A/N: hey there :) it's me again, back from the dead... except, this isn't a klaine story. quite the opposite actually, although i'm going to assume that you figured that out, being the smart people that you are. For those of you that don't care for or about klaine, you can skip over this next paragraph (i don't mind :])
No worries for those of you waiting for a klaine update of some sort, it's coming along. not very quickly, but it's coming. for those looking for updates to The Soundtrack of Our Lives: i'm still working on what exactly I want to do for that one. so many possibilities. but on the upside i'm working on two of my other klaine ideas at the moment, and i'm hoping to get them out soon. but alas, the word soon is quite relative, seeing as soon to you could be next week and soon to me could be next month. all in good time, my dears. all in good time.
ANYWAY, back to the story at hand. this is a raine fic, although most tend to refer to it as blainchel since Dalton by CP Coulter started it's very own fandom (if you like klaine, search it. right now. i don't even care if it means you won't read this, go read Dalton). klaine is my OTP, through and through, but I don't mind a good blainchel fic (as long as it doesn't go against kurt. that's a no-no.) every now and again.
This was something that i originally started writing for my friend Kayla, and it was meant to be super angsty and make her feel like every puppy in the world had just died before her eyes (my life's mission with fics), but then i decided to "get into it" and make it longer and more complex and have it be an actual STORY, and the original plot got changed quite a bit (since there wasn't really supposed to be one?) and so thus you get the first chapter of this.
A fair warning: I may or may not keep the angsty ending that I've already written for this. It depends on what journey the characters take me on (they control me, I don't control them. it's kind of unintentional.), and even without that, I'm planning on having at least a little bit of angst throughout this. My friends Kayla and Mary and Laura (and basically everyone else that knows me) doubts that I can write fluff since I'm such a passionate angst writer. While I thoroughly enjoy my angst and angst writing, I kind of feel the need to prove them wrong. Maybe that'll happen in this story, maybe it won't; who knows, really?
anyway, this has been another long, boring, and pointless A/N brought to you by the word procrastination, the number 6, and the letter R (which i learned about in chemistry today. which was super boring.)
Enjoy? Maybe? It's up to you. Only YOU have the power to let yourself enjoy something. Remember that.
-erika
With winter quickly approaching, Rachel rushed in through the front doors of the small club, Grounded, relishing in the warmth after walking through the cold New York streets in the November weather. Immediately, she felt at ease, and a wave of calm washed over her. The small club (if it could even really be considered one) was cozy, and always gave off a homey vibe. It was a place where people could be themselves, be comfortable, and Rachel couldn't have been more excited to finally start working there.
While in college, she had frequented the club as a sanctuary to unwind from the stressful days of rehearsals, classes, and the rivalries that always sparked up between a few of the more "strong headed" students. Rachel was slightly nervous, but mostly excited to finally be there, starting her first day as the main stage singer. Well, with one other person, actually.
She had yet to meet the guy they had hired in addition to herself, but he sounded like a dream. The owner had explained that he played a myriad of instruments, but would mainly play the guitar and piano for this, and that he could sing like no other. While she didn't necessarily like sharing her spotlight, Rachel had to admit that this guy sounded good, and she had no doubts that he could keep up with her from what she had been told about him.
She made her way towards the compartments for the employees' belongings on the side of the stage, taking off her hat and gloves and putting them in the slot labeled "Rachel Berry" with her purse. She hung up her jacket on one of the hooks nearby and quickly pulled out her ever-present sheet of gold star stickers and stuck one after the inscription on her nameplate, smiling to herself in satisfaction.
Rachel started to head down the hall off to the side to the manager's office, when she heard music coming from another room, the door partly closed. Curious, she pushed the door open slightly and looked in, leaning against the doorway.
Inside the room was a boy barely older than herself, sitting on what appeared to be a large speaker. He was playing a guitar and singing, and his voice was absolutely stunning. Rachel's jaw dropped and she knew she was staring, but the boy didn't notice seeing as his eyes were shut softly as he let the song take him over. Rachel had never known anyone to give themselves so completely to the music. No one other than herself.
I wanna glide down over Valhalla
I wanna write her name in the sky
Gonna free fall out into nothin'
Gonna leave this world for a while
For a while…
This had to be the guy they hired to work with her. It had to. No one with this kind of voice could be here for anything else.
Now I'm free, free fallin'
Yeah I'm free, oh free fallin'
As the song drifted to a close, the boy opened his eyes and smiled, and then jumped slightly when he realized he wasn't alone.
"Oh, I'm sorry! I didn't mean to startle you. I was putting my things away when I heard you playing, and I thought I'd come and see…" Rachel trailed off, realizing that she couldn't really explain herself in a way that wouldn't sound strange.
The boy let out a happy sigh and the smile quickly took form on his face once again. "It's alright. I was just warming up before we go on. You're Rachel Berry, I assume?" he asked politely, placing his guitar back on its stand and standing up, sticking out his hand for Rachel to shake. "The manager introduced me to everyone that worked here already, except for the person I'd be working with," the boy said with a chuckle.
"Well, you assume correctly. It's nice to meet you," Rachel responded, smiling brightly at the boy before her and taking his offered hand. "I'm sorry, but I didn't catch your name…?"
"Blaine Anderson, at your service," he said with a broad grin.
"Well, it's a pleasure to make your acquaintance, Mr. Anderson," Rachel replied, returning his infectious grin with one of her own.
"And yours as well, Miss Berry," Blaine said, before releasing her hand. They stood for a moment smiling at each other, taking in their new acquaintance, and both thinking that life was a wonderful, wonderful thing.
"Hey Blaine—oh, Rachel! You're here, good! I see you've met your partner in crime, Blaine," the club's manager said, stepping through the doorway with a warm smile on his face and an excited light in his eye.
"That I did, Mr. Hale," Rachel said in the most professional voice she could manage.
"Please, Rachel, call me Nathan. You've been coming here for years and have been a valued customer, and now you work here. If you weren't before, you are most definitely part of the family now," he insisted. "Anyway, I just came in to tell you that you have ten minutes 'til show time and to see if you were done tuning," Nathan directed at Blaine.
"Yep, it's all ready to go," Blaine said with a smile. "We'll be on in ten."
"Alrighty, I'll leave you two to figure out the plan and the set list and whatnot. You guys know this place pretty well so you know the vibe and the audience. I trust your judgment," Nathan said, heading towards the doorway again. "Oh, I almost forgot. I have a business thing tomorrow morning and I need to get up early to drive there, so we're closing up early. We'll probably close about ten, meaning that I'll let you guys go around eight. Sound good?"
"Sounds good to me," Blaine said, looking over to Rachel for her opinion.
"Sounds good to me, too," Rachel said to Nathan, before watching him walk out.
"So, Rachel. I was thinking that today we'd just go back and forth with different solos, and save the duets until we rehearse some together, unless we can think of some that we both already know," Blaine said, sitting down on the speaker again and grabbing a pad of paper and a pen from the end table next to him.
"That's what I was thinking, too. You play guitar and the piano, right?" Rachel asked, wracking her brain to try and organize a plan for their performance.
"Yeah, I do. Oh! What songs were you thinking of doing tonight? I need to figure out chords and stuff for ones that I don't know."
"Oh, I… I didn't really have anything in mind at the moment. I was planning on going with whatever the feeling of the room was. My repertoire is quite extensive, if I do say so myself. And I can dabble with chords on the piano, if I pick a song and you're not familiar with the arrangement of the instrumental. If that's alright, that is?" Rachel questioned, looking at him worriedly and biting her bottom lip.
"Sounds like a plan," Blaine answered with a smile. "It's good that we only have a three hour shift today. Nathan really should've had us get together earlier to figure out what's going on. I can't imagine what we would've done if we had to make up a five hour set list instead of a three hour one," Blaine said with a laugh.
"Me either. But I have a feeling we'll figure it out. We'll be fine," Rachel told him reassuringly.
"Yeah, we will be. So, you ready to head out there and start the first performance of the rest of our lives?" Blaine asked, getting up from the speaker and grabbing his guitar from its stand.
"As ready as I'll ever be," Rachel responded, taking a deep breath and following Blaine out the door, shutting it behind her.
They had about two minutes until they went on, and so they were leaning against the wall casually, psyching themselves up for their performance. Blaine suddenly turned to Rachel and said in a tentative voice "About the first song… well, I was wondering if we could do this one that I heard a lot growing up. My parents would always play it when something big happened in our lives. I figured since this is kind of big for both of us, that we could… But only if you're okay with it. I mean, it's fine if you don't want to." Blaine stammered nervously, grabbing the back of his neck and looking at her with wide eyes.
Rachel smiled at him reassuringly, trying to calm his nerves. "That sounds great. A little symbolism never hurt anyone," she said with a short laugh. "What's it called?"
Blaine told her the title and the artist, and she clapped excitedly. "I know that song! My dads loved that song!"
"Yeah, my parents both loved it when they were growing up, even if it was a little before their time," Blaine said smiling, relieved that his idea wasn't rejected. "Well, umm… since you're letting us start for the first time with this song… did you wanna take lead?"
"But it's your song. Shouldn't you take the lead part?" Rachel asked, confused.
"No; it means a lot to me that you're letting us start with this. It's only right that you take main vocals on it. And besides… the harmony's kind of my favorite part."
"Well… only if you're sure," Rachel said hesitantly.
"Positive," Blaine assured with a bright smile.
"Well, alright then. Let's do this."
They walked up on the barely elevated stage, Rachel sitting on one of the two stools in place on the stage. Blaine walked past her to the unoccupied stool, placing his guitar on another stand that was there before moving to the piano. While Blaine adjusted the microphone attached to the piano and softly ran some scales to warm up his fingers, Rachel adjusted her mic and got the audience's attention.
"Hey there everyone. I'm Rachel—"
"—and I'm Blaine," he said, looking up momentarily from adjusting his microphone to give a short wave and a small smile.
"I recognize quite a few of you from my college days when I would frequent this place. Well, today, and hopefully for many days after, we are here instead for your entertainment pleasure." Rachel was charming the crowd and grinning like no other. This was all the proof anyone needed to see that she was a true performer.
"Our first song—"
"—the first of many," Blaine interrupted, smirking at Rachel.
"—is one that means a lot to Blaine, and one that I love. It's a little older, but hopefully you'll appreciate it for what it is," Rachel finished, giving a final smile to the crowd before relaxing into performance mode.
Blaine began playing the piano part to the song, closing his eyes softly and letting go as Rachel took a deep breath to sing.
We've only just begun to live
White lace and promises
"A kiss for luck and we're on our way," Rachel sang, looking over to Blaine and smiling, and he returned it as he came in on the harmony.
(We've only begun)
Before the risin' sun, we fly
So many roads to choose
We'll start out walkin' and learn to run
(And yes, we've just begun)
As the song turned more upbeat, Rachel let go of her soft calm and let herself have fun with it, and she could tell Blaine was doing the same.
Sharing horizons that are new to us
Watching the signs along the way
(Oh, ahh)
Talkin' it over, just the two of us
"Workin' together day to day, together," they sang together, smiling softly and adjusting back to the song's original tempo.
And when the evening comes, we smile
So much of life ahead
We'll find a place where there's room to grow
(And yes, we've just begun)
Sharing horizons that are new to us
"Watching the signs along the way," Rachel sang, laughing as Blaine enthusiastically came in with the harmony.
(oh, ahh)
Talkin' it over, just the two of us
Workin' together day to day, together, together
And when the evening comes, we smile
So much of life ahead
"We'll find a place where there's room to grow," they harmonized, smiling widely the whole time. This was the most incredible feeling in the world. This was how it was meant to be.
"And yes, we've just begun…" Rachel finished, fading out as Blaine played the final notes of the song.
The whole coffee shop burst into applause, a few of them whistling and catcalling. Rachel and Blaine both smiled and laughed, giving little bows from their positions. As the applause died down, they gave each other a knowingly smug look, and then Blaine got their attention again, speaking into the microphone.
"Alright! How's everybody doing tonight?"
A/N: So, there you have it. The first chapter. It took me all day yesterday (literally, ALL DAY) to write this, because I spent so long researching different songs and different name meanings and different places. On top of finding good songs for the situation, I found out about Grounded, which is an actual Coffee House in New York, and it sounds freaking incredible, although it's more of a quiet place to relax and keep to yourself. Oops. Oh well, too late to change it now (it's in the West Village. If you're ever there, stop in and then send me a long message about how amazing it is and make me want to go there. I dare you). I also found a lot of the songs I'll be using in the future (if this goes where I think it's going), the name Nathan (meaning "given, giving, or rewarded"), and the song from which the title of this fic was born (it's been in my head all day today.
Anyway, I hope you enjoyed my attempt at a Raine/Blainchel fic. Leave a review if it suits your pleasure. Thanks for reading :)
PS: song that blaine sings: /watch?v=k-zu-zL3ve4 (no, i did not use it because of his cover. I actually decided on that song before I found his cover of it. Being psychic rules.)
song that rachel and blaine sing: /watch?v=0sFej5pnVXI (an odd song, I know. my parents always played it when I was growing up, and I seriously considered 18 other songs before I decided that it was good enough and the words fit and that they would sound pretty good singing it. sue me. if you doubt my word, listen to "Merry Christmas Darling" that Rachel sings on glee. It's by the same artist.)
song that inspired the title: /watch?v=OyMkrW64BTI (seriously, it's stuck in my head. IT WON'T GET OUT. what guesses do you have about the story based on the song?)
until next time lovelies :)
-erika