A.N- I am not a musician, nor do I presume to be so. I have no experience of being in an Orchestra, large or small. I understand that the songs I have the Orchestra play here are pretty much impossible for an Orchestra so small to pull off, so I'd like to ask you all for a little leeway here. I'll have links to any songs mentioned at the end of the chapters. And realistically, 24-26 is pretty young to be as accomplished as I make out these guys all to be, so again, if you could exercise some flexibility, that'd be awesome. Also, I don't own Glee.

1

The new pianist was a big deal- it was always going to be a big deal, replacing Jesse St James (now of Hollywood score-composing fame), but when Shuester, the conductor, had told them just who they'd somehow gotten to be in the 'hardest working 13-piece orchestra in North America' (No, really, it had said so in their review in the New York Times), well, the place had exploded. Everyone had been excited at first thrilled, even, at the prospect of working with someone that famous. It wasn't that they all weren't known, in certain circles- after all, the Adler Orchestra was pretty famous… well, famous to aficionados of classical music- but this was Sebastian Smythe. Sebastian Smythe, the musical prodigy. He'd played his first professional show when he was 8. He'd been touring the world ever since then, never mind America. The guy was super-famous, and super-rich to go along with it. No one could get their heads around why he'd even think to audition for their little ragtag (they were ragtag, but they were talented, too) group.

See, the Adler Orchestra was an independent orchestra that spent pretty much every day of the year travelling. They toured pretty much every town in America, and often more than once in a year. The best part of the year was the 2 weeks they'd spend in New York, getting to hit the town when they weren't rehearsing.

The orchestra was like a family- they had their tour bus, and everyone pretty much lived in everyone else's pockets. Its half the reason pretty much everyone there was dating someone else from the orchestra- what's the point in falling for someone when you'd only get to see them twice a year? Will Shuester was the exception there- his fiance Emma came with them, but thank God she did, because she was the only one on the whole bus that had the ability to make everyone get along, when things were playing up.

And now, their family was changing. The new guy, Sebastian Smythe, he already had everything they were all working for- to be recognised for their talent, to be able to live off of playing music (make a proper living- Everyone in the A.O lived 365 days in a hotel room, so God help them if they ever wanted to settle down. Thankfully this was a long way off, as the rigors of living constantly on the road pretty much made this gig a young-people only kind of a deal).

Despite this mystery as to why he was joining, everyone was excited. This was going to get them recognised, it was going to get the Orchestra attention. Not to mention that they'd get to play with one of the most recognisable names on the scene.

And then they found out, about two days ago, the circumstances under which Sebastian had joined. He'd been invited to join, by Figgins and Sylvester- the main benefactors of the Orchestra. Sylvester had decided that she wanted them to have 'Star Power', and Figgins was willing to back that power up with a cool $50,000 signing bonus. That was why Sebastian had joined- they'd paid up and stroked his ego (according to Santana Lopez, the Viola player). To say that everyone else- the people working their asses off in the orchestra for a lousy $25,000 a year- were resenting the situation would have been an understatement. Rachel Berry, the 1st flautist, was fuming.

"Unacceptable!" She'd been on another rant about it when he walked in.

Blaine was sitting next to his boyfriend, Kurt Hummel (2nd flautist), and had a clear view of the man's entrance. He was quiet as he entered, wearing casual clothes –fawn coloured straight legged jeans, a white cotton t-shirt and a forest green cardigan, with some canvas sneakers- and when he heard Rachel's outburst, Blaine noticed his shoulders hunch forward minutely, almost protectively. That was for a millisecond, if that, because Shuester had seen Sebastian's entrance, and was on him like white on rice.

"Everyone! I'd like to give a special welcome to the Adler Orchestra's newest star, Sebastian Smythe!"

The applause here was warm enough, and like a switch had been flicked, Sebastian straightened up and suddenly became this tall, lean.. well, something. Whatever it was, it was a million miles away from the guy he'd seen not even four seconds before, because this was confidence bordering on arrogance.

"Now, I'm sure you're all well aware of Sebastian and Sebastian, by now you've hopefully had a chance to familiarise yourself with all of us and the way we work, so, why don't we just get straight to it?" Shuester was, as always, enthusiastic to the point of irritation, but Sebastian kept his cool the whole time he was speaking.

"Sure." Was the first thing he said.

As Shuester was calling everyone to his or her places in the rehearsal space, Blaine watched Sebastian.

The newcomer sat at the grand piano with what Blaine was sure was relief, and he just sat for a moment with his hands brushing lightly up and down the keys, eyes intent on the instrument in front of him. Sebastian was breathing slowly, and seemed to be mouthing something. Blaine focused intently for a moment, trying to make out what he was saying, but then was snapped out of it as Kurt spoke to him.

"Better get back to your seat, babe. Wouldn't want you to get in trouble in front of the 'new star'." Kurt was sarcastic as he said that, and Blaine smiled at him before moving back to his seat next to Tina Cohen-Chang, the 2nd Violinist.

He knew how much Kurt resented the special treatment Sebastian was getting, but Blaine didn't see it that way. Sebastian was.. well, Sebastian Smythe. He was 24 years old, and single-handedly making classical music cool again. His charm and good looks and mystery meant that he had hoardes of screaming fangirls that could rival any boyband's, and the media world adored him. If the A.O had to splash out a little extra cash to pull him in, then the more power to them, Blaine thought.

"As the new member, Sebastian, what would you like to lead us in with?" Shuester grinned at Sebastian, who again, took the man's enthusiasm in his stride.

"How about the Piano Concerto No.2? by Chopin? In F Minor1." Sebastian gave everyone a quick glance to see if they were alright with his selection. Everyone there knew it, and there were no objections being raised, even though Blaine just knew that on the inside more than a couple of them would have something to say about him choosing a piano concerto to start off on. (He was right, too. That night, Kurt hadn't shut up about the 'desperate need to show off'. Blaine had thought that maybe that was a little much, considering it was Kurt speaking, because as much as he loved him, Kurt was more than a little showy.)

Shuester gave the count, and the song started, Blaine, Tina, (Violins) Santana (Viola) and Mike (Cello) starting up slow. Finn joined in on the timpani, and Blaine could feel the excitement begin to rise up in his stomach. Once the brass (Puck on tuba and Sam on trumpet) had joined, and finally the woodwind instruments joined (Kurt and Rachel on the flute, Quinn on the oboe, and Brittany on clarinet), Blaine felt at home in the song. He knew it well enough that once he got into the 'feel' of it, as it were, he could basically play it out by instinct. This left him free to do his second favourite thing- watch his friends as they all played. They were all arranged in a fairly tight semi-circle, so Blaine had a clear view of everybody: There was Rachel, posture-perfect, staring intently at the sheet-music in front of her, making sure that everything was as it should be. And then Kurt, much like Rachel, sitting to attention, his pink lips pursed over his instrument elegantly. Quinn, like a serene goddess, eyes closed and totally composed. Next to her was Brittany, who just enjoyed playing, to be honest, and usually sat with a huge grin on her face when she wasn't physically playing, like at this moment. Artie sat in his chair, mostly observing here, because Chopin didn't have much space for classical guitar in his concertos. Artie met his eyes with a smile, knowing to just enjoy the show. Next was Puck and Sam. Puck was hunched over his tuba, playing with gusto, while Sam was red in the cheeks from the effort, but his eyes never strayed from his sheet music. Finn was just behind them, playing a little too enthusiastically as usual, his long limbs flailing dangerously. They were all used to his, and Finn had learnt to dial it down during the actual performances, so they usually let him go wild in rehearsals. On Blaine's right was Tina, the smiling angel. Seriously, she was never unhappy, and never happier than when she was playing with Mike, who was wrapped around his cello, head bent down next to his hand intently. Then there was Santana, who divided her attention between what she was playing, and what Shuester was doing. She could do her own damn thing in life, but, as she would say "my abuela told me to watch my conductor, so I'mma watch my conductor." Lastly was Sebastian. Thank god he was last, because frankly, Blaine wouldn't mind if he never looked away. He was playing intently, hands flying over the keys, long, elegant fingers in constant motion. His shoulders were completely loose, almost fluid, and his face held a look of utmost concentration, a slight crease between his eyebrows as he watched what he was doing. And as for the actual playing? It was magical. As he'd said, everyone in the orchestra was amazing (they were professional musicians, after all) but Blaine couldn't remember the last time he'd seen anyone play like this- it was so emotional, felt so personal.

When the song came to an end, Sebastian let out a long slow breath, and sat with his eyes closed for a moment, taking in the feeling. Blaine often did much the same thing- when you pull off something, no matter how big or how small, sometimes you just need to pause to appreciate it.

"All right! Guys! That was incredible! Awesome job! Thank you all so much! And Sebastian- oh my God? Am I right guys?" Shuester, as always, broke the moment, but it was fine, really, because he was so nice about it.

"I think you could all do with a break! Well done, guys, and take ten."

Blaine rose, placing his violin carefully back in the case, and then went to speak to Sebastian, who was still at the piano, taking to Shuester.

"Uh, hi. Sorry to interrupt." Blaine said tenatatively.

Sebastian turned around, but smiled a little when he saw Blaine standing there. "No problem at all."

"I'm Blaine Anderson." Blaine said, a little lamely. He'd come over to tell Sebastian how much he'd loved his playing, but that seemed a little stupid, considering he'd probably been hearing all his life how amazing his playing is.

Sebastian quirked an eyebrow at Blaine, which Blaine found incredibly sexy, before introducing himself. "Sebastian Smythe. So, you're first violin?"

"Yeah." Blaine smiled, a little proudly, it must be said.

"You're good. Really good. Although you'd be better if you'd actually payed some more attention to the music, rather than to your players."

Blaine would have been offended at this (ok, he was a little) but he had been daydreaming while he played, so he took the criticism with little comment.

"I played perfectly well, even with the divided attention."

Sebastian smiled at that. He even added a cocky little chuckle that Blaine couldn't help but imagine in the bedroom.

"I already said you were good. But imagine what you could be like if you weren't undressing pianists with your eyes while you played." Sebastian outright smirked, causing Blaine to blush even more.

"I.. I, uh.. wasn't.." He started to defend himself, but Sebastian cut him off.

"Don't be embarrassed. Really. Anytime you wanna undress me, all you gotta do is ask."

Blaine blushed even harder, and his torment tripled when he heard Kurt's voice from just behind him.

"Who's undressing who, now?" Kurt's hand slipped through Blaine's arm, and he stood closer than normal, clearly staking his claim.

Before Sebastian could say anything that would get him into even more trouble (and from his face he could tell he was about to), Blaine spoke.

"Sebastian, this is my boyfriend, Kurt Hummel. Kurt, this is Sebastian."

"A pleasure." Kurt didn't go to shake Sebastian's offered hand, and his tone of derision put the nail in the coffin of civility.

"Wish I could say the same to you." Sebastian said coldly to Kurt, standing up and fishing a packet of cigarettes out of his jeans pocket. He turned to Blaine. "You however, we've got to do this again." And with a wink, he walked out of the rehearsal space, lighting his cigarette on the way out the door.

"What an asshole." Kurt said, dragging Blaine back over to where Rachel and Finn were talking.

"Yeah.." Blaine said, but he couldn't take his eyes off of where the pianist had just left. "A total asshole."

* The song- .com/watch?v=zhUrGHB0aY