Disclaimer: I'm just playing in the Glee sandbox. If you recognize it from elsewhere, I don't own it.
Established Ships: Klaine, Brittana, Samcedes, Finchel, Tike, Luck, Nuinn (Nick/Quinn), some Warblers/OCs
Timeline: Summer 2011 (between Seasons 2 and 3)
Warnings: Rated M for swearing and intense, but not explicit, sexual scenes.
Spoilers: All of Season 1 and 2
Author's Note: Hello, I'm Heather. I'll be your author for this story. I've been writing for a long time, but this is my first Glee fanfiction. I hope I do justice to the show and characters I love so much. I have just a couple of remarks before you begin the story.
There are four main plots in this story, but of course I can only select two main characters in the story information. Here they are in descending order of attention: A. Klaine, B. Nuinn, C. Brittana, D. Samcedes. This is very much a group story, however, and every character has their moment to briefly shine whether they're part of a main plot or not. I've taken the Warblers' names from the yearbook photo on Glee Wiki. I don't know if that's an official listing or fan made. Either way, I don't own their names.
There is an "outtakes" companion series of one-shots to this story which you can find listed on my author page. These are scenes I really wanted to include, but I know they're filler. Feel free to request the missing moments/absent characters scenes you'd like to see. I'm not saying I will write all the requests, but if it sparks an idea, I'll gladly run with it.
And now that I've gotten all that off my chest …. I hope you enjoy the story. Thank you for reading and even more for reviewing.
A FINE FRENZY
"The poet's eye, in fine frenzy rolling,
Doth glance from heaven to earth, from earth to heaven;
And as imagination bodies forth
The forms of things unknown, the poet's pen
Turns them to shapes and gives to airy nothing
A local habitation and a name."
-William Shakespeare
A Mid-Summer Night's Dream, Act V Scene I
Author's Note: The Fishers Renaissance Faire occurs annually in October, but I've changed that to August. This plot only works as a summer story, so I exercised some creative license.
Chapter One
No Fear Shakespeare
First week of June
At 8:03am three days after summer vacation began, an incoming message arrived from Will Schuester: Meet me in the McKinley choir room at 9am tomorrow. I have an idea to discuss with you. I promise it will be worth getting up early.
The short text was vague enough to cause a round of raised eyebrows and pique the curiosity of teenagers already bored to death in small town Ohio and eager to escape their parents' lists of chores for one day. As the recipients met over the course of the unseasonably cool day in clusters of three or four at the mall or Skype or summer workplaces, they speculated on the Spanish teacher/glee club director's idea. Early rehearsals for Sectionals, team-building exercises, songwriting seminars, and searching for the unicorns in Brittany's backyard were top contenders.
Kurt pulled his black Navigator into the William McKinley High School parking lot ten minutes to nine the following morning. Already, he felt a building pressure behind his eyes. From the dark expression Mercedes wore in the passenger seat, and the frequency of Sam's eye rolls Kurt caught in the rearview mirror, he suspected he was not alone.
"What do you think Mr. Schue has planned?" Finn asked for the fourteenth time.
Only Rachel in the middle seat between Sam and her recently on-again boyfriend looked completely unfazed by the repetitive question. Kurt took a deep, steadying breath and reminded himself that older brothers were supposed to annoy him before cutting the ignition and hopping out of the SUV. Sam and Mercedes vacated the vehicle equally quickly, and together the three glee club members not besotted with the sound of Finn's voice charged toward the doors Mr. Schue implied would be unlocked.
"Next time something exciting happens –," Sam started, once enough distance had been put between the two groups.
" – like getting a text message from a teacher?" Mercedes snickered, nudging Sam's side with her elbow.
"What a sad statement about our lives," Kurt sighed in agreement.
" – you can't leave Finn alone all day," Sam continued undeterred. "He practically blew up my phone with that one question yesterday. Have you ever tried to balance five pizza boxes and take payment with a constantly vibrating cell phone in your pocket?"
"Can't say I have. Anyway, it's not my fault Finn got himself banished to the front office of my dad's garage for pouring windshield wiper fluid into the cooling system of a '67 Impala. Maybe a day of answering phones and watching daytime soaps on the lobby television will teach him to pay attention."
Kurt caught Sam's stricken look in the glass as he pulled open the door and held it for Mercedes. Their footsteps echoed sharply down the empty hallways of the high school. A creeping sensation of being somewhere they didn't really belong settled over the teenagers as they beat a path to the choir room. Infrequently, they passed a classroom full of remedial students. Coach Beiste stood at the front of the Driver's Ed class demonstrating the ten-and-two grip on what looked like a lawnmower's steering wheel.
Conversation and song already drifted out of the choir room. Santana and Quinn's voices accompanied a slow melody on the piano while Mike and Tina twirled around the room. Puck, Artie, and Lauren sat on the bottom risers talking intently while Brittany swayed serenely in the back row. The blonde former cheerleader leapt up from her place the instant she saw Kurt in the doorway and ran to him.
"Hello, Britt," he said, surprised by her enthusiasm. It had only been three days since they said goodbye to each other in the hallway after clearing out their lockers, and they had plans to watch a romantic comedy together soon.
"Did you know they're allowed to take off their jackets? I thought they were like lo-jackets, so I was really confused when I saw them but didn't hear any alarms going off, but Santana told me it was okay."
Kurt, Sam, and Mercedes blinked at Brittany for a moment, trying to unravel the undoubtedly simple concept behind her confusion. Movement in his periphery drew Kurt's attention, and he snapped his head left to take in the sight of Blaine and the Warblers, all in street clothes, occupying half the McKinley choir room.
Sam and Mercedes, finally understanding Brittany, tried to stifle their laughter as they joined their teammates and said hello to the Warblers they recognized from Sectionals and Regionals. Kurt, meanwhile, met his boyfriend by the piano and shared a chaste kiss.
"Blaine, what are you doing here? What are you all doing here?"
Blaine took his hand and led him to a chair on the bottom riser in the center of the room so Kurt was directly between the Warblers and New Directions. Before the lead soloist could begin to explain, however, the Warblers descended on Kurt. It had been months since he'd been with them all together, and they all wanted to say hello and congratulate him on New Directions' Nationals placement.
"Because twelfth is better than losing Regionals. Which I guess you know," Nick said with a laugh.
"We all got a message from your choir director asking us to meet here," Blaine finally explained. "I wanted to ask you what you knew about it, but the Council insisted on meeting first to talk about it, and we didn't finish until really late last night."
The dark-haired boy threw a disdainful glance at Wes, David, and Thad who sat in the back row chatting with Mercedes and Sam. When he turned back to his boyfriend, his expression melted into adoration so quickly Kurt couldn't resist the urge to grin back stupidly.
"Haven't they graduated yet?" Kurt wondered.
"Yes, but technically the new Council doesn't take their position until the fall term begins."
Nick jumped into the conversation from the second riser. "So until Blaine, Jeff, and Cameron are officially seniors come August, we're at the mercy of Wes and his gavel. Which David did not let him bring, thank god."
"Our lives will be so much easier once that damned thing is safely in Blaine's possession," Cameron agreed.
Kurt's fingers tightened around Blaine's. The Warblers had elected a new council at the end of term, for them a week ago, and the vote had been unanimous. Blaine, Jeff, and Cameron would serve on the Council with Blaine taking the primary leadership role. Considering how uneasy the formality of the Council had made Kurt when he attended Dalton, he was ridiculously proud of his boyfriend.
"You do know I can hear you, right?" Wes asked loudly.
Mr. Schue chose that moment to make his entrance. The teacher was dressed more casually than normal in jeans and a polo shirt. The popped collar caused Kurt to visibly shudder, but at least there was no vest paired with the hideous orange shirt. Mr. Schue scanned the room proudly, a big grin stretching across his lips. New Directions greeted him warmly, though they'd hardly been apart at all, and the Warblers smiled politely.
"Thank you for coming. I know you're all probably eager to know why I asked you here."
"I already know," Brittany announced. "You're finally going to try and catch the unicorns in my backyard." She looked seriously at the Warblers, who bore expressions ranging from disbelief to amusement. "They fart magical rainbows."
The glee teacher took a moment to collect his thoughts while the Warblers exchanged curious glances and looked to Kurt to see how they should react. Kurt, like the rest of New Directions, hardly batted an eyelash.
"Yesterday, a friend of mine from high school – from a rival glee club, actually – called to congratulate New Directions on Nationals. While we were on the phone, he mentioned how much he would love for us to perform at an event he organizes every year."
"Setting aside the fact that you were good friends with someone from a rival glee club," Rachel interjected, and then stole a guilty look at Kurt and Blaine before continuing, "this sounds like an excellent opportunity, and I vote in favor of performing."
"You don't even know what it is," Quinn pointed out.
"It can't be worse than having a shoe thrown at you," Mercedes countered, offering Quinn an apologetic smile.
"Or a cat," Kurt added pensively.
"Or singing at a theme park," Blaine said.
"Or in a GAP," Wes said with a self-satisfied note in his voice.
"Excuse me, Mr. Schuester," David spoke up, just barely containing his laughter, "but I'm still a little unclear why the Warblers are here, if your friend specifically requested New Directions."
"There aren't enough members in New Directions or the Warblers alone, and since you're all so friendly, thanks to Kurt, I thought you all might be open to working together to perform a musical this summer."
A murmur of genuine interest passed through the group. New Directions, minus Puck and Lauren, had fond memories of putting on Rocky Horror even if no one did get to see it in the end. Kurt and Rachel were nearly vibrating with excitement. Many of the Warblers appeared equally enthusiastic about the idea. Several of the members, including Wes, already had applied to performing arts programs for college.
"So it's decided then?" Mr. Schue asked with a big smile. "New Directions and the Warblers are doing a musical!"
Unable to help themselves any longer, Rachel and Kurt both leapt to their feet and raced each other to the front of the room. The briefest glance was all they needed to know they shared a vision for their summer. In unison, they blurted out, "Wicked!"
"Guys, guys," Mr. Schue struggled to be heard over the conversation that broke out instantly on the New Directions side of the room. The Warblers, except for Blaine, looked shocked over the informality. "Wicked is a great musical, but it's not appropriate for our venue. The event organizers already selected the script we're going to be doing."
"So what is it?" Santana demanded.
Rachel and Kurt regained their seats looking equally curious, if both a little downcast that they wouldn't have the opportunity to perform the musical that had made their trip to New York so memorable for the both of them.
"A musical adaptation of Shakespeare's A Mid-Summer Night's Dream."
Ten seconds of dead silence followed the announcement, and then suddenly the Warblers were talking excitedly about the rock opera version Trent had told them about. Half of New Directions looked intrigued and half of them look aghast.
"Whoa, whoa, whoa. Mr. Schue, I'm sure it's gonna be great for the eggheads and losers who actually do stuff like read Shakespeare, but some of us are too badass for that," Puck said. "I even sat through that snorefest the drama club did two years ago – Julius and Juliet or whatever – and I didn't have a freaking clue what was going on."
Kurt shifted uncomfortably in his chair and glanced sidelong at his glee club. Finn looked equally distressed as Puck, and even Mercedes was frowning. Sam, who was dyslexic, looked green around the gills. Brittany probably had no idea what was going on, but if she was able to speak Elizabethan English in iambic pentameter, Kurt would eat all his Hermes scarves.
"That will be part of the rehearsal process. Nobody worry about it, okay? If I can teach you all a foreign language, I can teach you Shakespeare," the teacher returned.
"Mr. Schue …." Mercedes looked as nervous as she had when she'd asked to play Frank-N-Furter. "Why do we have to do Shakespeare? Couldn't we do … Singing in the Rain?"
Anyone uncomfortable with Shakespeare immediately latched onto the idea of doing their teacher's favorite musical. The Warblers stayed absolutely silent, and Kurt was never more grateful for polite prep school manners. There wasn't a single Dalton student who dreaded reading Shakespeare because he didn't understand it. They may dread it for other reasons, but never for that one.
"Come on, guys. Think of everything you've overcome together," Mr. Schue urged. "What is a little convoluted English compared to choreographing a song twenty minutes before going on stage or writing original songs or embracing what makes you unique?"
Finn nodded with determination. "You're right, Mr. Schue. We can do this."
Notoriously dim-witted Finn Hudson claiming he could learn to perform Shakespeare motivated the rest of New Directions to agree as well. Kurt made a silent promise to help his brother however much he needed, even if it meant Pip Pip Hurray had to be put on hold until next summer.
"That's the spirit! Okay, now, the Fishers Renaissance Faire is at the end of August just before school starts, so we have two months – "
"The Fishers what?" Lauren interrupted.
"Renaissance Faire. It's an event where a group of people come together to recreate a Renaissance village. There's singing, dancing, plays, food, archery, sword-fighting …. The one in Fishers, Indiana is one of the biggest and best in the country. It's a privilege to be asked to be one of their main entertainers."
"That is so uncool that if I actually did that, I'd have to slushie myself," Puck stated.
"I love Renaissance Fairs," Richard countered loudly. "I'm the president of my chapter of the Society for Creative Anachronism."
Puck took in the tall, muscular beat boxer. Without the Dalton blazer, he looked older and tougher than a high school junior. In fact, Kurt guessed he reminded Puck a little of the guys in juvvie who stole his waffles. The McKinley bad boy backed down without another word, and Lauren muttered an insult that made Mr. Schue do a double take and then pretend he hadn't heard.
"Anyway. Obviously, I know everyone in New Directions and their strengths, but of the Warblers I've really only heard Blaine sing."
The boy in question shifted uncomfortably. Ever since Kurt called him on taking center stage too often, he'd insisted the Warblers distribute solos more evenly. They had been able to shine the spotlight on several others, but not at a competition yet.
"To make it fair, I thought we would hold auditions at the beginning of next week. Come prepared with a song and a passage from a Shakespeare play other than A Mid-Summer Night's Dream. I'll see you all in the auditorium Monday at 9am."
With the assignment given, Mr. Schue released both glee clubs. They filed into the hallways in small clusters, discussing the impending auditions. The Warblers told their McKinley counterparts about the wonder that was SparkNotes as they emerged into the parking lot. More than one iPhone was pulled out immediately.
"So … we have the rest of the day," Blaine said, tugging Kurt flush against his side and wrapping an arm around his boyfriend's waist. "Unless you're going to help your dad in the garage again."
"No," Kurt said quietly. "And I think Rachel will probably drag Finn over to her house to start preparing for the audition, so we probably have the whole house to ourselves. Unless some of the Warblers drove here with you?"
A shy smile hitched into the corner of the shorter boy's mouth. "No, I drove separately. Much to their delight and my embarrassment, I might add."
Kurt reluctantly handed over the keys to his Navigator to Finn. His brother was too busy pretending to listen to Rachel wax on about which song and which monologue would be best paired together to realize that meant Kurt and Blaine would be at the house alone for the next several hours.
o o o
Quinn jogged down the hallway past a group of Warblers gazing at the bulletin board that still held a hodge-podge of signup sheets for glee club, Cheerios, and half a dozen other school events. They looked amused by the riot of color, but she didn't pay them much attention, except for the dark-haired boy she accidentally knocked into.
"Sorry," she said, but didn't stop hurrying down the hall.
Tina was holding open the door while Mike wheeled Artie through and down the handicap ramp when Quinn caught up with them. Tina looked surprised that Quinn joined them as they headed to the parking lot.
"Umm … do you need a ride home?"
"No, I drove myself. I wanted to talk to you about running lines together," the blonde replied.
The three Quiz Team members shifted their eyes around to glance sidelong at each other, and Quinn fought down a stab of irritation. After two years, the glee club was still suspicious of her motives. She knew she'd played her part in their internal drama, but so did Finn, and no one distrusted him.
"Why? You don't really even talk to us," Artie said.
"You know that goes both ways, right? You don't talk to me either. Why it is always up to me to start conversations?"
"Because you're popular."
Tina looked so sure this was an obvious response that Quinn sighed in irritation. She wanted to storm away, drive home, and sulk about how unfair this year had been. That was how she had planned on spending the first few weeks of summer anyway.
"And a lot of good it's done me." She didn't list the disappointments junior year had delivered. It would culminate in the Prom Queen debacle – even she didn't believe she was more hurt than Kurt by that – and losing Finn was too recent. "Look, we're the smartest students at this school. The four of us and Kurt are academically the top of our class. I know Finn thinks anyone can play these parts, but they can't. It should be us."
"I'm not getting a lead," Mike said. "I can't sing, remember? But I think Quinn has a point. The three of you should have those parts."
Tina and Artie nodded, and Quinn tired to overlook their lack of enthusiasm. She would do whatever it took to beat Rachel out for the lead female role, even if that meant spending time with glee club members who would clearly rather not have her around.
"Great. Why don't you come over to my house tomorrow? My mom has a benefit she's attending so we'll have the whole place to ourselves."
They agreed to the plans and said a quick good-bye.
The Warblers who had been staring at the bulletin board circled around a black Escalade, Range Rover, and silver Mercedes parked two spots over from Quinn's little red car. They were catcalling at Kurt and Blaine, and the good-natured humor among them reminded her of those times when she was head cheerleader. Some of the Cheerios hated her and only wanted her spot, but they'd had genuine moments of friendship too. She missed that, fitting in with a group of her peers.
"You dropped this in the hallway."
The dark-haired Warbler she had bumped into in the hallway had broken away from the group and was holding out a book of sheet music. It must have fallen out of her bag in her hurry to catch up with Mike, Tina, and Artie.
"Thank you …"
"Nick. And you're Quinn, right?" She nodded. "You have good taste in music, Quinn."
She glanced down at the glossy blue cover of the songbook with a crooked smile. "I think this is a little too commercial to be complimented."
"Yeah, I'm in the Warblers, so I won't be casting the first stone."
They shared a brief moment of laughter before one of Nick's friends leaned out the rolled down window of the Escalade and yelled, "Hurry up, Nick, or we'll leave you here to watch Blaine and Kurt make out!"
Quinn climbed into her car while Nick hurried over to his friends, shouting back equally obnoxious and humorous threats at them. On the drive home, Quinn thought about how having the Warblers around this summer might be more important than filling roles in a musical. From everything Kurt had said, they were an open and accepting group. Maybe, for once, someone would look at her without suspicion.
o o o
"We're going to Breadstix. You coming?" Puck asked, leaning against the door of his battered pickup full of pool cleaning equipment.
Santana paused with her hand on the door handle of Brittany's yellow Bug and stared at Lauren, who stood on the other side of Puck's truck. She had ceased to care a long time ago that her ex-boyfriend was dating Lauren – they had even gone to buy prom dresses together – but she sensed it would be dangerous for two fierce bitches to spend too much time together.
"Pass," Santana answered for herself and Brittany. "We need to go to the public library and find us some Shakespeare books."
"You're not serious. Is Santana Lopez going soft?"
"Screw you, Puck. You might not know the difference between Julius Caesar and Romeo and Juliet, but I'll have you know that I aced that unit in English class."
"Yeah, but we're doing this at a freaking Renaissance Faire. You know the guys are going to have to dress up in tights and stupid hats and stuff. Puckzilla's not down with that. No freaking way I'm auditioning for anything."
"Way to be a team player. I should have been lead singer at Nationals, and I will be the lead in this musical."
"The lead role is for a male," Lauren commented neutrally. "And did you seriously miss the contradiction in what you just said?"
"Everyone wants to be in the spotlight," Santana fired back.
"Not me. Not this time. I'm not right for the leads, so I'm not going for it." She shrugged. "It won't be any different from competitions where I harmonize in the background, and I'm perfectly happy with that anyway."
Santana suspected that was far from true. She kept up enough fronts to recognize one when she saw it, but before she could retort, Brittany interrupted the flow of conversation.
"A male what?"
"What?"
"You said the lead was a male. Like a male boy? Or a male cat? Or what?"
Lauren blinked. "Yeah, that trip to the library sounds like a good idea. Good luck."
Puck and Lauren drove off in the direction of Breadstix, leaving Santana and Brittany alone in the parking lot. The Latina girl turned to peer at her friend across the roof of the car. Sometimes, her comments were funny, but other times they made Santana worry about Brittany so much it twisted her stomach into knots. It was a hard world out there, and innocent souls like Brittany needed protection from all the bad waiting to abuse them.
"You're totally going to rock the musical," Brittany said, on the drive to the library. "If there's a bitch part in the play, Mr. Schue will totally give it to you, and then you'll be the most awesome person on stage and everyone will love you as much as I do."
Santana wanted to smile, but she couldn't shake the twisting in her stomach. "What about you, Britt? Do you want a part?"
"I heard one of Kurt's Gay School friends saying that the play was about fairies. I could totally be Tinkerbell."
"You totally could."
Santana swore that if it was last thing she did, Brittany would have a speaking part in the musical. She was about the worst teacher ever, though, and she knew it. Most of the Cheerios had been reduced to tears after Santana ripped them a new one for not picking up a routine quick enough. And as much as she could memorize sonnets and figure out their general meaning, she didn't think she could get Brittany to understand.
Damn it all. She was going to have to ask for help. Santana rolled her head to look over at Brittany, who was bobbing her head and singing along to Adele in the driver's seat. She could swallow her pride. Brittany was worth it.
o o o
Six of the Warblers had crammed themselves into David's Escalade, and they didn't bother hiding their grumbling. Nick and Trent had driven over with Blaine in the morning, and the return to Westerville with two extra bodies was more cramped than they'd anticipated.
"I swear to god that better be your inhaler poking me in the ass!" Wes snapped at Cameron.
"It is!" the other boy fired back. "But thanks for the huge compliment, Wesley."
"Well, we have all seen you in the shower."
Cameron lunged over Wes to throw a punch at Richard. "All right, Sir Richard of the Oh-So-Funny-Jokes, let's talk about what Honor told me about – "
Wes squawked as the two boys tried to start a fist fight around him. In the front seat, Trent almost missed his ringing phone. He saw Jeff's name on the caller ID and picked up just before it went to voicemail.
"Oh, man, do not ever tell Cameron and Wes that you told Flint he didn't have to wait for Nick. I think they'll overlook their differences and kill you for having an empty seat in the car," he said, by way of greeting.
"What the hell?" Luke's tinny voice demanded. "There's four of us stuck in the back of Thad's Range Rover and you've only got four people in Flint's car!"
"I fucking hate you guys!" Jesse agreed. "Get off my leg, dude!"
"Uh, yeah," Jeff said sheepishly. "This is a group call. Thad wanted to talk to the other Council members. He said we should put our phones on speaker."
That idea lasted approximately seven minutes. Wes, in the back of David's car, had to lean forward to be heard clearly through Flint's phone, and Cameron got sick of having Wes's rear end floating in front of his face, so he kept poking him with the inhaler.
"We can't be sure if – I will not miss you when I'm at college!" Wes shouted, rounding on Cameron. "I am this close to resigning right now and giving Blaine my gavel!" A rousing chorus of cheers echoing through Flint's speakerphone pushed Wes over the edge. "I'm calling an emergency Warblers meeting! David, Flint, Thad – drive to Dalton."
The custodian on duty was surprised to receive a call from Wes requesting he unlock the meeting room, but the Warblers rehearsed on campus often enough during the summer that he did it without question. He may have grumbled about power-hungry teenagers not sticking to their own rehearsal schedule, though.
"Someone please get Blaine on the telephone," Wes ordered as he took his seat at the center of the Council's table.
"Uh, Wes … he's with Kurt. We're not really going to … uh, interrupt?"
Wes glared daggers at Nick until he raised his hands in defeat. He took out his phone, and Jeff sitting beside him could clearly see Nick dialing his own cell phone number. "Straight to voicemail. I guess Blaine saw this coming."
"Smart," Jeff murmured.
"Just currying favor for solos next year. You'll mention this to Blaine?"
"Man, that's so Machiavellian. But, yeah, I'll tell him."
"While I'm hesitant to have this meeting without next year's Head Warbler here, it seems we have no choice. I, therefore, call this meeting to order. I know we're all excited about the musical Mr. Schuester has invited us to take part in, but I gather there are some concerns?"
"Yes, namely that the auditions won't be fair because Schuester favors New Directions," Thad said, summarizing the only point discussed in the seven minute phone call.
As various Warblers stood to share their opinion, Nick seriously considered truly calling Blaine about this. Their discussion was off balance without their voice of reason in the room. Nick didn't disagree with Thad, Schuester probably did favor New Directions, but that was only natural. What he didn't like hearing were the conspiracy theories.
"Council, if I may?" Nick said, standing after Luke took his seat again.
"The Council recognizes Warbler Nick."
"Probably it is true that Mr. Schuester favors his own students, just as I'm sure the Council favors the Warblers. Be that as it may, the Council has never denied there is talent in New Directions. We voted for Kurt to sing a duet at Regionals, and I've heard a lot of us compliment Rachel Berry's extraordinary voice. If we're able to be objective, then certainly so is a teacher. I think that focusing on the worst possible outcome will sabotage us. We should rehearse our audition songs and monologues so that when some of us win those lead roles, they won't be tokens to appease the rest of the group."
Nick regained his seat, and Jeff leaned over to him. "You know, if you'd spoken up like that in more meetings before now, you would have been voted onto the Council instead of me."
The dark-haired boy shrugged. "I never had to. Blaine was always here to do it."
"The Council agrees with Warbler Nick. Not only do we all have excellent voices, but a lot of us are in drama as well. I'll request the second choir room and auditorium are open to use tomorrow and Sunday for practice. Meeting adjourned."
o o o
"We should rehearse more," Kurt mumbled half-heartedly.
After leaving McKinley, they had gone for lunch and then returned to the Hudson-Hummel home. Flipping through Kurt's copy of The Complete Works of William Shakespeare had been perfunctory. The thick tome lay forgotten on the bedroom floor, accidentally kicked off the bed by one of Blaine's feet. For the last hour, Kurt had been draped over his boyfriend. Blaine, for his part, was doing his best to run his fingertips over every inch of Kurt's torso, neck, and face.
"Time for that when your parents get home," Blaine mumbled breathlessly.
Seeing the logic in this, Kurt pressed another heated kiss to his boyfriend's mouth. When he sighed happily, Kurt took the opportunity to slide his tongue inside Blaine's mouth again. Their tongues battled for dominance and sent surges of pleasure to Kurt's groin. He could feel Blaine's mutual hardness pressing into his thigh too.
"Unless we have to stop now?"
"Not yet," the countertenor whispered.
Blaine nearly ruined it all by moaning deliciously into their next kiss.
Sometimes, Kurt felt they had been only kissing for too long, especially after their intense make out sessions when Blaine had to go home and he was left to handle his arousal himself. He fantasized about more, and dreamed about it often too, but he didn't have the courage yet to ask Blaine about it, much less to slip his hands below his boyfriend's waist. Blaine was too much of a gentleman to push Kurt, and that was turning out to be a blessing and a curse.
Kurt's wandering mind betrayed him. He had been imagining Blaine's hands on him, and his cock had responded by hardening more. Reluctantly, he pulled out of the kiss and rolled off Blaine. The boys lay on their backs staring up at Kurt's ceiling with their hands intertwined. One day, Kurt would have enough courage to follow through on his desires, but not today.
"Sorry," he mumbled.
"Don't be. And don't think we have to do anything more than what you're comfortable with. You waited for me to open my eyes and finally see how perfect you are for me, Kurt. I'll wait for you until you're ready to take the next step."
Speeches like that almost made Kurt forget his unease and fear. Almost.
"So, does that mean you're ready for … more?" he asked uneasily.
Kurt was very aware that he was Blaine's first boyfriend too. The first time their making out had become heated enough to excite them, Kurt's body had responded first. He wouldn't forget the shock and bit of fear on Blaine's face. His reluctance to go further wasn't entirely selfish.
"Yeah … I think."
The honest hesitancy relaxed Kurt, and he tightened his hold on Blaine's hand. "I think I will be soon."
Eventually, their bodies quieted and it was safe to cuddle up together. Kurt put Ian McKellen's Richard III into his laptop and then joined Blaine at the headboard. They sank into the mound of pillows Blaine had gathered with their arms and ankles twined together.
"I wonder if the script has been adapted like this," Kurt pondered. "I think some of the themes could work well in a more modern setting. I hope the adapter hasn't changed the language, though. How awful would that be to lose the authenticity?"
"I don't know. It, uh, might be easier for some of your club."
Blaine's voice had taken on an apologetic tone, but he didn't point out anything Kurt hadn't already noticed. He nodded and turned his eyes away just as the tank crashed through the brick wall on screen.
"I'm going to offer to help Finn. Rachel will be too obsessed with getting the Hermia role to consider how difficult this will be for him. I read his essay on Hamlet for English last year …. I might mention it to Sam and Mercedes too."
"You're amazing, you know that?" Kurt couldn't keep the stars out of his eyes. "I can be there too, if you don't think they would mind. And you know all the Warblers are team players. Once we're all cast, they're going to be annoyingly helpful."
"I'll see if they want to get together this weekend for a pre-audition sleepover."
"Will your dad let me stay?" Blaine worried. "I mean, now that we're in love, he's even less likely to let that happen, right?"
After the exchange of 'I love you's in the Lima Bean, Kurt had spent all day in a deliriously happy fog. Even his pre-calc final hadn't seemed as awful as the studying had made it seem it would be. He had wandered into the house after school practically floating. Burt's amused, "What's gotten into you, kid?" had been answered honestly: "Blaine …," and here Burt had choked on his sandwich, "… loves me."
"You'll have to sleep on the floor in Finn's room. Or on a mattress on Finn's floor. I wouldn't lay on the actual carpet, if I were you. If I can convince Rachel to come too it won't be such a big deal since Finn's girlfriend will be in my room."
Burt arrived home a little after six o'clock and shouted up the stairs for Kurt to come help start dinner. Carole was working later than her usual shift change, and not long after Kurt and Blaine entered the kitchen, Finn called to ask if he could bring Rachel for Friday night dinner.
"Set the table for six," Burt said.
The Hudson-Hummels never doubted anymore that Blaine would stay for dinner if he was around. Mr. Anderson's tolerance of his son's sexuality extended only so far as he didn't see or hear about it. When as obviously besotted as Blaine was, it was difficult to hide.
Over dinner, the teenagers explained to Burt and Carole the musical Mr. Schuester was having them do over the summer. Their excitement – minus Finn, who only managed to hide his worry – was infectious. Even Carole, exhausted from a fourteen hour shift at the hospital, perked up.
Burt took Kurt's free wrist in his hand. "If you want to try out for a girl's part, you make sure Schuester knows we'll have a repeat of last time if he has a problem with it."
Blaine paused with a fork full of pot roast halfway to his mouth to grin lopsidedly at Kurt. After he'd heard Kurt sing "Blackbird," he couldn't get enough of his boyfriend's voice. He had cajoled Kurt into singing dozens of songs in his repertoire, and "Defying Gravity" had blown him away.
"Don't worry, dad, we're past that now. I auditioned for lead at Nationals with a girl's song, and Mr. Schuester was very impressed. But I won't be trying out for a girl's part this time. There are far more male parts, and they're – forgive me, Rachel – much better than the girls' roles."
Rachel sighed deeply. "I know, and it's totally unfair. There are really only three roles worth having: Hermia, Helena, and Titania. Competition will be fierce."
Kurt thought that was the right time to bring up the idea of having a sleepover to rehearse. At first, Rachel seemed opposed to helping her rivals, but Kurt communicated with a few punctuated looks that if she didn't agree, Blaine wouldn't be allowed to stay. Carole noted her husband fairly glaring at Blaine and interceded on the boys' behalf.
"I think that sounds like an excellent idea. And very generous of the boys to share the benefit of their private school education, isn't it, Burt?"
Burt made a noise in the back of his throat and said to Blaine, "You sleep on the floor in Finn's room."
"Yes, sir."
"Well, of course he will, Burt," Carole said, shaking her head. "Just like Rachel will sleep in Kurt's room."
"So what would the rule be for someone who is into boys and girls?" Finn questioned, spearing a piece of apple pie thoughtfully.
The table went silent for a moment before Rachel asked, "Is there something you want to tell us, Finn? Because I would be totally supportive, as long as you remained faithful and devoted to me alone."
"What? No." Kurt was impressed that his brother didn't sound the least bit defensive about it. "I just wondered because Sam hasn't had a girlfriend in a long time, and I mean, we all know about Santana and Brittany."
Burt shook his head in disbelief as he stood from the table. "I know this glee club makes you all happy, but it seriously concerns me sometimes."
o o o
"Oh, hell to the no, boy," Mercedes said with a giggle. She hated that it came out that way. Her phrase was meant to inspire respect in all who heard it. She found it hard to concentrate properly in her current position, though.
"Sorry," Sam murmured, his lips still pressed against her neck. He moved his hands away from her thighs to her hips and grinned into the kiss at her collarbone.
"You're pushing your luck, Trouty Mouth. You're lucky you're such a good kisser or I'd have to kick you out of my room."
She was just getting into her diva groove again when Sam turned her thoughts fuzzy by pressing a hot kiss to her mouth. If he kept it up, Mercedes didn't know how long her 'no touching below the waist' rule was going to last. She would make damned sure it was long enough that she wouldn't feel guilty sitting in church on Sundays and in glee club next to Quinn afterwards.
"I can go if you want," Sam teased, pulling away and pretending to climb off the bed.
"Oh, no, you don't."
She pulled him back onto the pillows beside her by his collar. Before they could resume their make out session, Mercedes's phone demanded R-E-S-P-E-C-T from the bedside table. She considered ignoring the text message, but it might be Kurt or Quinn saying they were coming over. Until Sam was ready to tell everyone about them – when he stopped feeling guilty that he couldn't take her out and buy her things – they had to stay vigilant.
"It's from Kurt," she said, reading the message. "He wants to have a sleepover. Oh … tomorrow night."
Sam leaned against the headboard, giving her room to text him back. He tried and failed to not look disappointed.
"I'm gonna tell him I can't come."
"What? No, you don't have to do that. You always have a good time with Kurt and Rachel at your sleepovers."
"Yeah," she ducked her head to find his eyes, "and I'll have a great time babysitting your brother and sister with you tomorrow. What seventeen-year-old girl doesn't secretly want to go to the playground at the park and watch Disney movies all day?"
"Seriously?"
"Boy, you don't even know."
Sorry, can't. I have plans tomorrow. –M
It didn't take Kurt thirty seconds to reply. We're practicing songs and monologues. You sure you can't come? –K
Mercedes looked up to tell Sam what Kurt had texted and saw her boyfriend reading a text on his own phone.
"Uh … Finn just invited me to stay over tomorrow night. Rachel and Kurt want to practice …." He trailed off when he saw Mercedes nodding. "Right. My parents probably won't be back until about ten or something. If you want to practice with them …."
"Nah, I think we got this. We'll work on it together tomorrow. Stevie and Stacy like singing, so we can perform for them, and we can practice lines when they get sick of hanging out with us."
Sorry, but no. –M
Sam sent a text to Finn a few seconds later. "Thanks, Mercedes. It's almost three. I told my mom I'd be back before then so she can go to a job interview in Columbus."
Mercedes said good-bye to Sam at the front door and returned to her room to hear her ringtone starting its second loop. She scooped it off the pillow where she'd dropped it and saw Kurt's name on the display.
"Hey, Kurt."
"Mercedes! So … you've got to tell me what's so important you can't come to a Kurt Hummel rehearsal sleepover. Is it a boy?"
She hesitated for a second too long. "Wha – No. It's, umm, my dad has a work thing … uh, a party for all the dentists in his practice."
"Oh. We can move it to Sunday night."
Sunday was Sam's day off, and his parents never had interviews. It was the one night they could be together, even if their date was only a DVD and bowl of popcorn in the Jones's living room. Mercedes chewed her bottom lip. She hated lying to Kurt, but she'd promised Sam she wouldn't say anything.
"You know I have church on Sunday night, Kurt."
"Mercedes …." He sounded like he wanted to say something that he knew she probably wouldn't take very well. "Listen, Blaine is going to be here too. We're going to help Finn with Shakespeare. You and Sam looked kind of freaked out about it today. Not that I'm sure why you were because you killed Lady Macbeth's lines when we read aloud in class."
Her lips pulled to the side in a guilty grimace as she tried to find any reasonable excuse for that. She wasn't worried about the audition at all. She had this, and she knew it. But Sam had looked so overwhelmed about reading Shakespeare ….
"And you and he both said … Oh my god, Mercedes! … You and Sam!"
She closed her eyes, never more thankful that her best friend couldn't see her right now. "Of course not, Kurt."
"Okay. Because you were the first person I called when Blaine and I started dating, and I hope I'm the first person you call when you have a boyfriend."
Mercedes chuckled and said honestly, "I promise you'll be the first to know."
"Well, if you do need help with lines after all, we'll be here all night tomorrow. Just me and Blaine. And Rachel and Finn. Wow … my dad is not going like this at all."
She said good-bye to Kurt and padded down to her brother's room to see if he had found time to clean the pool yet. His excuse that he had too many important things to do – Skype with his college friends, troll Facebook for mentions of parties around Lima, and read magazines – was getting old. She almost hoped that he still hadn't done as promise, though, so she could yell at him until he got off his lazy butt. It would distract her from the fact that she had just lied to her best friend in the whole world, the best friend who had trusted her with his closest secret when he'd told no one else.
