I know that I should really update my other ff instead of writing a new one, but I don't get the chapter written for any reason, and this one writes it almost by itself. :)
Ok, this should have been a Warblers ff, but my Niff-shipping heart took over, so this is turned into a Niff-ff with a lot of Warbler appearances. In most fanfictions that I read, the Warblers are all protective about each other, cry in front of each other and are – to keep it short – great, great friends. But let's be honest, most of the boys I know aren't like that. So I thought about how they grew so close...
Contains angst, fluff and all the weird feelings that mess up with teenagers! ;)
I hope you like it!
I neither own Glee, any appearing characters or songs. (But I wish I would...*sigh*)
Wes Montgomery looked down at the little white card in his hands. It was the start of a new school year. Well, in fact the lessons already started a week ago, but today was the day the freshmen moved in. They always started a week later as the older students, to keep the paper war as less exhausting as possible. Of a tradition at Dalton Academy, the juniors could volunteer on becoming mentors to the new students. Some of the seniors were also allowed to, but usually they were to busy preparing for their graduation. He had agreed to take care of two of the newbies, like most of the other juniors joining the program. It was the easiest way when each one had to look after two roommates, so the principal had distributed them the names, after the new boys got paired up.
"Hello? I'm looking for Nicholas Duval and Jeffrey..." He glanced at the card again. "Jeffrey Sterling. Nicholas, Jeffrey?"
A small boy with brunette hair walked towards him. "I'm Nick Duval.", he introduced himself without really looking at Wes. "I don't like to be called Nicholas, so if you don't mind..." His voice faded with every word, so he fell silent before he even finished the sentence. Wes smiled encouragingly.
"Nick, then! I'm Wes. Wesley Montgomery, but I don't like my name either." He winked and continued looking around. "So, we have to find your roommate. His name is..."
"Jeff, and it's me!" A blonde boy appeared out of nowhere, a beaming smile all over his face. "I can't believe I'm finally here, I was so nervous!" He giggled, and Wes couldn't help but smile about the bubbly behavior of the other boy. He seemed to be fun to be around.
Wes repeated his own name, then offered the boys to show them the way to their dorm. "I know, this school is like a labyrinth at first, but you'll get used to it!", he promised on their way. "If you have any questions or problems you can always come to me. I'm your mentor for the whole year."
"Well, thanks then!" Jeff replied, while Nick just quickly smiled at the older, Asian boy before he looked down again. To Wes, the boy seemed really tiny, skinny and pale. His inner alarm began to ring. He'd been long enough at Dalton, to know that many boys had a difficult past. Nick could be one of them, but maybe he was just a little shy. He mentally noted to keep an eye on the boy, just in case.
"Here we are!", he explained, while unlocking a door. "I hope you'll get along pretty well!"
"I'm sure we will... don't you think, Nick?"
"Yeah, I... I guess."
Wes smiled gently while the boys picked up their beds. "Here I got your schedules. You seem to have a lot of matching classes, so you have at least someone you know in the beginning. But I'm sure you'll fit in quickly. Now I'm gonna leave you alone for a while, but I'll come around and pick you up for lunch. Do you have any questions yet?"
The freshmen shook their had and Wes left.
"I'm like... super exited.", Jeff chattered and opened one of his bags. "Do you mind if I take this closet over here?"
"No, it's yours. I'm fine with this one."
"Great!" Jeff grabbed a few shirts and put them in the wardrobe. "So, Nick Duval. Tell me something about the boy I'm sharing a room with."
"What do you want to know?", Nick asked in reply. "I'm afraid I'm not that interesting.", he added with a little smile.
"Where do you come from?"
"Cincinnati, you?"
"Sarasota, Florida."
"Florida, seriously? Why would anyone move to Ohio, if he lives in Florida?" Nick raised a brow, while Jeff just shrugged.
"It was my father's decision. He's been at Dalton when he was my age, and he keeps saying that this were some of the best years in his live. I'm okay with it, though. I can't be that much in the sun without getting a really bad sunburn!" He giggled again, and Nick was impressed how easy being around the blonde boy was. He wasn't one to trust people quickly, experience told him better, but he already felt that it would be hard work to keep his walls up against Jeff.
"I see, and I guess the risk of getting a sunburn is pretty low here. So maybe it's been kinda good choice for you." Nick ran a hand through his hair and a bright smile lit up his face.
Jeff threw himself on his bed, not minding that it was still covered with clothes and stuff. He grinned at Nick. "So, now, that it turned out that you're actually able to speak, which I doubted at first, you have to tell me what you people in Ohio... - Sorry, did I say something wrong?" He cut himself off, noticing how Nick's smile fell and a stressed expression took over it's place.
"Nah, I'm just tired, I guess. I was nervous myself when I arrived." The words left his lips without any hesitating. When did lying became so easy? Well, in fact he was not really lying, he had been nervous and still was... but not of the same reasons as Jeff. The thing he'd worried about the most, was if Dalton really was going to be the save place without any bullying, that the principal had praised so much, when his mother had talked to him. Nick still didn't really believed it, since he still was in Ohio, with all it's narrow-minded people and prejudices. He maybe should have moved into another country. Florida popped up in his mind again, and he tried to focus on Jeff, who was obviously talking to him.
"Dude, did you caught a single word?" Jeff frowned.
Nick sighed quietly and shook his head with an excusing smile. "Sorry, sometimes I just space out a little, especially when I'm tired."
Jeff chuckled. "So, lessons with you should be funny. Or... oh please, tell me that you're not one of these annoying persons, who are all happy and lively in the morning."
"Don't worry, I've never been a morning person!", Nick reassured and stretched on his own bed.
"Thank god!", Jeff smirked. "Well then, let's relax until Wes shows up again. I guess the day will become pretty interesting, you could need more energy!"
"You seem to have enough for both of us!" But he already searched his Ipod and turned it on. Even if he wasn't tired at all, it would be nice to have a little break. He couldn't remember when he talked that much with someone, who wasn't a family member, the last time. It wasn't a good idea to let Jeff too close, but on the other hand they were technically living together for a while now. He had to figure out a way to keep the balance between those facts.
To his own surprise, he wanted to become friends with Jeff, but he had to remind himself that the blonde boy didn't knew anything about him. If he would, he surely won't talk to him anymore. The risk was too high, he couldn't stand losing a good friend again, just because he was who he was. Once he finished school, he would leave Ohio, then he would get the chance for a new life. But first, he had 4 long years of high school to survive.
"Nick?" He sat up startled when someone called his name and crushed his shoulder against the wall.
"Whoa, sorry! You're okay? Man, you were serious about the spacing-out-thing, weren't you?"
"Obviously!", Nick replied with a fake smile, trying hard not to panic. He had to work on this, that was for sure. His heart felt like exploding in his chest. "What did you want?"
"I wanted to take you for lunch!", another voice said and Nick flinched again. He hadn't noticed Wes, who was standing in their door before. The Asian observed him with worried eyes, and Nick hurried to blend a cheerful expression onto his face, trying to cover how messed up he really was.
It seemed to work well, because neither of the boys asked any more questions. Nick sighed relieved and followed Wes into the cafeteria.
"I'll introduce you to some of my friends!", the Junior said and pointed at one table. "These two here are Nick and Jeff, my... proteges." He laughed gently. "And here we have David, Thad and Blaine. Thad is a junior like me, David and Blaine are sophomores. We all are Warblers, that's how our show choir is called."
"So you got a glee club in here? That's cool... are there special conditions to join?" Jeff beamed and rocked in his chair.
"Well, you have to audition. If you're good, you're in.", David explained instead of Wes.
"Awesome, I like this place more with every passing minute. C'mon, Nick, let's audition together! Do you sing? You look like you have a pretty voice... oh, that didn't make sense, I guess. Never mind. What do you think?"
"Oh I... I don't think I'd be good enough. But I'll come with you if you want to.", the brunette boy offered, his voice so low that no one but Jeff could understand him.
The older students couldn't help but notice how different the two boys were. Like day and night, actually. One blonde and tall, the other dark-haired and rather short, one bubbly, the other withdrawn, one making friends easy while the other one almost didn't looked at them...
"So you like Dalton, Jeff? That's fantastic. How about you, Nick?" Blaine adressed the question directly to the calmer boy, trying to integrate him a little more. He felt a bit reminded of himself when he first arrived Dalton by looking at him. The quiet voice, the way he only looked at the other students when he was sure they wouldn't catch him watching, the hesitant answers... that all seemed pretty familiar too him.
"I haven't seen that much, but I also like it." Nicks voice sounded tired, and Jeff raised an eyebrow. Why was it so hard to get more than one sentence out of the boy? In their dorm, he had opened up a little, but a few minutes later he seemed more closed as ever before.
"We can show you around!", Wes offered. "If you want to, I mean... you have the whole weekend left to explore the building, but I guess it's a lot easier if you know a few ways around here."
"Sounds great, thanks!"
"So, what do you think about my babies?", Wes asked, entering his and Thad's dorm, followed by David and Blaine.
"They should be good to handle!", David smirked, throwing himself onto Wes' bed.
The Asian frowned and sat next to him. "Are you sure? I thought it myself at first, but now I think there might be something that they are hiding!"
"Oh, c'mon, Wes..." David rolled his eyes, but was interrupted before he could mock about the overprotective behavior the Asian had when it came to other students.
"I think he's right!", Thad stated carefully. He pulled his knees to his chest and lent his back against the wall, looking on the small boy next to him. "This Nick-guy reminded me a bit of little Blaine when we saw him the first time."
Immediately all eyes were on Blaine. "I'm afraid you're right.", he sighed. "I can't say what it was, but something was up with the kid. Something dark!"
David snorted. "Blaney, don't be such a drama queen. Is that how we raised you?", he chuckled, but held up his hands and became serious after a few seconds. "I get your point, though. He was pretty quiet, but I think it's good that he has such an open nature like Jeff around. He will open up soon enough."
"I hope you're right!" Wes nodded slightly.
"Have I always been wrong?" David grinned. The three other boys immediately started to bring on examples that proofed him wrong. "Ah, shut it!"
Blaine got up slowly and went over to the door. "Let them a little time to get used to each other and the whole place. If somethings wrong we will figure it out sooner or later. There's nothing we can do at the moment. I gotta go, I have homework to do. See you guys later."
David sighed. "Wait, I'm coming with you. You really need to help me with the french essay we got to write, or I will fail this class miserably. We started lesson a week ago, and I'm already at least a month behind!" He followed the short boy out of the room.
Left behind, the two juniors looked at each other. "What do you think, Thad?", Wes asked.
"That it was a pretty good idea not to volunteer myself!", he chuckled and Wes snorted. "No, seriously. I'm with Blaine in this point, leave them a little more time before you freak out about something, that may be caused by homesickness or nervousness. But if there is something and you need help, sir, let me know. I can help you raise your babies!"
Wes smirked. "Then, I guess we'll need to have a serious discussion which one of us takes the mother- and who the father-party in this parenthood."
"I'm taller, I'll be the father!" Thad covered his face with his hands to protect it as Wes threw a pillow in his direction. "Yeah, we can talk about it then. Do you think they'll audition? We could need some more voices since a lot of last years Warbler members were seniors."
"We'll see. Hey, hand me my pillow, please."
"Promise not to throw it again?"
Wes nodded and took it out of Thad's hands before he lay down and closed his eyes for a little nap.
"I feel like I'm in Hogwards!", Jeff stated while he laid his back against the head of his back. "Have you seen all these staircases and hallways and rooms where no-one expected them to be? It's awesome! I could go the same way right now and I'm sure that it would look completely different right now! Maybe we wake up tomorrow and are in a total different place, wouldn't that be awesome?"
Nick snickered as he listened to the other boy's rambling. "You're crazy, you know? I like that!" The smile fell from his face for a millisecond. He mentally slapped himself. Great, Duval. Why don't you scream 'I'm gay' through the room? Do you want that shit to start again from the very beginning?
Luckily, Jeff only smirks. "Yeah, people keep telling me that all the time. Hey, remember about the warblers? I really want to join them, in my old school there wasn't a glee club, and I love to sing and dance."
Nick was astonished. He always wanted to join a glee club himself, but on his school the members were outcasts, and since his school time was already a living hell, he didn't wanted to add fuel to the fire. To hear Jeff talk about it so openly, to see Wes, Thad, Blaine and David be such proud members blew his mind. Jeff was right, Dalton was in fact like Hogwards.
"I'm sure you will!", he smiled. "Do you already have an idea what you're gonna sing?"
"Kinda..." Jeff grinned and looked at Nick with puppy eyes. "Nicky...?"
Nick flinched by the use of the nickname. Was Jeff making fun of him? "Ehm... yeah?"
"I need your help. I really, really need your help!"
Nick frowned. "How could I help you?"
Without a word, Jeff got up and picked up his guitar. He strummed the stings gently and looked up, smiling. "I need you to sing with me. Please, I know that it seems like I love to be in the spotlight, but I never sang a solo."
"I don't want to audition, Jeff..." Nick shifted uncomfortably.
"Then sing with me now... okay? Just to practice a little? Having fun? Pretty please?"
Nick sighed, unable to resist any longer. If he was honest, he wanted to sing with Jeff, and he even wanted to join the Warblers, but he still was sure that the dark side of Dalton just waited behind the next corner. This place was too good to be true. Suddenly he became aware that Jeff was watching him, still waiting for an answer.
"Okay. What song do you have in mind?"
Jeff beamed. "I couldn't have gotten any better roommate!", he stated and started to play a slow melody.
TBC
So much for the beginning... what do you think? Interested in the second chapter? :)
