a/n: this is born out of a complete and total crack!headcanon that mottaberry would be the biggest anderbros fans if the anderbros were famous. this is...not that. or it is, with a lot of things changed from where it started. anyways, a zillion and 9432081 thanks forever and ever to kira (claddaugh ring) for reading every sentence and to nikki (who i don't think has a ff account) for helping me with sugar because, fuck is she hard to write.
enjoy~
Blaine Anderson led, by all accounts, a charmed life. Not many 24 year olds had a top selling record under their belt, a handful of awards littering their apartment and thousands of screaming girls anytime he tried to step outside in public. These were the things he tried to appreciate, to keep in mind any time he was told, time and time again, that he and his brother should consider putting out another record. Every time Sebastian set them up for another photo shoot-the ones that almost always seemed to have them act more like lovers than brothers, a smirking manager in the background at all times-he tried to remember that he was lucky. That there were millions of people everywhere who didn't get to achieve their dreams, who didn't get dragged along towards fame just because their brother sent in a demo of them singing to the right person at the right time.
Still, at times, Blaine couldn't help but resent the way his fame was handed to him.
Every time he had to laugh and smile about how the mash-up of old Duran Duran songs he and Cooper had somehow made popular once more, it killed him a little inside. The rest of the album they'd put together, regardless of how well it sold-and it did, hitting numbers Blaine himself had never even thought possible for himself-it was all mindless pop, cultured for the masses to inhale. They didn't want anything more than that, wanted to treat Blaine like the 'teen heart throb' he'd been cast as, as Sebastian so wonderfully put it, manhandle him and use him as a way to brag to their friends. 'Well, I saw him in Times Square and he took a picture with me!', 'I met him and Cooper at a concert and they both hugged me!', and 'He's so dreamy, I thought I was going to pass out!' were among the more popular things he heard of from his fans trying to get his attention. Cooper reveled in it, ate every single praise and adoration thrown his way and begged for more. He winked at girls on the street and sent them into shrieking fits of laughter and embarrassment, he told talk show hosts and magazines that he always knew he'd end up wildly famous one day, rode the high of their success with such ease and grace that Blaine couldn't help but feel bitter towards it.
He wanted the fame, and the success-the ability to act on his talents and get paid for it was the dream, of course. But he didn't want to be another passing pop star, whose biggest claim of fame became guest spots on those criminal shows that had 17 different series in different locations. When he spoke about this to Sebastian, Cooper had shot him a look of hurt, declaring that he loved his time on the set of NCIS: LA, thank you very much Blaine, and he was honored that his role was so well-received that Law and Order wanted him for an episode as well.
"We'll figure something out for you," Sebastian had promised him, "but in the meantime, I really think you should go for the second record deal."
Blaine just shook his head in disgust before burying his head in his hands.
How difficult was it for him to be taken seriously?
The answer came to him in the shape of a small girl cutting in front of him on his way to get a coffee the next morning, his words of 'excuse me' going unheard as she sidled up to the counter and promptly began ordering what sounded like enough beverages for an army. He sighed heavily, tired and exhausted and spending the rest of the day with Cooper as they figured out their next move-together, or apart, Blaine hadn't yet made up his mind-was sure to be as draining as he figured it might be.
"Oh, and don't forget I need, like, three biscotti's! Stat!" the girl called out before whirling around to go wait for her order to be prepared, coming face to face with Blaine. He tried to turn elsewhere, worried she was going to cause a scene if she recognized him-it wouldn't have been the first time, and he was tired of trying to find new coffee shops , even in New York City-but he had nowhere to hide before she started talking. "I thought you never went anywhere without Cooper," were the first words out of her mouth, and it was such a shock to him that he didn't even know how to respond.
"I'm meeting up with him in a bit," he replied warily as the barista called him forward to take his order. He placed it quickly, with a smile and a generous tip, anything to get him out of the suddenly claustrophobic space. The girl was still staring at him, as if waiting for more explanation, and it was stifling to endure.
"Are you guys ever going to put out a new album? Oh!" she exclaimed, her eyes lighting up as she grabbed onto Blaine's forearms without thinking, "Is Cooper going to put out a solo album! That'd be so totally amazing, his voice is so dreamy," she sighed wistfully, staring off in the distance at god only knew what, Blaine trying to retract away from her but she only seemed to dig in more.
"I take it Cooper is your favorite, then," he replied, trying not to let the slight rejection get to him, and her nod of affirmation with a bright smile honestly did make him chuckle a little to himself.
"Rachel is the one who like, adores you, not that she tells anyone-everyone in our company thinks you guys are totally overrated, but since it's my daddy's theater no one will argue against me when I say you're not," Sugar started, letting go of him long enough to dig out a phone from her back pocket, immediately hitting a number and Blaine's stomach pooling with dread before she started talking once more. "You should talk to her, it'd make her life even if she pretended it didn't-she says the only one she idolizes is Barbra, but I've caught her watching the video you guys made to Hungry Like The Wolf/Rio a few too many times for her to not be attracted to you, whatever she tells Jesse."
"I see," Blaine said, grabbing his medium drip as one of the workers handed it off to him, the girl-who still hadn't bothered telling him her own name-frowning as her phone call apparently fell through.
"Well, she's missing out," she shrugged, seemingly over it already, "but she's probably off running lines with Jesse. Opening night is only a few weeks away, after all, and it is Broadway, and Rachel is nothing if not a perfectionist. It'd be totally obnoxious if she was anyone else, but she's kind of like my best friend these days and she already promised to thank me in her acceptance speech for her first Tony award."
He nodded in response, trying to get out of her way with a quiet 'it was nice to meet you', but she grabbed his own phone before he could stop her, seeming to put her phone number in it. "If you get tired of playing the pretty boy in magazines and being upstaged by Cooper," she told him, "give me a call. We could totally use your name above our theater to draw in audiences, the managers aren't too confident that a couple of no-names are impressive enough for a show as classic as Phantom," she finished. "Oh! And the name is Sugar. Sugar Motta. You want a part, it's all yours. We're still looking for a Raoul."
She seemed to dismiss him with a wink and a "Later, cutie," at that, turning around and asking what was taking so long with her order, and Blaine was left with the reminder of one of the dreams he'd long since given up-the dream to play on a stage on Broadway, on his own, without Cooper.
By the time he arrived at the office Sebastian worked out of, Blaine had made up his mind. Raoul or not, he wanted to jump at the chance that he might not get again. He'd prepared an entire speech while walking the fifteen blocks-leaving him winded and cramped, but it was worth it for the fresh air and the idea of a whole new life this chance could bring him-and was sure he could convince Sebastian this was a tactical move for him, that it could open up so many more doors and earn Sebastian even more money.
Cooper wasn't there when Blaine walked in, not that Blaine was that surprised. Cooper was always running, at best, five minutes behind on his own time, and often stopped to sign things for fans if they came up to him. If Blaine was honest with himself, he admired how casual Cooper could be about the whole thing, how laid back and easy going he was towards all of it. A part of him wished he could do the same, but one of them had to keep a level head and think about things like the future and, most of all, their safety. More than once people had tried to harm them, and while it made Blaine more reserved, Cooper didn't seem to have that problem.
"Well, well, well," Sebastian greeted as soon as Blaine was allowed into his office. "If it isn't baby Anderson. Come up with a plan there, killer?"
Blaine rolled his eyes at the term of endearment, more than used to it after knowing Sebastian for nearly three years, but nodded nonetheless. "I actually ran into this girl this morning-"
"A girl, huh?" Sebastian smirked, leaning across his desk. "It has been awhile since we've had any rumors about you floating around regarding your love life, aside from those about you and Cooper at least."
"No not-what do you mean, about me and Cooper?"
"That's not important," Sebastian waved off, and despite Blaine's narrowed eyes-he was vaguely uncomfortable about what kind of things Sebastian had the power to spread around in the general public, but he needed to stay on his good side in order for Blaine to take this opportunity.
"She offered me a role in a Broadway show," Blaine continued instead, Sebastian snorting in response.
"Broadway is dead," Sebastian reminded him. "No one cares. Unless it's something like Equus, in which case-" his broad smirk was more than enough to further annoy Blaine, who shook his head with a determined 'no'.
"It's Phantom, apparently, and they want me for Raoul but-"
"Raoul isn't a big enough part. That's not even headlining it, for fucks sake," Sebastian interrupted, as if Blaine didn't know that. "If it was Phantom, maybe, but not for Raoul."
"That's where you come in," Blaine smiled easily as he sat down in one of the comfortable chairs across from Sebastian's desk. "You could probably convince them to give me Phantom, and I'd be headlining a Broadway musical, and everyone wins. You get your client in a classical musical that practically everyone knows, going from pop sensation to serious actor, and I get to do something I actually want to do."
"They're not just going to hand over Phantom, Blaine," Sebastian rolled his eyes.
"You managed to convince Madison Square Garden that we could sell out three shows in a row over Celine Dion's third last tour," Blaine reminded him, "you told E! to take a chance on two brothers who had nothing but an old 80's mashup of songs they'd been goofing around with since they were 5. And it was you who got Cooper and me on stage at the VMA's last year, handing an award to Britney Spears for video of the year. I don't think there is anything you couldn't convince someone of, Sebastian, if you want it badly enough."
"But I don't want this that badly," Sebastian shrugged.
"But I do," Blaine countered. Sebastian studied him for a minute, seeming to take it into consideration, and he was almost convinced when Blaine's phone rang, the name 'Sugar Motta xoxo' popping up on his screen, and he almost smirked at the girls amazing timing before he held up a finger to shush Sebastian. "Hello?"
"We need to know if you're in or not, like, now," she snapped from the other end of the phone. "I told the director and he was totally in love with the idea, and he thinks you'd be great and all, but we need you to sign contracts today."
"I'm actually talking it over with my manager now," Blaine admitted, Sebastian sighing in disbelief, "but he's needing some convincing. Do you think you could come down, possibly with the contracts, and help me talk him into it?"
"Can do chief," she agreed, hanging up before Blaine could even give her directions or tell her where he was-he had an alarm going off in his head that said she somehow knew, but the girl was even smaller than he was and he didn't think she was capable of hurting a fly, so he let it go.
"Sugar will be here soon," Blaine grinned. "And we'll discuss my upcoming role then."
It took approximately an hour for Sugar to arrive, in which time Cooper showed up and left to go talk over with a lawyer about the contracts for a solo record that he was begrudgingly going into, sad eyes shot in Blaine's direction at the very mention. "Proud of you for Broadway, bro," he assured him, "but it won't be the same without you on my side."
Blaine had felt a little tug of guilt at that until Sugar came in, giant red sunglasses in place and a tall guy behind her, presumably the lawyer from the company to make sure everything went smoothly. Introductions went around the room, hands shaking and for a few minutes it was all pleasantries until Sebastian went into business mood, Sugar and Mr. Schuester, the business manager it turned out, sat down in the seats Blaine was used to seeing himself and Cooper in.
"I understand you want to sign baby Anderson over here for Phantom of the Opera," Sebastian started, Sugar blowing a bubble with her gum as she crossed and recrossed her legs, clearly bored with the conversation that had barely even started. "Here's the thing. You're not going to get the publicity you want if you cast him off as a character that's, quite frankly, not good enough for Blaine's extraordinary talent. You're going to want to utilize him for all he's worth. If you cast him, throw him in as the leading role, use him to your advantage and ours."
"To be quite frank, Mr. Smythe," Mr. Schuester started, Blaine starting at hearing someone refer to Sebastian as such-it was always an alarming thing to remember that he was respected in his business, "Blaine's coming aboard with only a month and a half away from opening night. I've heard him sing, live even, and while he's good, I just don't think he has the vocal range required of the Phantom."
"He'll get training," Sebastian shrugged as if it was the most sensible thing in the world.
"Jesse would get, like, incredibly pissed," Sugar stage whispered towards her-boss? Co-worker? Blaine honestly had no idea what he was to her, or what Sugar did. She seemed to just be, which was working in his favor so he wouldn't question it. "Like, worse than when Mike told him he wasn't as good a dancer as he thought he was."
Schuester glanced at her before turning back to Sebastian, nodding in agreement. "We already have a Phantom, one who doesn't have to undergo training for his role, one who has been practicing opposite our Christine for years now. They have great chemistry and flow off one another. We have no idea how well Blaine would work in our cast."
"You're throwing 'chemistry' out as your excuse?" Sebastian smirked. "Think about all the money you'll make when you have a star on your playbill. All those teen girls swarming for tickets, paying hand over fist for merchandise. They're not going to do that for Blaine as Raoul, now are they? Not nearly as much as they will for him as Phantom."
"Jesse," Sugar repeated again, her eyes slightly bugging as she pushed the shades she still wore back into her hair. "Think about Jesse."
Blaine was about to tell Sebastian it was fine, that he'd take Raoul, really. He didn't need the part of Phantom, regardless of how tantalizing it was. To show off his talents, to prove he could be so much more than just a pretty face with a guitar, but Raoul would still give him that, if people would pay attention to his acting and his singing instead of his looks.
It was Cooper, of all people, who became his savoir as he walked back in with a grin, not even bothering to knock and Sugar almost fell out of her chair. "So, did you get the part of Phantom yet?" Coop questioned, shooting his trademark grin towards the newcomers, Sugar nodding her head quickly and Schuester sighing in defeat.
"You're going to need training," Schuester informed him. "And a lot of it. Starting immediately, Like, today."
"I got the part?" he asked, a genuine smile on his face for the first time in god only knew how long, Cooper wrapping him up in a hug before he wrapped his arms around a wide-eyed Sugar, lifting her off the ground as she squealed in either delight or terror.
"We'll have them draw up new contracts for you," Schuester said as he tried to reel Sugar back from Coopers side, completely unsuccessfully as she beamed up at Blaine's brother who appeared almost painfully oblivious to the effect he held over her, "And be at the warehouse on 44th in two hours. We're going to have to break it to Jesse that we've found our Raoul, and he's not going to be pleased to hear that it's him."