AUTHOR'S NOTE: Sorry for the long wait. Life kind of got away from me, but I am (...semi...) committed to finishing this sorry. I've been on vacation and have taken the time to work on this. I have a few chapters done, so you'll see some new chapters being posted more regularly. There was only one review for the first chapter, but a lot of views. Hopefully that means more people are enjoying this than just the one? So thank you 'I Skip-I Trip-I Fall' for the review! Appreciate it!

One more little note: the line break and italics are supposed to mean that you're reading the character's thoughts. Ok, onto the story...

oOo

Untitled Blaine/Sebastian Project That Will Rock

Chapter 2: The Last First Day of High School Part II

Sebastian Smythe squinted his eyes for a moment before placing his sunglasses over his eyes.

Dalton Academy.

It was the first day of his senior year and he was already apprehensive. The summer had been one full of opportunities for reflection and personal growth. He would have loved to honestly make the claim that it had been a self-decided and perpetuated growth, but the truth was that he didn't have much else to do while visiting his mother in Paris.

When Sebastian's father moved him to the States, a move based more on political reasons and a need to keep up appearances than a genuine aching for closeness with his son, he promised his wife that Sebastian would be back to visit her in the following summer. Sebastian remembered his mother's tight-lipped smile when she was told that her son would return for a visit.

Sebastian wasn't an idiot. He may be many things: a liar, a cheat, a manipulator, a slut, selfish, conniving, self-involved, impulsive, the list goes on and on; but no one could ever claim that Sebastian Smythe was stupid. He knew his mother was not looking forward to his return, but what could she do? Make a scene? Yell? Berate her husband for inconveniencing her with the responsibility of her own child? No, she simply nodded her head and smiled at her son with a lack of happiness that taunted his heart. It was as if the emptiness of her gesture ridiculed him and jeered: "Ha! No one loves you! You're not so much a son as you are a burden!"

Sebastian had traveled the world with his family as his father was moved from office to office. They had never been what you would call a happy family. Sure, smiles were plastered for dinners, photographers, or parties, but the Arctic couldn't hold a candle to the coldness found within the walls of their homes.

Mr. Smythe was a cold, detached man that could never see beyond his own needs and wants. He was always polite and friendly with strangers, ambassadors, fellow country club members and anyone with enough money behind their name, but he might as well have been a stranger to his son. Sebastian would sometimes enviously watch their party guests because these people, these guests, were able to elicit smiles and laughter from the man that he so desperately wanted to please without even trying. What made them so important and worthwhile? Why couldn't he, the son, make his father react the same way?

No, instead, Mr. Smythe seemed to have two reactions to the existence of his son: complete indifference or outright hostility. It was a well-known fact among their circles that Sebastian was completely uncoordinated would trip or walk into something at least once a week. The poor boy was always sporting cuts and bruises, most hidden beneath his clothing. His misfortune was usually the topic of friendly teasing among his father's friends. Whenever these jokes came up, Sebastian would plaster a smile on his face and force a bashful expression across his features. What these people didn't know was the real reason behind these marks; the real reason behind his forced smiles or his rehearsed bashfulness. These were the byproducts of Mr. Smythe's bouts of rage over his son's inability to be "worthy of the Smythe name." Who would want such a pathetic excuse of a sissy boy as a son? Who wanted to be the parent of a "fag?" Luckily for Sebastian, his father's work had him traveling for a majority of the month. Sebastian had learned quickly how to deal with his father during the time he was home.

Mrs. Smythe, Elizabeth, was equally self-involved and emotionally unavailable. While living in Paris, Elizabeth had an affair with a Parisian designer that she had met at one of the many fashion shows she would attend. Mr. Smythe knew about her infidelity, though he was hardly in a place where he could condemn her without looking like a complete hypocrite. Her romance with Random French Douche, or RFD as Sebastian referred to him, was never an issue until the elder Smythe was relocated to Ohio back in the States. Elizabeth refused to leave RFD. Sebastian asked to stay with his mother so as not to leave his friends and life in Paris (it wasn't as though he could say "I'd rather be completely ignored than ignored some and beaten."). His request was denied, probably due to his mother refusing to care for him, and he was quickly shipped to an all-boys' school in the Midwest where he and his father had moved.

His first year at the school started off rough: he was surrounded by affluent nimrods that contained about as much class as the mice in Paris. Sure, they had money like his Parisian friends, but they lacked the sophistication and taste that clearly was hard to come by in a small Ohio town. He decided to join the campus a capella group, the Warblers, which led him to a turning point in his miserable Ohio-existence. His membership in the group allowed him to meet the only worthy person, at least in Sebastian's opinion, in the whole state.

Blaine Anderson was an enigma. He was seemingly average: good looking, but nowhere near Sebastian's own model-good-looks. He was a good singer, but nothing that demanded your immediate attention. His family was well-off, but no more than Sebastian's. He was kind, but not so much that he was in the middle of a South American village, feeding the poor.

So what was it? What was it about the boy that had Sebastian chasing him for the better part of their junior year? Sebastian still had no clue. He had spent a good amount of his time during the summer trying to figure out why Blaine had this pull on him. He spent a good amount of time during the summer thinking about how he treated Blaine, which morphed into how he treated the entire New Directions team. This then made him think about how he has treated people in general, especially Dave; the boy who tried to kill himself, but had thankfully failed.

All that thinking led him to one conclusion: he, Sebastian, was a douche.

He was a douche for trying to steal another boys' boyfriend, and he used the term "boy" loosely because God knows Lady Hummel couldn't be classified as one. He was a douche for blackmailing a New Directions member with a poorly photoshopped picture, but that really was more a bad reflection of their intelligence (or lack thereof) because of how obviously fake that photo was. He was a douche for making fun of Dave the way he did and being another voice in the boy's head, screaming for him to take his own life.

He was a douche.

He told the New Directioners last year that he had turned over a new leaf and was a better, nicer Sebastian. That was a lie. He was nicer, or at least wanted to be, but that was just to make himself feel better because his rejection of a boy had driven him to suicide. Sure, Sebastian was hot, but a refusal didn't mean the guy should dress up in a suit and hang himself.

Sebastian's self reflection that summer showed him how pompous that thought really was. Clearly, Dave didn't try to kill himself because Sebastian didn't want to sleep with him. Fin wasn't so stupid to think that everyone would think the picture was real (well...that one could be a toss-up, but that was just plain honesty without any malice). And most importantly, no matter how many purses fell out of Lady Hummel's mouth when he giggled—yes giggled, not laughed—it is never ok to steal another man's boyfriend.

Sebastian was finally able to look himself in the mirror and see the truth: he was a douche.

So what was he to do with this revelation, this epiphany that had kept him company for the past few months?

His mind rehearsed his prepared speech all day during his classes. When the Warbler meeting began after school, Sebastian stood up, ready to address his fellow members as the new, more considerate leader that he wanted to be.

"Thank you gentlemen for being here to this meeting that I called. Before we start with our business, I wanted t-"

"What do you mean?" Nick shouted from his seat. "The Warblers always have their senior meeting after the first day of school. Why are thanking us for something we always do?" The other members glanced each other nervously. Interrupting Sebastian Smythe was never a good idea.

"Is this a special meeting or something?" Nick continued.

Sebastian saw red as his eyes zeroed in on the outspoken boy. When Sebastian turned to look at him, Nick realized his mistake and immediately tried to sink into his chair. Memories of his parents telling him to think before blurting things out crossed his mind as he desperately wished for the power to become invisible.

"Well, maybe if you kept your mouth shut and let me finish, you'd find out. How about we try that, huh?" The other boys at the meeting all averted his eyes as he spat the words. He mentally scolded himself:

The whole point of this is to not be a douche. Way to start things on a positive note, Idiot...No, even that is mean. You can't even be nice to yourself. Fail...I'm doing it again...Ugh, stupid Nick...

Sebastian closed his eyes and counted to three. He opened them and spoke.

"I'm...I'm...s-sorry Nick."

The words tasted bitter in his mouth. Every eye flew to him, all wide and unbelieving. He might as well have told them that he was getting a sex change and changing his name to Coco Fontana.

Well, in their defense, this is pretty un-Sebastian of you...me...us?...Whatever...Does Jeff always look this stupid?...Who's that ginger kid? Does he even go to this school?...

"Yes, I can apologize, don't look so surprised. Look, I had a lot of time to think this summer and I came to the realization that I haven't been the best leader this past year. Hell, I haven't been a very good person for a long time now." He paused and surveyed his audience. "We're Warblers, which means we're the best this school has to offer. This group was founded a long time ago on the same principles that Dalton still holds dear today: honesty, integrity, hard work, and respect. You all elected me as your leader, and I took us in the opposite direction from where we should have been. Not only did we not win at Regionals, but I also led us into a situation where I seriously injured one of our own, a former featured soloist."

He sighed as he ran a hand through his hair. "I know this may be a case of too little, too late, but I do apologize. I apologize for treating you the way I have and I apologize for bringing dishonor to the name Warbler. If you'd like to ask me to step down this year, I'll completely understand. But if you'll give me the chance, I'd love to show you how much I've grown in the past few months and how much I want to redeem not only myself, but also the Warbler reputation. I can't promise much, but I can promise that I'll always try my hardest to make you all proud."

Sebastian didn't realize that he had made the entire end of his speech while facing the ground in front of him.

Look up you idiot. Only poor people look this pathetic!...Crap, I mean...Agh…Just look up…

Sebastian quickly turned to face the others in the room, trying to look as sincere as he felt without coming across as desperate.

Speaking of desperate, look at John's new hairstyle...Seriously? You can't even be nice in your head...

It was Jeff who broke the silence. "I don't know about anyone else, but I would like to make a motion to keep Sebastian Smythe as Head Warbler for this school year. Any man who can admit their mistakes is a man that I'd be happy to follow. And apology accepted." He smiled as he reached out his hand to Sebastian. The moment was cheesy and cliché, but it was also sincere.

One by one, the other members voiced their support for the motion, and for Sebastian. Is how it felt to be liked? Sebastian had always been popular, surrounded by people, but always for different reasons: fear, jealousy, admiration, a desire to use him. He had always enjoyed a healthy control over those around him, but never had he received acceptance by his peers. The feeling made him smile despite his desire to maintain appearances, a desire taught to him by his parents. Perhaps his father had it wrong all along? Maybe having the upper hand at all times wasn't more important than simply being nice to people? Maybe sometimes it was better to let your guard down and admit you're wrong?

Nick smiled as he clapped Sebastian on the back. "A new Sebastian, huh? Maybe now we can expect you to show up on time to rehearsals?" He laughed as he teased the taller Warbler.

"Tell you what, I'll start showing up on time when you start singing on key." The retort came out faster than Sebastian think. He choked on the next insult before it could escape.

"Sorry," he mumbled as he looked at Nick apologetically, "that just came out. My mouth kind of runs on auto-douche."

John laughed from his seat as his hands subconsciously moved to check his hair, "Don't apologize, he is flat a lot!"

The rest of the Warblers started laughing and teasing each other as Sebastian leaned back in his seat and took it all in.

Maybe this year won't be so bad after all...

oOo

AUTHOR'S NOTE: Hopefully you enjoyed that. I do apologize for the repetitiveness of the word "douche." Hopefully nobody finds that word offensive. As I was writing I kept thinking "Ahh...think of another word!...But I can't...Ahh!...'Douche!'"...Yeah. So I originally pictured this chapter to mimic the first and give a more narrative look at Sebastian's first day, but it sort of got away from me as I wrote and turned more into an introspective look at his life in general. After writing this, it makes me want to do the same for Blaine at some point in this story and introduce you to his back story (which I'll need to create at some point, I guess).

I'm trying to do my best at redeeming Sebastian without fast forwarding the process and making him a nice guy overnight. What are your thoughts on this? Was that apparent, or did it seem too much of a change too quickly? I'd love some feedback on that. I'm trying to keep these characters as realistic as possible and I've read so many stories where Sebastian suddenly becomes a kitten in the span of a single chapter. I don't like that. I appreciate the sarcasm and wit that his character has, so it's my goal to find a way to keep that without others becoming casualties of his personality.

I'm also trying to think of a title here. Let me know if you have suggestions!

I'd love your thoughts on the story thus far and where you'd like to see it go. I'm always open to suggestions and criticisms!

NEXT CHAPTER: The boys finally interact!