"You've got to be kidding me." the words fell from Blaine Anderson's lips as he sat opposite his two best friends in The Lima Bean his cup of coffee now abandoned in front of him. Wesley Hughes and David Sullivan exchanged long looks.
"You think we'd joke about something like this?" asked David finally. Blaine shook his head, gazing down into the brown liquid in the paper cup which he no longer felt inclined to drink. Wes leant forward a little bit, his elbows coming to rest on the round plastic table.
"It'll be okay." he told the pale Blaine. "It won't be like last time." Blaine looked back up at him, a mildly disbelieving look on his face.
"You really think that?" he asked.
"'Course." replied David. "Think about it." Blaine frowned at him and David sighed. "1." he began, brandishing his phone at Blaine. "You're not at Dalton anymore, 2. He no longer has your phone number, 3. I was under the impression he'd never been to your house, 4. You spend most of your time at Kurt's anyways and 5." he shrugged slightly. "We'll be keeping a close eye on him." Blaine licked his lips nervously.
"Who's we?" Wes rolled his eyes.
"Err how about, myself, David, Thad, Nick, Jeff and Trent, not to mention the rest of our year and most of the year below." Blaine nodded, a slight frown forming across his brow.
"Does Trent know everything?" he asked.
"No." responded David. "But he's agreed completely to keep an eye on him because they're in the same house."
"What?" asked Blaine, slightly surprised.
"Yeah." said Wes. "I don't think the faculty wanted him back in Jefferson so they put him in Adams." Blaine nodded.
There were three houses at Dalton Academy; Washington was the house of all the overachievers and scholars, Adams for the sports fanatics and artists and Jefferson which held the overall amount of Warblers and a general hodgepodge of other students. Jefferson was Blaine, and Kurt's, old house and where all his close friends roomed. As it also happened Washington and Adams were engaged in a bitter rivalry that stemmed, according to popular legend, back to the founding of Dalton. The war essentially boiled down to academic students vs. non-academic students with Jefferson students skirting around the edges, stepping in if anything got too out of hand. The divides between Washington and Adams, and Jefferson's unwillingness to get dragged down into it meant that it was very unlikely to have a close friend in another house. It was only likely to be the case if you were in a club like the Warblers which was the most diverse club. This was how Blaine was pretty good friends with Trent who was in Adams.
"So I guess we just sit it out?" he asked his two friends, looking highly uncomfortable at the idea.
"Yeah." said Wes. "Don't visit Dalton and we'll do everything we can to make sure that he doesn't find out where you are."
"I don't want you guys getting hurt again." he blurted out. David smiled at him.
"We won't." he said.
"You can't promise that." he said.
"Look Blaine." said Wes, a very placating tone in his voice that Blaine didn't think he'd ever heard him use before. "It's you and Kurt that are going to be in real danger. We just want to work on keeping you safe. If anything goes array at all we'll tell the faculty, he's walking on thin ice, he can't afford to screw up." Blaine nodded and then shook his head.
"All we need now is for Seb to turn back up." he said, humourlessly. David rolled his eyes.
"Yeah like that's going to happen." Wes snorted into his coffee cup which he'd been about to take a sip from but then lowered when he realised it was cold.
"But we have told Ian." he said.
"What?" Blaine's loud exclamation made several people sitting nearby look around in alarm. After mouthing sorry at them he turned to fix an unreadable glare at his friends. "You're still in touch with Ian?" he asked, amazed.
"What?" said David, confused. "You're not?"
"No." said Blaine. "I stopped hearing from him around Regionals last year." Wes and David shared a significant look with each other before turning back to Blaine.
"I see." said David. "You didn't think that was odd."
"No." said Blaine shrugging. "You know how it is, people grow apart. I assumed he had something taking up his time, I know I did." Wes and David once more exchanged a look.
"Yes." said Wes slowly. "Well the rest of us are still in touch with him."
"After all." cut in David. "Him and Jeff did have a thing." Blaine rolled his eyes.
"That was never going to last." he said. "Anyone with half an eye can see that Jeff's head over heels for Nick, even Nick knows." They all shook their heads, thinking over the unfortunate situation.
"He's getting there though." said David finally. "It's a definite up from where we were last year."
"Yeah but on the downside now that Blaine and Kurt have gone we have to listen to his dramatics over and over." complained Wes. Blaine snorted and the two of them turned to glare at him. "Don't laugh Blainey boy you don't seem to understand how much we suffered when you and Kurt weren't together." Blaine slapped a hand to his forehead.
"Not this again." he groaned but Wes and David ignored him.
"Let's see." said Wes. "There was Kurt's compulsive playing of 'Teenage Dream' on loop, I wanted to shoot myself." Blaine groaned and hid his face.
"And then, after the 'Gap Attack' disaster and Kurt's subsequent confession I had to suffer through your 'why is he ignoring me?' dramatics." said David, an overly pained look on his face.
"And then." continued Wes. "When you realised you loved him we all had to suffer through you playing 'Blackbird' for the whole corridor to hear."
"And I was subjected to the tortures of Blaine picking the perfect song for their duet."
"And lastly." said Wes in a very loud voice. "When you finally got together we had to deal with your mushiness."
"Actually that wasn't the last thing." pointed out David. "When Kurt went we had to listen to you playing 'Teenage Dream'."
"And 'Somewhere Only We Know' and 'Candles' and Blackbird'."
"Thank you Wes, and 'Somewhere Only We Know' and 'Candles' and Blackbird', on continuous loop."
"Whilst you stared at your phone waiting for a text from Kurtie." Blaine peered up from between his fingers.
"Are you done yet?" he asked.
"Not quite." replied Wes.
"Get on with it." he said.
"With pleasure." came Wes' chirpy response. "We swear that we all were nearly happy when you left."
"Not that we don't miss you." added David hurriedly.
"It's just your dramatics about Kurt were getting irritating." Blaine rolled his eyes.
"Yes I understand that you've suffered greatly for me, though I'm not the only one who spends hours staring at their phone." David semi glared at him.
"That's different."
"Yeah, I guess, but I wasn't that bad." Wes and David began to grin like maniacs. "But anway I feel like we've rather gone off topic."
"Have we?" they asked simultaneously and Blaine was forced once more to roll his eyes.
"Look Blaine don't fret." Blaine raised an eyebrow at Wes' choice of word. "We've got this."
"For now." added David. Wes elbowed him but Blaine was smiling, he had been more worried when they'd been acting odd and out of character.
"Yeah. I better go then, Kurt'll be waiting for me, we have a Disney marathon planned, guess I need it now more than ever." the three boys stood up and Wes and David began to pull back on their Dalton blazers.
"When do you plan to tell Kurt?" asked David as they wended their way between tables to the exit. Blaine bit the inside of his lip and considered playing dumb but it was obvious what David was talking about.
"Never." he said finally. "Not if I can help it." Wes and David shared looks.
"Are you sure that's wise?" asked Wes. Blaine stared his best friends down.
"Yes, I'm sure." they exchanged more looks before shrugging.
"Whatever you say dude." said David and Wes just nodded. The three of them hugged goodbye and they left calling out for him to stay safe.
Burt watched Blaine watch the two Dalton boy's he semi-recognised drive away. He had been stopping off for coffee after returning a car to someone. He'd heard from Kurt, who positively raved about the café, that The Lima Bean was a good place for a cup of coffee. He'd been sitting there enjoying it when he noticed the two boys in Dalton blazers. Both boys had cups of coffee and the black one was furiously texting whilst nodding along to whatever the Asian boy was saying. He'd been trying to work out why they seemed familiar when the door had been pushed open and in came Blaine. He didn't look around but made a beeline for the two boys and gratefully took a cup that the Asian looking one offered him. The moment he sat down the three of them began to partake in a very serious looking conversation. Now normally Burt Hummel wasn't the kind of man that eavesdropped on other people, he respected other people's privacy, but two things worried him about this. One was that he was pretty sure Kurt had said that Blaine was going to be coming over today and the heated nature of their conversation. Burt, concern for Kurt and Blaine in his mind, got up and moved across to a nearer table but still so that they wouldn't see him. He listened, with growing concern, to their conversation. The problem was, was that he'd missed the beginning and they were clearly talking about something that didn't need to be spelt out because they all knew what was going on. However he was worried when one of them had said that Kurt was in danger and the fact that Blaine didn't want to tell Kurt whatever was going. That worried him a lot.
"Need a hand?" Blaine, who had been trying to start his car looked up to see Mr Hummel standing by his door. Blaine jumped and then scrolled down the window.
"Err, yeah I can't get my car to start." he said, looking a little sheepish. Burt smiled at him.
"Okay I'll just pop up the bonnet and see if there's something I can do." Blaine smiled back in relief and then hopped out. Burt walked round the front and popped open the bonnet. After taking a careful look inside he realised he didn't have the tools to fix this here. "Right." he said, closing the bonnet again. "I'll need to take this back to the garage, it should be done by the time you plan to leave Kurt's." Blaine nodded. "For now I suggest you hop in my car and we tow your's along." Blaine grinned.
"Thanks Mr Hummel!" he exclaimed. He pulled something out of his car and waited patiently whilst Burt hooked the two cars together.
"Hop in." Burt said to Blaine when he noticed Blaine was still standing by the door. Blaine opened the door and settled into the passenger seat.
"So." said Burt, after they'd been driving for a little while. "Meeting up with your old friends?"
"Err." said Blaine, scratching the back of his neck nervously. "Yeah, Wes and David, have been my best friends there since I transferred." Burt nodded.
"Were they friends with Kurt, the names sound familiar."
"Err." said Blaine again. "Yeah, Wes was Kurt's roommate, David was mine, and both Wes and David were on the Warbler council." Burt nodded, wondering where best to go with this. He wanted to get answers to his many questions about the conversation he'd overheard but he'd learnt awhile ago that Blaine was very private and he didn't give up things easily.
"Do you see them a lot?" he asked, trying to keep the conversation going.
"No not really." said Blaine, trying to get comfortable in the tense atmosphere. "I mean, I want to but they're so far away and I spend so much of my time with Kurt…" he trailed off at the mention of Kurt looking slightly nervous. Burt nodded.
"Yes I'm not surprised, you two seem to be in love. You know I hated the idea of my son having a boyfriend but I don't mind you." Blaine looked at him and Burt gave him a smile. "I've noticed how happy you make Kurt, how you transferred to be with him, how you share everything." he glanced briefly at him out of the corner of his eye and noticed Blaine squirm when he gave his last point. "You okay?" he asked.
"Yeah." said Blaine. "Just got some surprising news from my friends today."
"Oh?" said Burt. Blaine looked up at Mr Hummel, unsure why he suddenly felt like he could talk to his boyfriend's dad.
"Yeah, have you ever… fallen out with someone really, really badly. Have you ever been glad to see the back of someone you once cared about and be glad that you'll probably never see them again?" Burt honestly couldn't say he'd ever felt like that but he nodded along for the sake of it. Blaine continued anyway. "Then suddenly, out of the blue they just turn up and you don't want to see them but they want to see you and you're really worried about what's going to happen, that's what I found out today." Burt looked at Blaine. He knew he'd definitely been told a mangled version of what had happened and he was 100% sure that Blaine was hiding far more than he was telling.
"Sounds rough." Burt said eventually. Blaine nodded.
"Yeah, but it's more stressful than anything. I mean, my Dalton friends have promised to try and control the situation but you just can't help but worry." Burt Hummel nodded again.
"I'm sure nothing will happen." Blaine gave him a grimace but nodded.
"Yeah my friends have yet to let me down." Burt smiled knowing he wasn't going to get anything more out of Blaine.
They spent the rest of the car journey talking about how Blaine was doing at McKinley and the upcoming school production of West Side Story in which Blaine was going to play Tony. Burt was a little annoyed that he'd piped Kurt for the lead but he couldn't deny, after Kurt had made him watch the film, that Blaine was better suited to the part than Kurt. As far as Burt was aware Kurt was playing Officer Krupke and whilst he wasn't overly thrilled with it but he was quite happy.
"I'll fix your car." said Burt as he opened the front door to let Blaine in.
"Thank you so much." he said looking very sincere.
"Blaine?" Kurt came running down the stairs and along the hallway. His feet were in fluffy socks and, as he always did, he lost his balance and slid into Blaine's arms. "Hey." he said.
"Hey." replied Blaine and held him as close as he could with Burt in close proximity.
"Have fun guys, stick to the rules." Burt left and Kurt turned back to Blaine.
"Where were you?" he asked instantly. "You just left straight after school."
"Oh." said Blaine. "I got a text from Wes and David, they wanted to see me." Kurt looked mildly hurt.
"What? So you just left? You said you were coming to mine." Blaine shrugged.
"I come to yours everyday but I've barely seen them since I left Dalton. I wanted to tell you but I couldn't see you, I thought you'd understand. Besides it sounded kind of urgent." Kurt frowned.
"What do you mean?"
"They needed to talk to me, it's kind of private though." Kurt frowned a little more than asked.
"Are they finally going to admit their love for each other?" asked Kurt. Blaine laughed.
"Nope but apparently Nick is going somewhere with his deep internal searching." Kurt smiled.
"I take it's going in the right direction."
"So they say." said Blaine. "So what film are we watching." Kurt smiled at him.
"I was thinking Hercules." he said and Blaine smiled.
"A perfect choice."
It wasn't till they had reached 'I Won't Say I'm in Love' that Blaine was completely relaxed and he had almost forgotten his problems. When the final credits rolled Kurt was sniffling slightly and Blaine popped in The Little Mermaid and watched Ariel swim through the sea and fall in love with contentment.
"How did he take it?" asked Thad. David, who still had his mobile clutched in his hand and was occaisionally stealing glances at it, and Wes were sitting with their backs to Thad's bed. On it lounged Nick and Jeff. Thad, who was staring at Wes and David, was sitting in his armchair in the corner of his room. Once again Thad was rooming alone as, after Blaine and Kurt left, Wes moved into David's room which left Jeff alone, still, and Nick with Thad. Thad, who was being driven mad by Nick, wrote a letter to their Head of House saying that Jeff and Nick had matured, which was a lie, and could room together. Mr Williams, the Head of Jefferson, believed Thad and agreed to let them move back together. Now, whenever they all wanted to get together in private, they piled into Thad's cramped room.
"Okay." said David. Wes nodded.
"Definitely better than we thought." he corroborated.
"I guess that's all we can hope for." Thad said, tapping his pen against the arm of his chair. Jeff, flicking his hair, said
"I reckon we can damage control this." he said.
"Yeah." agreed Nick. "This isn't like last time, we know exactly what he's capable and we don't have any other distractions."
"Are you sure?" asked David.
"Yeah." said Wes. "We have to look out for Kurt."
"No we don't." disagreed Thad. "Blaine will look out for Kurt, we'll keep an eye on Neil." There was a round of cautious nodding. Then someones mobile went off.
"Not me." said David as they all looked at him. "Mine's on vibrate. Besides, why would I have the latest Warbler number as my ring tone?" All eyes turned to Thad as he pulled it out of his pocket and looked at the new text message sign.
"It's from Trent." he said.
"What's it say?" asked Jeff who was examining Thad's essay, looking for something he could plagiarise.
"He says that Neil wants to try for the Warblers, again." There was a loud exclamation 'what's?' and 'surely not'.
"Can't you guys stop him though?" asked Nick.
"Nope." came David's instant reply. "That would undermine the Warblers."
"Besides." said Wes. "We don't decide, not really, it's up to you."
"Which means he's almost certain to get in." said Thad in hopeless voice. "Most of the Sophomores and Freshmans think he's been unjustly done and quite a lot of the Juniors are prepared to turn over a new leaf. It's only our year that are hell bent against him." There were a round of sighs.
"Besides before Blaine came it was him and Bas that were trying for solos." said Wes. "Then Bas sorta dropped out and it was Blaine and him time after time, remember their duets?" he asked and everyone else nodded.
"Basil never stopped though." pointed out Jeff with a sigh. "If he had things might have been different."
"I doubt it." said Thad. "Seb didn't do himself any favours and whilst I gave him a chance each time I saw that 'stalker smirk' appear on his face I got worried."
"If he gets in it means that they'll meet at Sectionals." said David, though he didn't need to.
"Should we tell Blaine?" asked Nick. Wes shook his head.
"Let's wait till he gets in, then we'll tell him." the five boys fell silent staring at each other. They knew that this wasn't going to get better anytime soon.
"Thad! Thad!" Thad turned around to see Daniel, a new member of the Warblers who was in Adams, running towards him, his blazer flapping and back hanging off his shoulder a piece of paper scrunched in his hand.
"Woah!" he said holding up his hands to stop the boy running into him. "Slow down, it's not even first period and it's Monday you cannot have that amount of energy." Daniel gave a shuddery laugh.
"Jeff and Nick do, they're playing catch in the library." Thad ran a hand down his face.
"Thanks but I guess that's not what you want to tell me."
"No I got given this by Mr Antons who got if off the Principal." Mr Antons was Head of Adams and so Thad took it a little cautiously, hoping it wasn't anything to do with Neil. It seemed for Thad, however, today was not his day as the first sentence read
This note is concerning Neil's retrial for the Warblers.
He sighed as he read the rest of the note and a frown grew on his face. "We don't get a say in this do we?" he asked in an angry tone, Daniel shook his head.
"I'm sorry."
"Not your choice." he said. "Spread the word seeing as you seem to have a load of energy, I need to talk to Wes and David." he left Daniel muttering things like 'undermining the authority of the council' and 'completely disgraceful'. Daniel pulled out his phone texted as many he could and run off to try to find the rest of the Warblers.
"What?" exclaimed Wes and David in complete unison. Thad had found them in the library trying to persuade Ms Quincy, the librarian, not to ban Jeff and Nick. Thad had managed to smooth it over as he was without a doubt the most sensible of the friends and pulled them out of the library.
"We have to meet at lunch?" cried Jeff, aghast. Thad glared at him, successfully silencing him.
"Yes we do, for Neil's audition!"
"But that's unfair." said Nick. "The Warblers isn't just rearranged for it's members they have to make the effort to be there, not the other way around."
"I know but Neil has counselling." said Thad in a scathing tone. "Which means the Principal sees fit to make us rearrange our practise for him." there was a moment of silence in which Thad silently seethed.
"At least we now know how he got back in, at least part of how." said David. Thad clenched his teeth.
"That doesn't help me."
"Let's just go to class." suggested Wes. "At least the meet will be short." the others nodded and split, running down the corridor so that they'd make it just before the bell rang.
Thad sat next to Jeff in his first class; AP Calculus. Calculus, and maths in general, was the only subject that Jeff excelled in. Jeff was actually dyslexic and had problems spelling and reading. It had taken Thad, and Wes and David, a long time to learn this as Jeff had been mildly ashamed of it and only Nick knew. Thad had been quite surprised when he discovered because Jeff always read what was on the sheet music perfectly, but then again the words were rarely proper words and the ones that were, were infrequent. Thad also learnt that he'd learnt his audition song by ear and the only thing he could actually read properly was music. Thad had started to help him because reading was a passion of his and slowly he was sure that Jeff was improving. It was good to have Jeff in this class because most of the class were in Washington and most of the people in his other classes were Washington's too. His friends always made fun of the fact that he should have been in Washington but he also sketched and drew in charcoal well enough to be in Adams.
This lesson they spent mostly talking about Neil and the new situation that they found themselves in as well as texting Ian underneath the table. Ian had moved to Tacoma in Washington and now attended Julian Farrow Academy there which was a co-ed, private, day school that was pretty much free of bullying. He'd moved after he'd nearly been stabbed to death by some boys from his school in an alley. His dad, who worked in a chain of fishmongers, was lucky enough to discover that they owned a chain up there, very near the school Ian went to. They'd moved not long after all the shit hit the fan two years ago and they hadn't seen them again. Jeff, thankfully, had broken up with him before that. If he hadn't it would probably have caused far too much extra drama.
After that he headed off to English whilst Jeff departed for Chemistry. Jeff met up with both Wes and Nick for Chemistry but was forced to stop his under the desk conversation with Ian for fear of making Wes' track record in the lab even worse. As it was he might as well as carried on texting because Nick looked away from their practical work just long enough for Wes to pour what he thought was water into a beaker over a Bunsen. It caught fire instantly and shattered the glass and burnt Wes' hands as it turned out he'd somehow mixed up water and methanol, which was highly flammable. Nick escorted him to the clinic whilst Jeff paired up with the other people on their bench who hadn't even flinched when Wes had caused the giant fire. Mrs Shafts, his chemistry teacher and who also the Head of Washington, cleared up the mess and gave him a talking too for not watching Wes closely enough. The words fell dead to his ears, he'd heard it all before.
Nick carefully escorted Wes to the clinic on the other side of campus. As always Wes was putting a stoic face whenever he got hurt. His hands were blistering and they'd need to be bandaged up, Nick-having been in Wes' Chemistry class for the past three years-had seen it all before. When they got to the clinic they were mildly surprised to find David sitting there whilst Doctor Gardener bound up his foot. She immediately stopped when she saw Wes and called for her assistant, Nurse Fletcher, to finish David whilst she tended to Wes. Nick sat down on the edge of David's bed.
"What happened?" he asked. David grimaced as his ankle was tightly bound.
"Neil." he said through gritted teeth. Nick raised his eyebrows.
"What did he do?"
"Stamped on my foot after tackling me to the ground." Nick winced.
"Didn't you have shin guards?" he asked.
"Yeah but they're called shin guards for a reason." said David in an angry voice. Nick raised his hands in defence.
"Sorry." he said. "Can you come to the lunch meet?" he asked.
"Yeah it's not broken just kind of bruised and I think I damaged it when I fell over. I won't even need crutches." Nick nodded and Wes came back a couple of minutes later.
"Thank you for bringing him here Mr Duval you can go back to your lesson." Nick winked at Wes and David and left as he heard Wes ask David what had happened to him.
The last lesson before lunch for Nick was AP Environmental Science. He'd elected to take that instead of Physics because the maths in physics did his head in. Nick couldn't get his head around numbers most of the time. In fact it was only thanks to Jeff's genius that he hadn't flunked algebra and trigonometry when he'd taken them. Nick wasn't really very good at maths or essay writing subjects, he'd probably be okay at English if he went to a public school but the standards at Dalton were a little too high for him and he consistently fell below average in most subjects. Some of the time he was surprised he hadn't been asked to leave Dalton because of his grades. It wasn't like he was David and, though he wasn't great at any subject except History-David could just memorise dates like that, he was the best player on the Football team, better than all the Washington's. Dalton needed David to win the inter-school league. Thad was an all round brain-box and Wes could just about hold his own in everything except science. If Wes ever flunked a class it was because he'd lost concentration, it was really the only reason he failed Chemistry, his mind wandered off and he got distracted. Then again Nick was fluent in French and almost fluent in Spanish and German, though he was only fluent in French because his father was French. Still it seemed to be enough to keep him in school.
Thad, Wes and David were the first to the Warbler meeting. Wes and David had left the clinic early, David leaning on Wes' shoulder and limping slightly. Thad had gotten himself let out of class five minutes early and had promptly headed to the hall to dig out the gavel and check his phone to see if he'd had anything from Trent. Thankfully he only had a text from Nick though he when he read it he wasn't that relieved anymore. Whilst Wes injuring himself in Chemistry was nothing new, Neil attacking David in Football was something to worry over. When they both arrived Wes attempted to pick up the gavel, winced and promptly dropped causing him to go into sulk mode and David did his compulsive missed call or new text message check. Nick and Jeff filed in with a couple of other boys in their house. They took the nearest sofa to the desk and waited for everyone else to arrive. Trent was last to arrive he was on his own and set Neil was in the antechamber waiting to be called for his audition. Wes picked up the gavel to call order but dropped it again. However the ensuing clang was enough to call all the Warblers' attention.
"Order." said Thad. "We are here to consider welcoming another student to our number. Trent if you would." The normally lively and lippy Warbler got up with an unusual amount of gravity and pulled open the two doors to the antechamber. Through them, his blonde hair as short as possible without it being stubble, and a new pair of glasses perched on the bridge of his nose, strolled Neil Gretchen.
"Newell"
"Neil." he interrupted and David glared at him.
"Gretchen." said David in a voice that was laced with thinly veiled dislike. "Do you have a song for us?"
"Of course I do." he was holding an acoustic guitar in his left hand and smoothly placed the strap around his shoulders. Without waiting for further questions or prompting he began to sing.
Everybody's lookin' for love, oh, oh
Thad winced when he heard the first line of the song. It seemed that Neil's singing ability hadn't diminished over the years, if anything Thad was pretty sure that it had just gotten better. There was no way he wasn't getting into the Warblers.
Ain't that the reason you're at this club, oh, oh
Wes prevented a sigh from escaping his lips as he turned to look at David. David was staring at Neil with an inscrutable expression. Wes turned back to Neil, well aware that if he auditioned like this for a solo he could well be singing lead at Sectionals.
You ain't gon' find it dancin' wit' him, no hoh
David kept an impassive face on as he stared at Neil, not letting any of the emotion he was feeling inside spill out onto his features. Apart of him was willing for him to mess up, literally praying for him to sing off-key or to misplay a couple of notes on his guitar. The other part of him was seriously worried about the lyrics of this song because, seriously, if he was singing this song about Blaine-and David was 99.9% sure he was-those were some incredibly worrying lyrics.
I got a better solution for you, girl, oh, oh
Jeff and Nick raised their eyebrows at each other. Not only was his voice dramatically better but he was also singing some very creepy lyrics that were undoubtedly aimed at Blaine. Jeff, with his eyebrows mouthed at Nick.
'Get your game on' and Nick grimaced and nodded. Ever since Blaine had left Nick had managed to squeeze his way into lead soloist position in the Warblers, mainly by piping Jeff at every audition. Now from the way things were sounding over at McKinley, Blaine was establishing himself as a lead and Neil just couldn't sing lead at Sectionals against him, it just couldn't happen.
Just leave wit' me now
Say the word and we'll go
Most of the other Warblers were enjoying the song, oblivious to their Council Members, soloist's and second soloist's inner turmoil. The members from the younger years were swaying along, enjoying the smooth acoustic tones of the guitar and Neil's calm baritone voice that exuded a quiet passion and forcefulness. They swayed along in time
I'll be your teacher; I'll show you the ropes
You'll see a side of love you've never known
The members who remembered Neil being expelled seemed torn. All of the people who were in Jefferson did not move along, remembering how Blaine had been after it had ended. The students in Adams swayed a little, being the most impartial towards him but the Washington's stayed stock still as well, except for a couple who believed he would always be a Jefferson.
I can see it goin' down, goin' down
In my head, I see you all over me
In my head, you fulfil my fantasy
Some of the Warblers began to harmonise in with his song which was a sure sign that he was going to get in, and if there wasn't a majority he'd have a good shot at repealing the decision and getting the music teachers in.
In my head, you'll be screamin' out
In my head, it's goin' down
Thad started to try and count the number of people humming along, some where doing it without any enthusiasm, purely because that's what everyone else was doing. There were others that had the focused look in their eyes, the kind of look they got when they were performing. It was going to be close, there was still a lot of hate for Neil, even if nearly everyone didn't know the full story.
In my head, it's goin' down
In my head
There was a good deal of applause after he finished singing. Even Wes, David, Thad, Nick and Jeff applauded, but that was merely to be polite.
"Order!" called Wes, not bothering to use his gavel, and all the Warblers settled down. "Those in favour of voting in Newell
"Neil."
"It's a formality, you'll be called by your nickname if you're accepted so shut up, Gretchen?" an array of hands went up and Thad stood up to count them. He sat back down again, his face mask-like.
"A majority, welcome back into the fold Neil Warbler."
"We need to tell Blaine." said Thad, the moment the door closed and the six of them were left alone in the room.
"Now?" asked Wes.
"Yeah." said Nick. "Now."
"We'll have to cut class." pointed out Jeff, glancing at Thad.
"This is more important." said Thad instantly. They all nodded.
"What are we waiting for?" asked David tucking his phone back into his pocket. "Let's roll." they headed out of the room and saw Trent leaning against the wall near the antechamber.
"Whatcha doing?" asked Jeff.
"Waiting for Neil." he replied and was greeted with smiles from all of them.
"Thanks for doing this." said Thad.
"Hey." replied Trent. "Just because we ain't in the same house, don't mean we can't be friends." he waggled his finger at them and they smiled even wider.
"That's more like Trent." muttered David in an audible whisper. Trent cast him a glare before saying.
"I'll see you, Nick and Jeff in class."
"Ah." said Nick. "About that, we're going to tell Blaine that Neil's back 'in the fold', can you make up an excuse for why we're gone?" Trent glared at him.
"Absolutely not! I ended up in detention last time I covered for you."
"Oh please!" begged Jeff pulling his puppy-dog impression on Trent. Trent rolled his eyes.
"Fine but I'm not doing it for the rest of you."
"That's cool with us!" cried David as he began to tow Wes and Thad away, which was impressive considering his damaged ankle. Jeff grabbed Nick's hand in a way that might have been awkward considering Nick was fully aware that Jeff was in love with him but was actually completely comfortable for both.
Blaine sat at the back of the choir room listening to Mr Schue drone on and on about something. Normally Blaine would be on the edge of his seat wondering whether he might get another solo or listening to hear how he thought the musical was going, but today Blaine was distracted incredibly so. He'd been off all weekend. The news of Neil's return was going round and round his head like a siren. He couldn't think of anything else and the worst thing was, was that Kurt had definitely noticed something was up with him and so had a couple of other New Directions members like Rachel and Mercedes. Now he could see Mr Schue glancing at him weirdly. He was onto him too. Goddamn.
A knock on the door interrupted Mr Schue's rant about teamwork and unity. Blaine looked up and smiled when he saw his five close Dalton friends standing there. The smile slid, however, when he saw that Wes' hands were bandaged and David was leaning on Thad's shoulder, his foot resting gingerly on the floor. He rose from his chair as everyone else looked confused at them.
"We're not here to spy." said Thad immediately. "We just really need to talk to Blaine." Mr Schue looked at Blaine and was surprised to see him already halfway across the choir room. Kurt had stood up from his seat.
"What are you guys-" he began but David cut across him.
"Hey Kurt, we just really need to talk to Blaine, we'll have him back to your loving arms and skin-tight jeans soon enough." Kurt's lips twitched at the reference to 'Teenage Dream' but he didn't stop looking concerned.
"What's going on?" asked Blaine the moment they'd got out of the choir room and closed the door.
"Can we go somewhere private?" asked Thad. Blaine nodded.
"The auditorium is empty." Blaine hooked an arm around David's shoulder and helped him limp towards their auditorium.
"Well?" he asked the moment he'd settled David on the piano stool.
"Neil's back in the Warblers." said Nick bluntly. Blaine felt like someone had punched his gut. He felt his knees turn to jelly and Thad helped down onto the stool next to David.
"What?" he said. "But-but he can't be." They others looked sympathetically down at him.
"Sorry Blaine but he got a majority vote." said Wes. "We couldn't stop him." Blaine ran a hand over his face.
"He's gonna find out where I am." he muttered to himself. "He might even find out about Kurt. He might guess, it doesn't take a genius to work out he's gay." David raised a hand and placed it on Blaine's shoulder.
"Don't worry Blaine, we'll think of something."
"What?" cried Blaine, slightly annoyed by his friend's outlook.
"I don't know! But right now I'm sitting here with a bloody painful ankle because your ex decided to stamp on it with studs on!" Blaine took a deep shuddering breath after David had finished his rant and then buried his head in his hands.
"I'm so sorry." he mumbled.
"Now Blaine." said Thad, squatting down before him and lightly taking his wrists. "We've been through this, no blaming yourself. It's not your fault he's the way he is."
"Yeah." said Jeff. "We wouldn't want to loose our Blainey Bear." Jeff smothered him in a hug as Nick said.
"Nope, we can't have Blainey Bear lost in the Dark Forest, Grawp will kill him." Blaine let out a weak chuckle as Nick hugged him from the other side. Both Wes and David leaned in, David against Nick and Wes Jeff. The six of them stayed like that for quite some time until Thad said
"You know if you still feel rotten you could always sing." Blaine smiled properly.
"Yeah I could, I suppose I could."
Kurt hadn't liked it when Blaine walked off. He didn't like that Blaine was keeping secrets from him. He didn't like that he wasn't the one being left out of this secret. Sure he wasn't that close to the other boys as Blaine had been, or was, but he still counted them as friends. Wes and David he definitely knew well, he hadn't really seen Thad much as he stayed holed up in another room and as the first time he'd met Jeff and Nick properly was when they'd got through for the solos and he hadn't and after that he'd been slightly on edge around them. Plus when he'd been at Dalton he'd either been working through the mountain of catch up work he'd been set and trying to make Blaine's his. The time he realised the Warblers actually liked him was when they'd unanimously voted for him to get the solo at Regionals.
The thing was, was that it was a secret involving Blaine and he didn't like that at all. That was why he'd gotten up not long after Blaine had left and followed him. The rest of the New Directions after calling for Kurt to stop, followed him out of the room.
When Kurt found them in the auditorium he saw a very strange sight. Thad was squatted down in front Blaine and holding his wrists, both Jeff and Nick seemed to be smothering him in hugs and David and Wes were leaning into the funny embrace. Kurt stared at the scene trying to understand it. Before he could reach a conclusion they all got up except for Blaine who swivelled himself around on the piano stool to face the keys. The others leant against the body of the piano staring at Blaine as he began to play. Kurt frowned as he recognised the intro-melody, why was Blaine singing that? All the other New Direction members looked at each other, also confused.
Once upon a time, I believe it was a Tuesday
When I caught your eye
Blaine had his eyes closed as he remembered all the times before he'd tried to sing this but stopped because he just hadn't been able to remember and relive it all.
And we caught onto something, I hold on to the night
You looked me in the eye and told me you loved me
Blaine sat opposite Neil in the latest fancy restaurant Neil was treating him too. They had both finished their mains and now were onto coffee and desert. Blaine had a piece of chocolate fudge cake and Neil had a treacle tart that Blaine had been very tempted to try. Neil caught him staring at it and cut off a piece and proffered it to him on the end of his fork. Blaine looked around nervously.
"No one cares." murmured Neil, his voice as low as the flickering candle. "All the people here are here with their lovers." Blaine's lips twitched and he cautiously took a bite. He smiled the second he had swallowed.
"That's delicious." he gasped. Neil smiled.
"It's almost as sweet as you." Blaine felt his heart and stomach flip. Neil set down his fork and rested his hand on top of Blaine's. "I know you may not be ready for this but I can't keep it inside of me anymore. Blaine, I love you." Blaine flushed crimson and he was pretty sure someone had just blown up his heart like a balloon.
"I-I..I love you too." he stammered and Neil's smile widened his eyes never leaving Blaine's.
"Come here." he said, raising his other hand to cup Blaine's cheek. Blaine leant forward and their lips met in the middle of the table, over the candle's flame and on the table their fingers intertwined.
Were you just kidding? 'Cause it seems to me
Blaine felt his back slam into the wall and his back throbbed. This wasn't what he wanted but his protests might have well have not been delivered at all. He closed his eyes and tried to remember the gentle touch he'd fallen in love with but he couldn't he just couldn't because it was the same one and it was all a lie.
And I stare at the phone and he still hasn't called
Blaine lay hidden underneath the blankets his phone in hand. He'd just called Ian, he'd texted him a dozen times. Please call me back, he begged silently, please. He could hear David moving around as quietly as he could, cursing whenever his phone went off, so that he wouldn't wake the sleeping, he thought, Blaine who was trying to get rid of a stomach ache. He had no idea that the part of Blaine that ached the least was his stomach, nor of the tears that were streaming down his face.
And then you feel so low, you can't feel nothin' at all
Blaine had always thought he was strong. He'd always thought that no matter how bad it had been he'd been strong enough to cling onto life, no matter how shit, but after he got no call from Ian and David didn't return, he began to feel worthless. For the first time he considered just ending it all.
And you flashback to when he said, forever and always
Oh, oh
He just didn't understand why Ian wasn't calling him back. They were best friends, they had been since they'd been locked up together in a gym equipment closet. The two of them had given up trying to knock the door down and started talking about everything they could to get their minds of their situation. In the end Mr Isaac, the caretaker, opened the door to get some balls for the football team and let them out. The two of them had then promised that they'd look after each other, and stick together because, as far as they were concerned, it was them against the world.
I looked into your eyes, thought I knew you for a minute
Now I'm not so sure
Blaine was on his knees on the floor, he was fighting back the tears of pain and humiliation. He looked up at Neil who looked supremely calm. He was sprawled out on the bed, his face impassive and his stare unfocused. Neil's eyes focused onto Blaine and held out his hands. Blaine didn't whimper as he shakily extended a hand to them. Neil smiled and Blaine blinked, that was the smile he'd been given on his first day. Then he yanked on his hands, telling him to stand, and something different fell into his eyes. Neil became someone he didn't know.
So here's to everything, coming down to nothing
Blaine had never yelled louder in his life. He stood across from Neil in the Jefferson 'attic', the spacious room at the top of their building that contained abandoned furniture. He had a hand out to stop Seb coming any further forward but his main attention was on Neil, and Blaine just screamed at him, the tears pouring down his face as he continued to yell.
Here's to silence that cuts me to the core
Blaine stopped, the words he was yelling seeming to not be enough. He just cried and behind him neither Seb nor David, who was leaning against the doorframe for once ignoring his ringing phone, moved. Neil was staring Blaine down. There was nothing that could be said anymore. Maybe before a song and a sorry would be enough before but now nothing would be enough.
Where is this going? Thought I knew for a minute
But I don't anymore
Blaine couldn't read the look in Neil's eyes. He had never been that good at working out what he was thinking. He had no idea what was going to happen now. He heard David's hand slip on the frame and his heart beat sped up to a speed he didn't think was possible. Neil was tensed up and Blaine thought he was going to leap at him, but he didn't he just stood there any amount of possible thoughts going through his mind.
Oh, back up, baby, back up, did you forget everything?
Back up, baby, back up, did you forget everything?
When Neil moved he began to advance towards Blaine. Blaine stepped backwards his hand shoving Seb, his hand pushing as hard as he could against his arm and Seb knew what Blaine wanted him to do. He grabbed David who was putting up a fight and left, the door slamming and their footsteps pounding down the hall. When Neil crashed into him he had one chance to wonder where all the love had gone before he saw stars.
'Cause it rains in your bedroom, everything is wrong
It rains when you're here and it rains when you're gone
'Cause I was there when you said forever and always
The Warblers around the piano began to harmonise with him, their voices soft and Jeff joined in with the melody line. His eyes were misty and Blaine's were watering. Blaine looked at Thad who had his eyes cast out to the back of the hall, his eyes unfocused yet downcast. It was one of the few times he'd seen the pain that the events had caused Thad. Nick had taken Jeff's hand and was squeezing it, the two of them had been drawn even closer together by what had happened. David had one hand on top of Wes' bandaged ones, the other stuffed in his pocket no doubt curled around his mobile. Wes winced slightly and then twitched the corner of his lips to try and show that he wasn't as hurt as it seemed. David had his jaw clenched, he always got angry about having to leave.
Oh, I stare at the phone and he still hasn't called
And then you feel so low, you can't feel nothin' at all
And you flashback to when we said forever and always
Kurt and the rest of New Directions had settled down in chairs in the back row of the auditorium. They were staring at Blaine and Kurt was trying to understand what was going on. Watching the performance Kurt reached two conclusions. One, Blaine was singing about them but he couldn't understand why. The other reason was that Blaine was singing about something he didn't know about, some relationship that he hadn't been told about. Kurt refused to believe the second which meant he was singing about them. If he had a problem, why hadn't he said anything? Kurt loved Blaine, if Blaine was unhappy about something he needed to talk to him.
And it rains in your bedroom, everything is wrong
It rains when you're here and it rains when you're gone
'Cause I was there when you said forever and always
You didn't mean it, baby, you said forever and always
Blaine finished the piece but didn't move. The sound was left to die but no one moved. Blaine's eyes were full of tears and the rest of them were in different stages of sadness and anger. In the back of the hall all the New Directions stared at the five boys in uniform and the one in tight jeans and a short sleeved shirt with bright bowtie. None of them sure what was happening.
The silence was broken by the sound of Jeff's ring tone. The sound of 'The Imperial March' from Star Wars began to blast through the auditorium. The Dalton boys and Blaine all broke from their trance and burst out laughing. Jeff fished into his pocket whilst the others turned to Blaine.
"I take the And I stared at the phone he still hasn't called was about Ian." Blaine nodded to David's half question.
"I never knew an 'I really miss you, why did you break my heart?' song could fit so well in your situation." mused Nick. Blaine rolled his eyes and turned to Jeff.
"Jeff what was th- Jeff!" Jeff had gone very pale and was staring at the screen of his phone.
"Jeff?" Nick moved over to shake his best friend's shoulder. Jeff's eyes were turning red and Nick looked genuinely scared as Blaine exchanged worried looks with Thad, Wes and David. Jeff extended the phone to Nick and Nick took it gently, putting one arm around his friend's shoulder. When he read the message on the screen he dropped it onto the piano like it had burnt him. They all hissed at the clatter and Thad scooped it off the piano whilst Nick gripped onto Jeff who was beginning to slowly cry. Wes and David stepped up to Thad who had frozen.
"Thad, what does it say?" asked Wes. Thad turned the screen to both of them. Both boys seemed to sag after reading it, collapsing into each other.
"What is it?" exclaimed Blaine, fear creeping through his chest. "Is it Trent? Has N-"
"No!" exclaimed Thad, rather too loud. Blaine frowned.
"Then what is it?" Thad, with a hand that shook, extended the phone to Blaine. Blaine took it and read the message. In the second it took his brain to process what it said and to fully understand it, grey spots began to appear in the corner of his vision. When it hit him, his vision clouded over and he toppled backwards off the piano stool.
"Blaine."
"Blaine!" Blaine could hear the voices calling him. He struggled to open his eyes and everything felt heavy.
"Here." he heard someone say.
"Argh!" he cried as he was suddenly jolted awake. Spluttering and coughing and suddenly soaking wet, Blaine looked around. "What the?" he cried, wiping his eyes.
"Sorry man." said Artie. "But you'd fainted, I couldn't think of anything else to do."
"No problem." muttered Blaine. Kurt, who was crouched next to him clutching his arm, was staring at him.
"Blaine what's wrong?" he asked, raising a hand to feel his temperature. "Are you feeling ill?" Blaine shook his head, as he started to recall why he'd fainted.
"I think I need to go. I think I need to go home." he said, his voice shaking ever so slightly. Mr Schue was also crouched by his side.
"Are you sure you don't want to go to the nurse?" he asked. Blaine shook his head.
"I just need rest." he said.
"We'll take him." offered Thad instantly. He bent down and heaved Blaine up and steadied him. Nick had an arm around Jeff was still staving off his tears, bravely. Wes and David were supporting each other even though they were both injured.
"Are you sure?" asked Kurt, looking very concerned.
"Yeah." said Blaine. "I'll drop by later." he promised.
"Promise?" asked Kurt.
"I promise." his tone was so falsely cheerful that it made him cringe.
Blaine collapsed into the front passenger seat of Thad's car. Thad, after two attempts, got the keys into the ignition and started the car. All piled into the back Wes, David, Jeff and Nick were squashed against each other with their heads on each others shoulder, and Jeff finally let his tears leak into Nick's shoulder.
Thad stopped the car suddenly. Blaine looked out of the window and saw that they were by a set of houses, opposite a green, god only knew where. Thad took his shaking hands off the wheel and placed them over his face.
"I'm sorry." he mumbled. "I just can't drive right now. I might crash." Blaine reached over and placed a hand on his shoulder.
"It's okay." he said monotonously, still feeling the shock of the news washing over him. "We understand."
"Let's get out of this car." said Wes. They opened their doors and climbed out, crossing the street they went to sit on the green. The five of them collapsed onto it not looking at each other. Jeff put a hand over his face as he continued to cry, Nick pulled him close without thinking. Jeff seemed to be the only one capable of crying at the moment, the rest of them were in states of shock. Thad was trembling from head to foot. His body shaking uncontrollably. David was numb and didn't seem to be registering anything not even the vibrations in his trouser pocket. Nick's whole efforts seemed to be going into comforting Jeff. Both Wes and Blaine were in those states where you just feel numb but you can think and act normally.
"How?" asked Blaine eventually. Wes shook his head.
"None of us know anything more than you." Blaine nodded and then pulled out his phone and dialled a number. It rang once, than twice, then three times. By the time it was on it's six ring someone answered.
"Hello?" came a voice, it sounded muffled and rather like the person had a bad cold.
"Mr Hale." said Blaine.
"Blaine is that you?"
"Yes, Mr Hale." there was a great sniff down the line and then.
"Haven't you learnt, after all this time, to call me Joseph? Your friends can do it so why can't you?" This time, for the first time since he'd been told that, he didn't laugh.
"I'm sorry, I was just, I was wondering if you could tell us…" there was a great silence and then finally Joseph replied.
"Of course."
"Thank you." said Blaine and he put the phone on speaker.
"He was stabbed." said Joseph with a suppressed sob. "By some of those boys from before." there was a silence, even David seemed to be focusing on the phone and Jeff had stopped crying.
"How?" asked Wes.
"I don't know, Wes." said Mr Hale, sadly. "But it was them, the ones that aren't in jail, of course."
"Because he was gay." whispered Nick his eyes wide.
"And because he send their friends to jail."
"Where will he…" began Blaine, but he couldn't finish the question.
"In Ohio." came the sad quiet reply. "He'd want to be buried where his best friends were." Blaine could feel the tears begin to burn his eyes.
"Mr Hale-Joseph, if there's anything." said Blaine but found he was too choked up to finish. Thad, who seemed to have recovered, took the phone up.
"If there's anything you need at all, we will always be here to support you." Thad sounded so collected but sad and sincere at the same time. "Any of us, Ian was our great friend and we will always love him."
"Thank you… Thad." Joseph could guess who was down the phone by the sombre, mature tone.
"It is no problem." he replied.
"Right, thank you. I need to go, I have things."
"Of course." said Thad and he hung up. The rest of them sat looking depressed.
"We should go to 'The Cave'." said Wes. Blaine nodded.
"Not now, though."
"Yeah." said Thad. "We need time to set up." Blaine nodded.
"Should we say normal time?" asked Nick.
"Yeah." said Blaine. "Can you guys drop me at Kurt's? If you can drive Thad?" Thad nodded.
"I think I can." he said. "I'll just stop if I can't." they got back up and looking pale and upset they clambered back into the car.
Blaine knocked on the door after shooing away the Warblers in their car. The door opened and he saw Finn standing in a baggy Titans T-shirt and jeans.
"Oh hi Blaine." he said, stepping back to let him in. "Are you okay now?" Blaine nodded.
"Is Kurt around?"
"Yeah he's up in his room waiting for you." Blaine gave Finn a weak smile and hurried upstairs. He knocked on Kurt's bedroom door and waited for him to call him. When he did Blaine pushed open the door and entered the tastefully, yet not expensively, decorated bedroom. Kurt was on his bed, reading through a copy of Vogue with Patti LuPone's voice singing 'Don't Cry For Me Argentina' blaring from his speakers. Kurt looked up and turned it off with the click off a button.
"Hey." said Kurt sat himself up, examining him. "Are you alright?" he asked Blaine. Blaine nodded when he sat on the bed. "Sure?" asked Kurt. "Because you look like you've been crying." Blaine didn't respond, instead he leaned back into Kurt's shoulder. Kurt smiled as he looked down at him. "If there's something you need to talk about you can come to me." he said, Blaine smiled at him.
"Not about everything, there's some things about me you don't know." Kurt stared him.
"Well why don't you tell me?" he said. Blaine shook his head.
"I can't… not at the moment. It's too… to painful. I have other people I can talk to, it's fine." Kurt frowned at him.
"By other people you mean Wes, David and the others, don't you?" Blaine nodded.
"I know you don't like it but they're my best friends. They looked after me the way I tried to look after you. They helped save me like I did you." Kurt looked at him, inscrutably.
"Well if you're sure." he said.
"I am." replied Blaine.
"Okay I have an English project that I could use your help on."
Blaine spent the next four hours in Kurt's room helping him with his work and listening to him sing and gave him some praise and constructive criticism when he thought he'd get away with it. His phone alarm went off and he jumped, suddenly reminded of the empty feeling in his heart.
"I have to go." he said. Kurt frowned at him.
"So soon?" he asked. Blaine nodded.
"I need to meet up with Thad and co." he got up and picked up with his jacket, proceeding to leave the room after he'd kissed Kurt. Kurt followed him.
"Do you want me to drop you because you don't have your car?" Blaine shook his head.
"No, I think Thad's coming to pick me up."
"Where are you going?" asked Kurt as Blaine opened the door.
"Somewhere only we know." he said with a wink that wasn't at all cheerful. He closed the door leaving Kurt in the hallway feeling hurt and left out.
Thad was parked just around the corner. "The others are already there." he said as Blaine closed the door. Blaine nodded. "How are you?" he asked and Blaine shrugged. "Kurt asking questions?" he continued to question. Blaine nodded mutely. "You'll get through." said Thad but Blaine just shrugged, he'd never dealt with anything like this before.
Thad reached the wood in which the Warbler boys had first met Ian. Thad turned on his flash light and lead Blaine down the woody path. They walked in silence for ten minutes till Thad broke from the path when they reached a tree which was marked with an arrow that was marked with the initials D.A.W+I.H. It stood for Dalton Academy Warblers and Ian Hale. They walked past the trees that were faintly marked with the arrow and the initials. In the end they reached a clearing that was hung with fairy lights and a fire was lit in the middle. Black drapes had been hung between the trees and a portable keyboard and guitars rested against one of the trees. Blaine smiled ever so slightly when he saw the sight of his friends in their usual places but for once in silence.
Blaine took a seat on one of the logs that they'd pulled out. He suddenly realised that he'd be sitting alone tonight. As per usual Jeff and Nick were on one and Thad was squashed between Wes and David on the other. The six of them sat in silence not even the buzz of a phone disturbed them, staring at the fire that crackled before them. It was too much for Blaine to comprehend. It had to be happening now, didn't it? Just when he needed Ian. He could feel his blood boil. Those boys. Those homophobic, Neanderthalic, blinded, ignorant, pathetic losers that had tracked him down for an unjust revenge. Blaine's hands were balled into fists in his lap and he clenched his jaw as tight as he could.
"Come on." said Thad. "Let's sing one of our songs." there was a long pause then a round of nodding.
"Which one?" whispered Nick. Thad flicked his eyes to Blaine who took a deep breath and said.
"Which do you think."
You're better then the best
Blaine had an acoustic guitar resting on his lap as he began to sing the song he'd always sung to Ian. It was their song, because Ian became his light in the dark and no matter how bad it got he always had something to say.
I'm lucky just to linger in your light
The others had come to associate it with Ian because when they'd met him he'd been the only person that could get Blaine to laugh. They had managed to get him smiling but he never laughed around them. Nick and Jeff had the piano spread across their laps and were playing perfectly in sync. Both Wes and David had guitars, though Wes couldn't play his, and Thad had a make shift set of drums. This was how it had always been.
Cooler than the flip side
Of my pillow, that's right
Blaine kept blinking his eyes furiously and kept singing even though he could feel a lump beginning to form in his throat.
Completely unaware
Nick took over the melody line just in time because Blaine didn't think he could keep singing for much longer. Nick's hands carelessly played his part as his unfocused eyes stared through the fire.
Nothing can compare to where
Jeff took over and he was crying again. The tears slipping fast down his cheeks but not impairing his ability to carry a tune.
You send me, lets me know that it's okay
David was singing softly it was almost impossible to hear him over the sound of instruments and the harmonies. His lips barely moved as he articulated the lyrics.
Yeah, it's okay
Thad only sang two words but they were barely audible as he sounded so choked up. His hands kept the beat seamlessly only because he'd played the rhythm so many times.
And the moments where my good times start to fade
Wes was actually smiling slightly when he sang his line. He'd lost his little brother and sister in a car accident the year before he'd come to Dalton and his grandma on his first week there. He knew that the only way you stopped if from ripping you apart was if you remembered them the way you wanted to.
You make me smile like the sun, fall out of bed
Thad was back and he was actually smiling as he remembered the time Ian had broken into Dalton to see Blaine but he'd climbed through Thad's window not Blaine and David's. He'd woken up when he'd heard the noises and when he spotted Ian, who'd just turned the light on, he'd toppled straight out of bed and stared up at him, shocked.
Sing like bird, dizzy in my head
Nick remembered the time Ian had been waiting for Jeff when they were about to go out. Jeff was having some sort of crisis and Ian was looking worried. Nick, because he was on high after getting a C on his English essay, had hooked his arm through Ian's and danced him round till they collapsed onto the floor completely dizzy singing 'The Farmer and the Cowman Should Be Friends' from Oklahoma! They'd still been laughing and dizzy when Jeff came out of his room.
Spin like a record, crazy on a Sunday night
Wes could remember the time when everyone else had been ill but they'd agreed to meet Ian at 'The Cave' that Sunday so Wes went alone. At first it had been kind of awkward as Wes didn't know him well enough to hold a conversation so it had been quite awkward until Wes got bored, he'd been cooped up for days, and decided to run around and around the fire, arms outstretched like an aeroplane. In the end he'd grabbed Ian, who had been laughing hard and the two of them had chased each other around like five year olds until they collapsed exhausted, laughing like maniacs.
You make me dance like a fool, forget how to breathe
When Jeff had first met Ian he'd been completely infatuated. He'd acted even more crazy around him but when Ian talked to him he gave little gaspy breaths to try and become coherent. He remembered when Ian had turned up to watch their Warblers performance and Jeff had a tiny bit dance solo in it. He'd known exactly what he was going to do but then he'd seen Ian and promptly tried to out do everyone with his stunts until he did a back flip into the front line of Warblers, causing them all to come crashing down.
Shine like gold, buzz like a bee
David had actually become such a great Football player through the tutorage of Ian. Ian was an incredible player, very talented and much, much better than David. He had only not been on the Football team because most of the boys that bullied him and Blaine had been on it. He remembered when he'd made the first team in the Championship game. He was a Freshman and he looked tiny compared to everyone else but he was the best Wide Receiver that Dalton had had in five years and he was regarded as their secret weapon. Just before the game was about to start Ian had run up to him and proffered him his lucky gloves. David had taken them, hesitantly, before running onto the field. That game David didn't drop a single ball and scored 5 touchdowns, ensuring Dalton's victory.
Just the thought of you can drive me wild
On Blaine's first day at Dalton, when he'd been terrified of the boys in blazers who were all smiley and cheerful, too much so for Blaine to trust them, he thought of Ian. He remembered that Ian was not somewhere Blaine was, Ian wasn't as safe as Blaine but he didn't seem to care. Thinking of Ian and how strong he was, was the only thing that got him through his first days at Dalton.
Oh, you make me smile
Blaine whispered the last line of the chorus, making it sound more like a tuneful exhale than anything more. The tears were starting to slip down his cheeks too.
Even when you're gone,
Somehow you come along just like
A flower pokin' through the sidewalk crack
It had been his third day when he'd gotten the text from Ian saying he was outside Dalton, waiting to take him for coffee. Blaine had run out of the dorm, through the grounds and out the front gates, he hadn't known when he was going to see Ian again and here he was.
And just like that
You steal away the rain, and just like that
Their conversation over coffee, huddled in blankets in Ian's treehouse made Blaine feel a lot better. When Blaine had described all about the boys he'd met at Dalton and asked Ian what he thought of them, Ian had replied that he thought that they were just trying to be nice, especially as three of them were gay. Blaine had nodded and all the fear he'd been feeling about the boys there seemed to dissipate.
Don't know how I lived without you
'Cause every time that I get around you
I see the best of me inside your eyes
You make me smile
All six of them looked at each other as they sang together. None of them could ever imagine their lives without Ian. Blaine had been kept afloat, David had become the greatest player, Wes had found someone else who had a short attention span, Jeff got his first boyfriend, Nick found someone to be mad with and Thad got his duties of looking after everyone halved.
You make me smile like the sun, fall out of bed
For once they forget their separate lines at they sang their tribute to their fallen friend together.
Spin like a record, crazy on a Sunday night
You make me dance like a fool, forget how to breathe
Sing like bird, dizzy in my head
Shine like gold, buzz like a bee
Just the thought of you can drive me wild
Oh, you make me smile
The Warblers echoed Blaine as they reached the end of the song, their wasn't a dry eye in the circle but no one cared. In this circle emotions were shared out and they loved each other like brothers, even Jeff being in love with Nick hadn't changed their dynamic.
(Oh, you make me smile)
Oh, you make me smile
(Oh, you make me smile)
Oh, you make me smile
They sat in silence as the fire began to die in front of them.
"I wish I had made more of an effort to contact him." said Blaine after a second. The others looked at him, tempted to reprimand him and about to tell him to not feel guilty when Wes said
"I wish I'd sent him the video I made of all our times together."
"I wish." said David. "I'd sent him my old football gloves."
"I wish I'd been able to kiss him again." all the others round the fire gave Jeff questioning looks and he just shrugged.
"I wish." Nick paused and seemed to think for a second. "I wish I'd answered his last email."
"I wish I'd killed those bastards that hadn't gone to jail the first time." everyone glanced at Thad who had his jaws and fists tightly clenched. Blaine, and the others, knew that Thad was completely serious, he probably would have done it had he not been so distracted with things at Dalton. As they stared at the fire they all said together
"I wish I'd seen him again."