A/N: Thank you to everyone reading these little one-shots. Its great to have you along for the ride :) So I ended up going in an unexpected direction for this one, which is ironic because it was my prompt. One day I hope to write Sebastian with all his wit and cutting remarks, but alas, today was not that day. Enjoy! xoxo

Prompt #2: The most memorable/meaningful summer fling

Character(s): Sebastian Smythe

Words: 818 (whoops!)

Date: July 11, 2012

Hot Summer Nights

Sebastian nursed his beer at a table off to the right of the stage. It was karaoke night, one of the few things he had left to look forward to. It was going to be a long summer. And dammit, that just didn't sit right with Sebastian. Summer had always been his favourite season, and it had nothing to do with the weather. But just like everything else in this god-forsaken town, Sebastian didn't imagine the boys would suddenly be looking for someone to share the hot summer nights with. He knew the transition to Ohio, after living in Paris, would be painful. He just didn't realize that it would be the karmic equivalent of hell.

Sebastian took a long pull from the cool bottle as the first notes of an all too familiar song played from the karaoke machine on stage. He wasn't even going to look up, but the voice that filled the air was like nothing he had ever heard before. And how was that possible, because as he sat transfixed, feet moved in a choreographed sequence that only a fellow Warbler would know.

Chocolate brown eyes locked with his sea of green, as the lyrics were altered to make the singer's intentions crystal clear:

"I'm gonna try for an uptown boy

He's been living in his white bread world

As long as anyone with hot blood can

And now he's looking for a downtown man

That's what I am"

The voice, the eyes, the confidence...had Sebastian really been this blind? Where had this guy been hiding all year? If Sebastian had been paying attention, perhaps he would have noticed the fellow senior who had quietly been his biggest fan.

Later that evening, as he stared into molten chocolate eyes and ran his tongue over creamy white skin, Sebastian was reminded why summer was his favourite season.

Two weeks later, Sebastian found himself sitting at the same table, pretending that his heart wasn't hoping to see the rich mahogany tresses and matching eyes he had dreamt about for far too many nights already.

He was at the bar ordering his second beer, his back to the stage when his heart betrayed him. Even before he turned around, there was no mistaking the voice that was singing only to him in the crowded room:

"Well they say the sky's the limit

And to me that's really true

But my friend you have

Seen nothing

Just wait 'til I get through"

This time in the sweltering heat, there was talk of LA and New York City. Of dreams to be cast in movies, and to sing on a Broadway stage. What there wasn't was the exchanging of phone numbers or empty promises.

Two weeks later. Same table. Same melodic voice. Same dark eyes. Same unwelcome tug at Sebastian's heart.

"So they came into the outway

It was Sunday - What a black day

Mouth to mouth resuscitation

Sounding heartbeats - intimidations

Annie Are You Okay?"

The differences all arose afterward. Lying naked in bed, two bodies wrapped around each other in the hot night, the fear of feeling overexposed evaporated long ago. Soft voices, that are still a little wrecked, intertwine the tale of a year that Sebastian thinks he'd rather forget. But from this angle, wrapped in the arms of a lover, he finds moments that he didn't even know existed. He was too busy playing the hunter, to stop and notice that he was also being hunted. And for the first time, he falls asleep feeling like the one worthy of being chased.

On his final night in Ohio, Sebastian eased out of the driveway and onto the road. He didn't even bother with a backward glance to the place where he'd resided for the last 12 months. His eyes were fixed on the road ahead. He had one stop before he headed for his final destination - New York City.

He was finally free. The whims of his parents would no longer dictate where he called home. He still hadn't forgiven them for moving from Paris to Westerville. Although for the first time in a year, he realized the anger didn't burn quite as hot in his heart anymore. In fact, all the failures and frustrations the year had brought were tempered now by the image of chocolate brown eyes and creamy white skin.

And that's the image that lingered, as Sebastian took the stage and fittingly performed The Warbler's competition swan song from the past year. Only, this time he used the lyrics to say all the things he never could. There was no wall of sarcasm to shield his heart. There was only him and the boy who saved him during those hot summer nights.

"The sun goes down

The stars come out

And all that counts

Is here and now

My universe will never be the same

I'm glad you came"

The song lyrics used were Uptown Girl by Billy Joel, Bad & Smooth Criminal by Michael Jackson, and Glad You Came by The Wanted.