"Wait, where are you going?"

"I'm going to get our trophy back from the Warblers," Blaine leaned forward, unable to deal with anything or anyone right now, including their new director. He wasn't able to deal with much anymore. "The one you haven't even noticed is missing."

"Crap," Finn whispered, "uh…."

Out of patience, Blaine shook his head once and dramatically ran out of the room.

As much as he loved this superhero thing with everyone following his lead, and it was great, Blaine was glad to be getting out of the school. Everything in there reminded him of Kurt, and everyone was trying to remind him as well. He just didn't have the emotional control to hide all of the hurt he was constantly feeling. This trophy being gone was the perfect way to do it. The only draw back was an hour drive with nothing but the radio and his thoughts.

Those two things combined are going to make this so much worse, he sighed.

To say it was a nice day out in little Westerville, Ohio was an understatement. In facts, it was a wonderful day. It was chilly, but not in the way that was unpleasant. It was sunny, but not so bright that it was blinding. Everything just seemed cheerful and wonderful.

Except to Blaine, everything was now the exact opposite. His entire world had become bleak and colorless on the trip over here. And he didn't even have his Nightbird costume to make it better. Being alone with his thoughts had just let him think about how hurt Kurt was and how depressed he had become, and there was nobody he could blame but himself. He'd tried blaming Kurt for leaving him alone, but it had just upset himself more in the process. He couldn't blame the man he loved for following the path that he wanted. That Blaine had even told him to. Just thinking about it again made him sulk more.

Stop it, Blaine, he mentally chastised. One mistake does not make you a bad person, even if that one mistake ruined so much for you.

He sighed and pulled into the parking lot of Dalton. After cutting the car off, he brought his hands to his face, making it only visible that his eyes, eyes that were once a golden honey color and now looked like rusting copper, were left visible. Blaine took a moment and just gazed at the tall building before him, thinking of all the good times that he'd had here in these halls and all of the events that had lead him to leave a place that, at one point, had been home. Putting it into perspective now, it was a little silly that he'd even transferred schools in the first place. Westerville wasn't far off from Lima, and yes that means he wouldn't have seen Kurt as often but it probably would have ended up causing a whole lot less pain in the end.

But he didn't regret what he had done for Kurt. Not at all. It was impossible to regret what you do for someone that you really love.

Deciding that he'd finally spent enough time just blankly staring at the school before him, Blaine reluctantly shuffled out of the car. Entering the school was even more of a blast from the past, though he felt somewhat unprotected now without the blazer he had grown accustomed to. He approached the front desk with a forced smile on his face, and was returned a much more authentic one. It was clear that Mrs. Jessica (Jes, she insisted), the lady who ran the desk, still remembered him well. She let him pass through without having to check in since he was "still and honorary student. "That was how it had always been for him here. All the teachers knew and trusted him, the students loved and envied him.

But that wasn't the kind of treatment he was used to now, and so he gave Jes a much more genuine smile this time, then slipped out of the main office. It was after school now, and that means there was only one place that the Warblers would be: the lounge. They were always there during downtime since before Blaine even arrived at this school, and there was no way that had changed. He walked slowly through the hallways, taking his time to look at the open and inviting surroundings.

Blaine started walking down the marble staircase that he'd first met Kurt at (Stop thinking about him, you idiot) and saw Sebastian at the base of the steps. He rolled his eyes and threw his arms up, then called out, "Sebastian. Of course it was you."

"No it wasn't, I swear. I turned over a new leaf, remember?" Blaine rolled his eyes, but Sebastian continued on. "No more bullying, blackmail, or assault this year."

"That must be boring for you," he replied, feeling his inner turmoil come out as frustration.

"Yeah it is. Being nice sucks."

Was he even joking?

"He's waiting for you in the library," Sebastian said, his tone void of all joking.

"Who is?"

"They guy you're here to see. Captain of the Warblers," Sebastian sighed.

"I though you were captain of the Warblers…"

Blaine was confused. Just last year, Sebastian had been the new leader of Warblers, and now there was another new guy. It was a big enough surprise that Sebastian even stepped down from the position of leader, and now he was giving out cryptic messages for the new guy. What was going on?

Sebastian just shook his head and started in the direction of the hallway that Blaine had first led Kurt through. Blaine just stood there and shook his head, gesturing to the shortcut that would get them to the library faster. The more he could stay away from memories like that, the better.

Taking the shortcut got him to his destination in less than 5 minutes, and Blaine was standing outside the library before he knew it. With a deep breath, he walked into the room that used to be like a second home to him and looked around. Something moved out of the corner of his eye, and he turned at the same moment that an unfamiliar Warbler with a fluffy white cat in his lap turned and faced him.

"I knew they'd send you. Allow me to answer the obvious questions. I'm Hunter Clarington, I'm the new captain of the Warblers, and I'm not even remotely bi-curious."

This made no sense. "How are you captain of the Warblers when-"

"When you've never seen me before? Simple," Hunter said, putting his cat to the side as he stood. "Dalton just gave me a full scholarship to move here from Colorado Springs, where I led my military show choir to a Regionals victory with presidential honors," he said, a smug undertone to his voice as he placed his hand on his hip. "Now I'm gonna kick it up a notch. And that starts with you."

"Very intimidating," Blaine said, deciding he had enough of this, "Where's the trophy, Hunter?"

The sandy haired Warbler just laughed. "Don't worry, it's safe. It was just bait after all." Blaine furrowed his eyebrows, a little confused. "See, you're kind of a legend here. I like that. So here's my offer: your little diversity club can have it's trophy back when you rejoin the Warblers."

Blaine's eyebrows practically vanished into his hairline when the shot up, beyond surprised by Hunter's condition. To quote Rachel, that was "show choir terrorism," which seemed to run in the Warblers without him. "And why would I ever leave McKinley?"

"Why would you stay?" Hunter countered, stepping towards Blaine. "I heard you only went there to be with Kurt, right? In fact, I hear they even call you Blaine Warbler," he said, emphasizing each word. "They know you don't belong there, so why don't you?"

"We all know the real Blaine, Blaine." Sebastian walked in, followed by three other Warblers behind him. "Ambitious, driven. You're a Dalton boy," he said, shrugging as if it were the most obvious thing in the entire world. Blaine looked back and forth between Sebastian and Hunter, feeling more and more like he was being ganged up on.

"Present the blazer," Hunter said. Sebastian took one of the navy blue blazers from one of the other Warblers standing behind him, then started to hold it out to Blaine.

"That's not going to work on me." He noticed that all of the Warblers in the room had started to come closer now, and it was more than a little nerve-wracking.

"Why, are you afraid to try it on?" he urged.

Scoffing, Blaine rolled his eyes, but allowed for the blazer to be slid over his arms. In less than a second, Sebastian had it placed on Blaine's shoulders. A smile spread across Blaine's face, though it disappeared as quickly as it had appeared. He was a little surprised that the blazer alone felt so right being back on, and that it could make him feel so much more confident and relaxed than he had before. But he just had to keep reminding himself that things weren't the same and this wasn't what he was here for.

"Here's the thing Blaine," Hunter started, swinging an arm over the shorter boy's shoulder. "You know that Nationals championship was a fluke. Just like you know we're going to win at Sectionals. Now, I don't want to see a Dalton legend like you sidelined in his senior year." Hunter sat back down now, and the other boys surrounded the two of them.

"I want you on the winning side." The others nodded. "Here with us."

Now, Sebastian joined in. "You know what goes great with a new Dalton blazer? An impromptu song."

"Wha- no," Blaine shook his head.

"Come on, not with your old buddies?"

"Guys, I didn't come here to sing a song. Kay? I came here to get the…" They stopped listening to him now and started harmonizing with each other to a song he couldn't yet recognize.

The other Warblers shuffled into the room almost as if they had been eavesdropping the entire time, and each blazer-clad boy started singing the opening to a current top 40 hit, My Dark Side. It was clear that they had already rehearsed this before, but they still wanted for him to take the lead.

Uh-ohh. Uh-ohh, oh, oh, oh.

Blaine allowed a half smile to grace his face as he motioned for the group around him to sit down. All eyes were on him now, and he felt a surge of confidence within.

There's a place that I know
It's not pretty there and few have ever gone

Confidence still growing, he started to walk down the asile of swaying Warblers.

If I show it to you now
Will it make you run away

Feeling more like his old self than ever. Blaine quickly buttoned the blazer, grin widening. He started walking around the room, feeling a surge of power as the other Warblers began to follow.

Or will you stay
Even if it hurts
Even if I try to push you out
Will you return?

He noticed that Hunter's eyes never left him as he strut around the room.

And remind me who I really am
Please remind me who I really am

Each Warbler started stepping in synch as Blaine watched, giving all of himself over to the song and power of being in control. The lyrics registered somewhere in the back of his mind as something that should be impacting him emotionally, but what he couldn't remember.

Everybody's got a dark side
Do you love me?
Can you love mine?
Nobody's a picture perfect
But we're worth it
You know that we're worth it
Will you love me?
Even with my dark side?

He motioned for the boys to part, and they did. He walked forward and they stood on the sidelines. This was the best he'd felt in a performance in a long while.

Don't run away
Don't run away
Just tell me that you will stay
Promise me you will stay
Don't run away
Don't run away
Just promise me you will stay
Promise me you will stay

He continued to motion to the Warblers, and they followed each of his hand movements. At one point, Hunter stood across the room from them and motioned for everyone to line up. He started to walk down the newly formed aisles as Kurt registered in his mind again. That's why this song felt so touching. But as soon as Hunter gave Blaine a push in the direction of the line-up, Blaine allowed the other side, his own personal dark side, to take over as he lunged forward. Nobody would run this group but him.

But instead of trying to fight off Hunter, he just moved along with the other boys because that was what felt right.

Will you love me? ohh

Everybody's got a dark side
Do you love me?
Can you love mine?

Everybody stepped out of line, and Blaine immediately went to jump on the coffee table behind him. Hunter and Sebastian left their eyes only on Blaine while they moved, and he couldn't help but love the looks he was getting from each of them.

Nobody's a picture perfect
But we're worth it
You know that we're worth it

He jumped down, and took front and center in the lineup, feeling like a king once more.

Will you love me?
Even with my dark side?

With the song finally coming to a close, Blaine could feel himself zoning back into the real world. He realized what he was doing and looked down. Once he saw the that blazer was buttoned, his eyebrows furrowed and he had to do a double take. When had that been buttoned? It didn't matter, he decided as he unbuttoned it quickly.

Don't run away
Don't run away

Blaine turned to find all of the Warblers staring at him, their faces a mixture of excitedness and expecting.

"What did I tell you?" Sebastian chimed in, "Flawless."

Blaine just took the blazer off, ready to be rid of the thing that had just tried to take over him. Whatever "power" this thing held over him, wasn't good for him and he needed it off. Now. So he held the blazer out to Hunter to take back.

"Keep it. It's already yours. I think it's time you came back to where you belong, Blaine Warbler."

Blaine just stared, unable to believe that this one guy had been able to get so far under his skin in less than 20 minutes. This one guy who was trying to get him to undo everything he'd done in the last year with changing schools, and making it sound like a good idea. Much like he needed to be free of the blazer, Blaine needed to be out of this room and away from Hunter.

Without a word, he turned a left the room, subconsciously holding the blazer close to himself.