He took him the juice before taking his notepad from his bag and dumping it with his phone on the piano.
"I'm going to get changed, Nate"
"'Kay" came the monotonus reply from the couch.
"Ten more mintutes then homework, before Jess gets here"
"'Kay" a slurp of juice followed. Blaine sighed and went into his bedroom, grabbing his old Dalton gym shorts from the dresser and sweatband from the nightstand. After changing into them he got the arm strap for his iPod out of the drawer in the nightstand and slapped it on, kicking his clothes into the corner and pulling on a navy blue vest.
"Phone!" came Nates voice from the front room.
Blaine entered the room to see Nates outstretched arm in his general direction holding his BlackBerry.
"Who-?" he began, but Nate, knowing him too well, cut him off.
"Jess-Face"
Blaine quickly snatched the phone from him and walked into the kitchen.
"Jess-Face? You do not still have me saved as that in your cell, do you?" came a disgruntled voice from the reciever. He could hear the honking of horns and various shouts in the background.
"What?" he said, guiltily and failing miserably.
"It was fourth grade, Blaine, let it go."
"Never, I shall never let it go. Jimmy Cartwright insisted all the boys in our class call you Jess-Face forevermore, you won't let me call you it to your face without unnecessary violence so I had to figure it out somehow!" he said teasingly as he filled his sports bottle from the filter in the fridge.
"Urgh. I'll deal with you- Hey, asshole, green means go not check out the girls boobs in the greentop on the sidewalk!" Blaine laughed. "Look, Blaine, I'm sorry but I'm going to be so late, the traffic is so awful, I have no idea why, do you think you could take Nate with you? I can't get to you in time and meet Joey at six, I know it's a pain-"
"Jess, it's cool. Don't worry." At least he got out of his run today.
"You beauty. Right, I'm gunna go. I've gotta teach this son of a bitch of a taxi driver how to drive in New York City, since he was clearly raised in Oklahoma."
"Speak later, Jess"
"Bye, babe." with that, she rung off.
"Hey, Nate?" yelled Blaine from the kitchen.
"Yeah?" came his reply.
"Get your coat on, Jess isn't going to make it so you're coming with me and Link to Central Park." He wandered back towards his bedroom to put some joggers and a zip-up hoodie on as he heard Nates over-dramatic moan.
"Do I have to?"
"Yes" Blaine smiled as he came back out his room, leant against the door frame and folded his arms.
"But, I'm almost nine! Cadence is two and a half months younger than me and her parents leave her alone for a full twenty five minutes while they-"
"You aren't Cadence and I'm not her parents."
"I know, but-"
"Besides," continued Blaine, walking over to the couch where Link saw him and leapt up and scrambled towards the door, "how could you deny our little guy his daily walk?" He put his best puppy dog eyes on and Nate rolled his.
"Fine" he said, grudgingly.
"Great," he beamed, "hurry up."
He wasn't overly worried about Link not getting his daily walk, but he didn't want to take any chances. They were only two weeks from getting the Pet Law null and void. His landlord had said so long as there were no issues in that time he would be allowed to keep Link in the apartment permanently. There was no way he was going to let Link go so if it meant taking him for an hour walk round Central Park every day then so be it. As he leashed Link up Nate hauled his coat back on and stood waiting at the front door.
"All ready?" asked Blaine.
"Does this mean I don't have to do my homework tonight?" answered Nate, angelicly.
Blaine laughed. "Nice try." He ruffled the kids hair and opened the door, Link bounding out, hauling Blaine after him. "Let's go then!" Nate rolled his eyes.
-.-.-.-
Central Park was rather busy for a Monday afternoon. It seemed like after every bend there was someone admiring his dog, questioning the existence of a Springador, then trying to drag their own dog away.
Link was an inquisitive pup. His chocolate brown speckles on his white body would have made him blend into the snow almost perfectly had there been any. He was an incredibly playful thing, seeing a stick and freaking out from pleasure moreso than any normal dog. Right this second he was chasing Nate past the Dairy, who screamed in pleasure as Link gave his high pitch little bark.
"Be careful!" he called after his two boys, laughing to himself.
Feeling his cell vibrate in his pocket, he fished it out, laughing as he read what the screen beheld.
[5.20 pm] Josh
So, I was masturbating a minute ago and all I could think about was you on top. Do me a favour? The minute I get back, make it happen? x
Blaine was so distracted by the less than appropriate thoughts that message dragged to the forefront of his mind he almost missed Nate sprinting after Link around the upcoming corner.
"Nate, slow down! You're going to-!"
There was the sound of a commotion coming from round the corner Nate had just run behind, Blaine followed as quickly as he could.
As he rounded the bend he groaned in dismay. There was some kind of ruckus in the middle of the pathway opposite the Bethesda Fountain. All he could see were limbs and Link running around the bodies, barking wildly, ears flapping as he jumped up and down playfully.
Running over, all Blaine could do was apologise.
"I'm so sorry! I told him to slow down, but you know kids, they never listen!" Blaine was fully aware that he was babbling, it was what he did in these kid of situations. It was also why he had been out of education for two years and still hadn't gotten a Broadway job.
"Honestly, it's fine" came a high pitched voice from the fray of limbs. A hand shot its way into the air and, seeing it wasn't Nates, grabbed it and pulled.
"I'm so sorry!"
"Really, it's fine"
All Blaine could do was stare. The guy in front of him was so beautiful, so angelic it was almost unreal. His bone structure was flawless, his skin crystal clear, eyes so blue it was like the sky was reflecting in them perfectly and brown hair coiffed, unequaled. His smile dazzled in the afternoon sun as he picked his own bag from where Nate sat on the path looking rather dazed. Link promptly jumped up at the stranger, who recoiled with a nervous laugh. It tinkled through Blaine and made him feel strangely... fuzzy.
"Link, com'ere" he pulled the Springador off the stranger and grimaced as he saw the muddy footprints left on the guys expensive fancy-looking white jacket. "I am so sorry". Blaine wanted to fuss over him but, being a stranger, he didn't quite know what to do.
The angel stranger, as Blaine had dubbed him in his mind for now, looked down and dropped his jaw.
"It's- Fine." he visibly gulped.
Blaine took a step forward, letting go of Link who bounded over to Nate and they played together.
"I will totally pay the dry cleaning bill, I'm so sorry!" he waved his hands pointlessly in-front of him ,as though trying to brush off the mud from a whole two paces away.
"Um, that's fine" replied the stranger.
"No, I insist! I'll give you my number, let me know how much it is and I'll pay it. I have to."
The angel blushed and handed over an iPhone in a fancy jewelled case. He punched his number in embarassedly and quickly handed it back. The guy smiled brightly at him and Blaine felt his face warm, he rubbed the back of his neck with one hand, shoving his other into his jogger pants pocket. He laughed quietly at the awkward silence surrounding the two of them in the overcrowded park.
"Your son is totally adorable by the way. He apologised as he ran into me, which has to be first."
Blaines head snapped up at that. "Oh, Nate isn't my son. He's my nephew."
The guys mouth dropped open in a silent "Oh! I see, babysitting duty then?" He grinned, mischeivously.
"I guess you could call it that. More like permanent babysitting duty." He laughed in response.
"Oh, a pushover then?" If Blaine knew any better he might have thought he was being flirted with but he quickly pushed aside the notion.
"Not at all. I'm quite hard actually. Wait, uh-" The notion of what he had said hit him hard and he went beetroot-red. The stranger actually laughed as Blaine fumbled over his unintended innuendo. "I mean, my brother and his wife passed away last year so I'm Nates legal guardian." The stranger stopped laughing.
"I'm sorry."
"It's not like it's your fault! Anyway, I've gotta get them home," he jerked his head in Link and Nates general direction. "Text me the bill though, yeah?" he asked again, sheepishly.
The guy smiled at him brightly as Blaine turned to leash Link.
"Come on, dudes, you've got homework and so have I"
Nate huffed in reponse, shoved his hands in his coat pockets and carried on walking. Blaine turned, realising something.
"Hey, I never got-" the stranger was nowhere in sight "-your name...okay."
-.-.-.-
"I'm telling you Jess, it was like looking upon a Saint, except my hand was extended to him and not the other way around."
"Of course," came the response from Blaines cell ina rather placating manner. "Except for the fact that Saints arn't gay."
Blaine laughed. "Well it was touch and go with one of them, wasn't it?"
"You've got to stop watching the Da Vinci Code"
Another chuckle. "I only saw that film twice! Twice!"
"I don't know. Was one of the Saints gay?"
"I don't think it was even mentioned in that movie, was it?"
"I fell asleep in the movie theatre... why would I know?"
"You do have a point there..."
He thought back to earlier in the park, the mysterious angelic strangers eyes seemed to be haunting him. He glanced at the screen on his cell to see if there were any messages waiting behind his call but, nothing. Damn.
"Hello? Earth calling, they want your attention back please!" came a teasing voice, making Blaine jump. He'd momentarily forgotten that Jess was still there.
"Sorry"
"You'd better be. Anyway, what are you doing thinking about this weird stranger-"
"He wasn't weird, he was mysterious and angelic and dreamy and-"
"-When you have your own lover boy half way across the world?"
"Oh."He probably should have ackowledged that idea before now. "To be fair, it's not cheating to think someones attractive."
"But you know how painfully jealous Josh gets."
Blaine let out a single bark of laughter. Of course he knew how jealous Josh gets. He'd never forget that time at the after-party for Josh's opening night in the ensemble in Wicked when the waiter asked if he'd like a small or a large one and Josh had sulked for the rest of the evening until he'd gotten himself so drunk that he screamed at Blaine on the doorstep in utter jibberish. Bad times.
"Besides," continued his semi-corporeal conscience, "you have got to get your head in the game for Wednesday!"
"Wait a sec, how do you know about that?"
He heard his best friend laugh down the handset. "How else?"
"Will is such a douche bag."
"Will is a hyperactive douchebag who cares about you and is excited for you."
"A douchebag all the same" he muttered.
"Listen, dude, I have got to go. I've got a man nibbling my foot."
Blaine grimaced. "I could so have gone, like, another twenty years without knowing about Joey's weird foot fetish."
"Not him, dolt." chastised Jess. "Marley"
"I still havent met Marley!" gasped Blaine. She'd had this new cat for nearly three weeks and he still hadn't met it. "I can't believe you named your cat Marley. Everyone knows that you're supposed to call a dog Marley. Didn't the film 'Marley & Me' teach you anything about life?"
"Yes, it did actually. It taught me to never watch a movie with a dog on the cover when Blaine is PMSing. You were a wreck, man."
"Was not. It was allergy season." He scoffed. It totally wasn't allergy season.
"Whatever, man. Night, see you tomorrow."
He heard her yawn and relented. "Cool stuff. Night."
"Night." He heard the background noise and smiled.
"This is the part where you hang up, Jess"
"I'm too tired, you do it."
He laughed aloud, she could be such a cute idiot sometimes. "Night, Jess." There was some kind of a mumble in response so he hung up.
He jumped off the bed and stripped down to his boxers before jumping back into bed and flicking the lamp off. Putting his phone on his bed side table he rolled over and shoved his hands under the pillow.
There was a sudden jolt in the mattress and something heavy settled next to him on the bed.
"Link, what are you doing?" The dog purred. Dogs wern't supposed to purr. Trust Blaine to choose the dog that purrs. He sighed and grabbed his cell back quickly posting a facebook status.
-Link is purring. He's supposed to be a dog. Me wants refund.-
Afterwards he typed out his nightly text to Josh.
[12.06am]
Night, lovely. Hope to speak to you tomorrow. Have a good day. Love, Blaine xxx
There were two Facebook notifications waiting for him once he'd sent that, both from Jess.
-Comment:
-There is nothing wrong with cats. Be proud of him, I am.
-Comment:
-Now, shut up and go to sleep. You're keeping me up. No me gusta.
He promptly liked the second comment and put his phone back down.
As he rolled over he couldn't help but let his mind wander back to the stranger today. What if he didn't text? New York was a big city, it was likely they would never see each other again. Strangers rarely met twice, after all. Blaine could only hope he'd text. Maybe it was a good thing he didn't though, he did have Josh. There was nothing wrong with Josh, they loved each other.
Blaine let out a sigh. Just another week and then Josh would be back from the cruise he was working on and they could make sweet, sweet love. Blaine groaned and rolled onto his stomach, grunting at the discomfort. It'd go down... he hoped.
There was more movement on the mattress as Link moved to put his head on the pillow next to Blaines. Blaine just smiled at the dog fondly.
"Come here" he said and Link shuffled closer, keeping Blaine warm. He sighed contently, not looking forward to being up at 6 am for work.
-.-.-.-
The next morning, after rushing Nate to school because he woke up late, Blaine worked his six hour shift at the Exspresso Yourself coffee shop, finally finishing just in time to pick up Link and Nate's overnight bag to jog to Nate's school to pick him back up. He piggy-backed him up a few blocks to Jess' and dropped him off for the night before running with Link through Central Park.
With his audition swiftly approaching tomorrow morning he was well aware he needed to be well rested but after getting asked out by Jess and Will to the coffee shop he couldn't say no. He hadn't seen Will for over a week... it was the perfect excuse. So, after getting a babysitter to watch Nate sleep he grabbed his wallet and headed to the shop.
Exspresso Yourself was a homely coffee shop in the day and even more homely at nighttime but with the added bonus of Bailey and Amaretto Lattes, and open mic nights. The three of them had spent many a time sitting in drinking alcoholic coffee and chuckling at terrible open mic acts and cheering in an overly-loudly manner for the ones that were half decent.
Right now they were sunken into the overstuffed couch in the corner, barely in view of the stage listening intently to a girl recite a Flo Rida rap in a poetic manner. Will was trying so hard not to laugh he was actually snorting into his latte, the foam blowing up and sticking to his smooth brown bangs. Jess was red in the face but had stopped laughing momentarily to stare at Wills hair, contemplating whether or not to mention the new look he seemed to be going for... bangs-a-la-foam. She caught Blaine's eye and nearly choked with laughter as she pretty much heard the thought go through his mind.
Blaine turned back to the girl who was wrapping it up, no pun intended, and the audience applauded. Blaine picked up his mug and sipped some of his own latte, monitoring his breathing carefully so as not to end up looking like Will, who was staring innocently at the host of the evening.
"And now," said the host into the microphone, "our very own Blaine Anderson."
Blaine choked on his recently swallowed coffee. "Wha- What?" he coughed, the liquid having burnt his tongue. Jess clapped him on the back to help clear his airways.
"Well you did say you needed to practice for tomorrow!"
"I said that two days ago!"
"You know, Jess, I think he's a chicken" smirked Will, baiting Blaine.
"Will-" he began to warn.
"I think you may be right" She gasped.
"Guys-" he protested.
"Blaine? Where are you buddy?" called the host.
"Go!" said Jess and Will, simultaneously. People were now starting to stare in their direction.
"I don't even have my guitar!" He hissed as he slowly began to stand. Upon noticing this, the audience applauded again.
"Borrow the guy who murdered Elton Johns Your Song. He needs to be relieved of that guitar. Please." she practically begged. Blaine just sighed and began picking his way through the crowd to the small stage.
He asked the guy from earlier if he could borrow his guitar and he took it up to the stage, sitting on the stall that was already there. Balancing the guitar on one leg he adjusted the mic stand efficiently and accurately- he was well used to that particular stand by now. After a quick tune up of the guitar he looked at the silhouettes of everyone around.
"Hey- er- everyone. I don't actually have anything prepared," he paused, feeling the tension in the room rise as though everyone was anticipating him to crumble. He hadn't felt like this in a long time. "But, some of the best things are spontaneous, right? So, here's a song you'll probably all recognise but with my own little spin on it." He began to play.
"Since we're in the club for now
Might as well get another round
Notice there ain't nothing in your cup
So come here, come here and fill it up
Go boy, it's your Birthday
Open wide, I know you're thirsty
Let me hear you say aah
Say ahh
Shawty dance like a video vixen
He said his girl be on that bull is pimpin
Well I retire from the bull I'm pimpin
Tryin to get your Homer, can I be your Marge Simpson
Go boy, it's your Birthday..."
As he sung and played he saw the crowd get into the song more as they recognised the Trey Songz classic. Jess was standing on the sofa to get a better view and he could just about see Will dancing away in his seat next to her. He smiled to himself as he drew the number to close.
"We don't buy no drinks at the bar
We poppin' champagne cos we got that dough
Let me hear you say aah
Say aah
Say aah."
The audience broke into a loud applause complete with screaming and whooping, mainly from where his two best friends were sitting.
Even Blaine had to admit that despite their sneakiness he loved them all the same. There couldn't be two people he'd rather be closer too. After the last few years all he needed were people like them and that was what he had. He smiled, knowing his was blushing and glanced down, hiding it from the crowd who only laughed and cheered louder.
If only he could sing something like this at his audition tomorrow. Oh well, he thought. What will be, will be.
A/N:
So I just wrote out this massive Authors Note and the thing didn't save it. So I guess I have to write it again. I really hope that you all enjoyed it! Especially you, Britt! Reviews make me feel fuzzy like the mysterious angelic stranger makes Blaine feel fuzzy. Plus it is actually my birthday... that's got to count for something, right? The song in this is Say Aah originally by Trey Songz but this is inspired by the Lindsey Pavao cover from the Voice season 2. If you haven't head it, check it out. It's incredible. I promise that you will be seeing more familiar characters soon. A/U isn't something I can say I ventured into much in the past. I hope I did justice. Just so you know, as this was a birthday gift for my Beta, she hasn't Beta'd it. I did. Which is why that is super sucky. My apologies! Anyway. I'mma shut up now! Lots of Love and Courage xxxx