The next morning in the choir room, Blaine settles into a seat between Brittany and Joe, the latter of whom is in an intense discussion with Sam about Diablo 3. Sam had not believed that Joe had gone sixteen years of his life without ever playing a video game, and had set about rectifying the situation during the holidays. The result was a Diablo-obsessed Joe, but the New Directions members were all in agreement that this was much better an alternative than him moping about Quinn.
Blaine sits with his hands clasped around a fresh brew of coffee from the Lima Bean. He's content to simply hold it for the moment, thankful for the heat it radiates. But he stares down at the cup, knowing he needs the drug it contains. As predicted, his sleep had been limited the night before.
He can feel Tina's attempt at meeting his gaze, but he doesn't turn to face her. Blaine feels too much guilt as it is. Keeping his arms huddled in at his sides for warmth, he brings the coffee cup to his lips, about to take a sip, when -
"I could warm you up a lot better than that coffee ever could."
Blaine jumps, looking up to see Sebastian enter the choir room. His long strides carry him towards the rows of chairs. Blaine scowls at his mug, having very nearly burnt his tongue.
"Hey, you're the rocksalt guy!" says Rory from the back row, where he's seated beside Sugar.
"What the hell are you doing here, dude?" shouts Sam.
"Don't you take one more step, pretty boy!" orders Artie, holding up a finger.
"Please, like I'm scared of you," dismisses Sebastian, giving Artie a look of utter contempt.
"How much does daddy have to pay you to go back to your old school?" asks Sugar, wrinkling her nose. Apparently she changes her mind about people pretty quickly once they open their mouths.
Blaine's not entirely sure if he's imagining it, but he swears he sees Sebastian's smirk falter for just a millisecond. But it can't have, because Sebastian shoots back an insult in no time.
"A lot more than what he pays you for every hour you work for him, I bet."
Fortunately for Sebastian, Sugar doesn't comprehend the meaning of his words. Unfortunately for him, Rory does.
"You did not just go there," he says, his accent thickened by his anger. He jumps forward and shoves at Sebastian. No one makes to stop him. Sebastian shoves back, his eyes daring. Sam and Joe stand to flank Rory on either side, and Blaine's bracing himself for a fully-fledged brawl when Mr Schuester enters the room.
"What's going on?" he shouts, intervening between Sebastian and Rory, hands placed on either boy's chest.
"You can't just let him in, Mr Schue!" shouts Sam, pointing angrily at Sebastian. "Think about what he did to Blaine's eye."
"Guys, c'mon," says Blaine. The students turn to look at him. It's the first time he's spoken since Sebastian's entered the room. "That was ages ago. I've completely forgotten about that."
"Blaine, let's be reasonable here," growls Artie, still glaring at Sebastian. "He could have blinded you. I say we show him what that's like."
"That's enough!" Mr Shuester's voice booms over their bickering. "I don't know if any of you have lost your ability to count on the holidays-" ("Oh my God, how did he know?" Brittany whispers to Blaine") - "but we are four members short of having a large enough glee club for Sectionals. And we're aiming to have a lot more than the minimum twelve members. So I say you all settle down and let Sebastian join, instead of acting like a bunch of five-year-olds."
"What about Blaine?" asks Rory, flabbergast.
"I've already talked it over with Blaine," says Mr Schuester, calmer now. "He says he's fine with it. And quite frankly, if he's fine with it, I see no reason that any of you should have a problem with it."
The attention shifts to Blaine, all eyes fixed on him. Sam actually gapes. Blaine slumps low in his chair, feeling the judgement of his friends.
"Can't we just – can't we just give him a clean slate?" suggests Blaine weakly with the slightest of shrugs, looking around at his fellow New Direction members with a frown.
The room is suddenly filled with murmurs. Blaine glances towards Sebastian for only a moment, expecting to see his lips creased into a triumphant smirk. Instead, the look Sebastian gives Blaine is solemn.
"Fine," says Sam. "But you've been warned, meerkat. Kurt may be in New York, but that doesn't mean he doesn't have us looking out for him."
Sebastian rolls his eyes before taking a seat in the row behind Blaine. Seconds later, Blaine hears the scrape of chairs as Sebastian brings his forward. He leans forward in a way that could be mistaken for general movement, so his lips are just millimetres from the back of Blaine's neck. Sebastian's hot breath, tickles at the skin above Blaine's collarbone.
"I knew you'd want me, Anderson," mutters Sebastian darkly. The warmth of his breath disappears quickly as Joe takes his seat again next to Blaine. Blaine's about to turn around and retort, when Mr Schuester calls the group to order to give them their first assignment of the year.
"New beginnings," says Mr Schuester, underlining the words he has just written on the whiteboard with a flourish. "We lost a lot of great members last year, all of whom went on to wonderful things, but it's time for some fresh blood. As with the start of every year, we're looking for new recruits…"
"So wait," says Sebastian once Mr Schuester has left at the end of rehearsal. Blaine's the only one who bothers to turn and look at him. "Every year, you guys have to go out and actively find new members?"
"Do you have a problem with the way we do things around here?" asks Tina. "Because if you do, you're more than welcome to go back to where you came from."
"No," says Sebastian. That's all he says. No insulting remark, no nothing. And when he turns to look at Rory and Sugar as they make to leave, he actually looks sincere. "Sugar, I'm sorry about before. I'm still working on the whole don't-be-a-douchebag thing."
Sugar's face bursts into a smile and she rushes forward to throw her arms around Sebastian. Sebastian, quite obviously, doesn't know what to do with her, eventually settling for placing his arms awkwardly at her hips.
"That's okay, sweetie," she says, holding him at arm's length now. "You're just lucky that you're cute."
Sebastian smiles at her, rolling his eyes in a "yeah, well," kind of way, as Rory mumbles, "Lucky that you're gay, more like."
Blaine's eyes flicker to Tina, who has a look of bewilderment on her face. Did he just apologize? she mouths. Blaine gives a slight upwards jerk of his head in assent, eyeing Sebastian out of the corner of his eye. Maybe, just maybe, this arrangement won't be so bad after all.