Here we go! The final part.
The song used here is Beam Me Up by P!nk, and I must have listened to it at least 100 times while writing this. I recommend you listen to the song before it appears in this chapter, then read the representation of it here. Then listen to it over and over and over.
I hope you enjoy the last installment of Dwight's feelings!
Part 4
Something was definitely wrong with the mood in Windsor the following week. When Dwight finally emerged from his room following the marathon, everyone had greeted him with pleasantries, but didn't make too much of a fuss over the fact that he had been missing in action over the weekend. Although he was glad they weren't asking too many questions about his mood, as the week progressed it became more apparent to Dwight that he was being avoided by the main conspirators in the house.
Wes and David politely smiled at him in the kitchen one morning, but didn't say much and left soon after he arrived. The same happened when he saw Kurt and Reed at lunch, and the Twins all but turned on their heel and ran away when they saw him leave class. Even Shane, who was usually eager to talk to Dwight about the latest episode of Supernatural, packed up his books shortly after Dwight settled next to him in the library.
Even though Charlie dismissed his claims as paranoia, Dwight was starting to become concerned that he was missing an important piece to the puzzle. He had planned to confront the next suspect when he found them, but before he could come across any of them Dwight had received a text from Blaine asking him to meet in the common room later that evening. He had considered turning down the offer, in favour of a little private celebration in his room, but the part of him that wanted to confront Blaine and ask why he was being avoided by their friends confirmed he would be there.
That explains how Dwight found himself walking to the common room that evening, suspicious of the silence that filled the halls as he did. Blaine appeared from behind the huge wooden door before he could reach them and smiled at Dwight, gently closing the door behind him. Dwight thought he looked nervous, and reflexes made his fingers twitch toward his holy water spray bottle.
"Hey Dwight, it's good to see you." Blaine hesitated, licking his lips nervously before he spoke again, "Okay, so, the reason I asked you here is…I finished the song. And I wanted you to hear it. But…" Blaine trailed off at the expression on the other boys' face. "Dwight? Are you okay?"
Dwight stood in total shock. He stared at Blaine in amazement, wondering if he had heard him correctly, "You…you actually did it? I mean I know I asked you but I guess I didn't think you would actually…finish it." His voice was quiet and eyes wide.
Blaine laughed a little, rubbing the back of his neck anxiously, "Well, thing is…look, I know you're probably going to think I was out of line in doing this but…I hope you don't get mad. And I'm sorry if it's a step too far."
"What are you talking about Blaine?" Dwight asked, confused at his rambling. The voice that came from inside the common room only added to this.
"Blaine would you stop rambling and just bring him in!" it sounded a little like Shane.
Blaine sighed and gestured to the door, "Just…come in and listen? Then you can react however you want. But I would like you to hear it first."
Still too confused to oppose, Dwight let Blaine lead him into the common room and was surprised at what he saw. Blaine walked over to join Kurt, Wes and David, Shane, Reed, and the Twins in the centre of the room, all beaming at him with happy faces.
"Sit down little Knight, we have something to show you." Evan said happily as he pointed to the couch. Dwight obliged and watched as the boys moved into a semicircle facing him, Blaine appearing in the middle holding his guitar.
Blaine looked at Dwight very intently as he spoke "You said you wanted Alan to be proud of the person you were today…and even though he can't be here to tell you that himself…" he gestured to the boys standing around him, and Wes continued the sentence.
"We want to tell you that we're all proud of you. We love you Dwight. This one's for you and your brother." He smiled at Dwight and stood in line with his friends as Blaine started to strum the guitar, looking at Dwight as he sang.
There's a whole 'nother conversation going on,
In a parallel universe.
Where nothing breaks and nothing hurts.
Dwight's breath caught in his throat as he heard Blaine sing the words he had been thinking of for weeks now, the soft sounds of his guitar filling the air.
There's a waltz playin' frozen in time
Blades of grass on tiny bare feet
I look at you and you're lookin' at me
The world around them stopped, and all that mattered to Dwight in that moment was listening to the words and the music. He stared at Blaine in disbelief, pinching himself to check he was actually living this and not dreaming. Blaine played beautifully, and Dwight's chest thumped hard as images of his baby brother floated through his mind in time with the song.
Could you beam me up,
Give me a minute, I don't know what I'd say in it
I'd probably just stare, happy just to be there, holding your face
Beam me up,
Let me be lighter, I'm tired of being a fighter,
I think a minute's enough,
Just beam me up.
The expressions which floated over Blaine's face as he sang matched those Dwight was feeling, and he had to keep reminding himself to just breathe when it became overwhelming. He was surprised when Kurt stepped forward to give Blaine's shoulder an encouraging squeeze, and took over singing, holding eye contact with Dwight as he picked up the next verse.
Saw a blackbird soarin' in the sky,
Barely a breath I caught one last sight
Tell me that was you sayin' goodbye,
Evan and Ethan stepped forward next, and looked at Dwight as if they were holding back so much until they started to sing and express their emotions to him. They stood close to each other as they sang, reaching out to Dwight in a way he had never seen before.
There are times I feel the shiver and cold,
It only happens when I'm on my own,
That's how you tell me I'm not alone
When the chorus came around again, and all the boys joined in to support Blaine's voice and guitar playing, Dwight couldn't hold back his emotions anymore. He closed his eyes briefly and swallowed around the hard lump in his throat.
Could you beam me up,..
And when he opened them again, the tears began to fall.
Let me be lighter, I'm tired of being a fighter,
I think a minute's enough,
Just beam me up.
Watching his friends perform the song he had been working so hard to perfect brought Dwight immense warmth as he took in their expressions and the sounds of their voices together, and it made him think of Alan. He missed his brother so much it hurt. But what hurt more than the pain of missing him was the pain of thinking Alan wouldn't be proud of him. Dwight wanted to be the person his brother deserved, wanted to be able to express his love for his brother in a way others would understand. So although what Dwight did next was so unlike his usual behaviour, he liked the idea of it being a new part of him.
Dwight stood from the couch. He looked between all of his friends with teary eyes. He let out a steadying breath. And he began to sing.
In my head I see your baby blues
I hear your voice and I, I break in two and now there's
One of me, with you
When Dwight successfully made it through the verse the rest of the boys broke out into giant smiles and moved to him as Blaine had a little fun with a music solo, strumming away happily as he watched his friends embrace Dwight. They hugged him tightly and patted him on the back, hiding their glistening eyes with smiles. Kurt released Dwight to Evan and Ethan, who wrapped an arm around him each, and he walked to the piano to get ready to play. Dwight was pulled into the middle of the room with Blaine as they all resumed singing passionately.
So when I need you can I send you a sign
I'll burn a candle and turn off the lights
I'll pick a star and watch you shine
Dwight was overwhelmed by the whole experience, but the song sounded so amazing that he didn't want it to end. The boys smiled at each other happily and raised their voices higher in time with Kurt's piano playing as the end of the song approached, determined to fill the air with their love and support.
Just beam me up
Give me a minute, I don't know what I'd say in it
I'd probably just stare, happy just to be there, holding your face
Reed stared at Shane as he sang with his emotions clear in his eyes - he was immensely proud of Shane for helping organise this. Despite only having become close with Dwight in the past few months, Reed was surprised at how much Shane had grown to care for him, and enjoyed watching their friendship blossom.
Beam me up,
Let me be lighter, I'm tired of being a fighter,
I think a minute's enough,
Beam me up
Beam me up
Beam me up
Could you beam me up.
As the song came to an end and the boys caught their breaths, Kurt re-joined the group and watched Dwight carefully, trying to gauge his potential reaction. Dwight stood in shock, struggling to remain composed and unsure what to do next. When he asked Blaine to write music for the song he had no idea Blaine would go to such lengths for him, and compose such a beautiful tribute to his brother. He wasn't sure what he had done to deserve such great friends, but as he looked around at them Dwight felt eternally grateful to have them in his life. He wasn't mad at Blaine for involving them, he understood why, he just hadn't thought they would all care this much.
When Dwight didn't move or talk, the boys shifted nervously, wondering if they had crossed a line after all. Blaine placed his guitar on the couch and walked to Dwight, placing a gentle hand on his shoulder, "Dwight? Dwight are you-?"
Blaine was cut off mid-sentence as Dwight tugged him into a fierce hug, squeezing him so hard Blaine struggled to catch his breath, "Woah…alright…hey. Did you like it?" he asked nervously.
Dwight held him at arms-length and stared at him with wide eyes filled with fresh tears, "Did I like it? Blaine that was…I can't…you did…all of you…" he shook his head as he trailed off and hugged Blaine again. Feeling the taller boys' shoulders start to tremble with sobs, Blaine wrapped his arms around him and hugged him back in an attempt to provide comfort.
The others watched fondly, and David nudged Wes a little when he discretely wiped his eyes, gesturing to the rest of the boys doing the same. Like Wes had said before the song, they all cared greatly for Dwight, their little hunter, and would do anything for him. As they were so used to him giving off an air of strength and secrecy, seeing Dwight raw and open like this was an emotional experience for them all.
Reed swatted Shane away as he tried to dry the smaller boys' face with his sleeves and walked to the pair in the centre, pausing for a second before joining their hug. Kurt gave a watery smile and did the same, followed by Shane, and before they knew it they were all sharing a group hug and giving out shaky laughs through some tears.
In the middle of it all, Dwight took a shaky breath and lifted his head to smile at his friends, "Thank you. All of you. That was…the best tribute I could have asked for. Alan would have loved it. Thank you." They all smiled and hugged him a little tighter until he finally fought them off, "Alright, I get it, you all love me. Now let me go before I lose my intimidating nature."
That made the boys in the room laugh and lifted the mood a little. Dwight took a moment and looked to the ceiling, fingers tangling with the pendant around his neck and smiled, imagining Alan's glowing face and bright blue eyes. "Happy birthday, baby brother. I hope I made you proud."
David smiled and clapped Dwight on the shoulder, mimicking his movements, "Happy birthday Alan. It would have been a pleasure to know you." The rest of the boys nodded their agreement and whispered their birthday wishes, hoping that they could continue to ease the older brothers' pain in the future.
"Could you…could you tell us some stories about him, Dwight? I'd like to get to know him some more." Reed asked quietly after a moment, looking a little sheepish from under Shane's arm.
"That's a great idea Reed. We could make today all about him. Why don't you start with his reaction when you gave him his pendant?" Blaine said as he thought back to the precious photograph Dwight had shared with him. He sat on the couch with Kurt and laced their fingers together, hoping Dwight would open up some more.
Dwight laughed a little and sat on a nearby bean bag, "Alright. He had been bugging me for weeks about my pendant…" he began, preparing himself to proudly talk about his little brother for as long as his friends would listen.
From the doorway, Charlie watched the boys fondly, proud of what they had achieved. Admittedly he didn't know anything about their plan until he heard music coming from the room, but once he realised what was going on he didn't interrupt. Instead he decided to stay and watch the array of emotions that crossed Dwight's face as the others sang, finding that he too felt a lump in his throat as Dwight's tears began to fall and didn't stop until the boys had enveloped him in their giant hug. Charlie cared for Dwight too, as he did all his Windsors, but part of him had always had a soft spot for Dwight's particular branch of crazy.
When a smile was restored onto Dwight's face, and the other boys were giving him their undivided attention as he spoke, Charlie slipped out into the corridor to avoid being spotted. He dabbed at his eyes and also sent his wishes to Alan before he left.
"Don't worry, he's got plenty people here to watch out for him. Happy birthday, Alan.".
Fin.
If you have made it this far, I would like to thank you for taking time to read my work.
Dwight Houston is a character who means more to me than I can logically explain, and reading and writing about him brings me great joy. For that I would like to thank CP Coulter for introducing him into my life with her fantastic work.
I thoroughly hope you enjoyed reading this! And if so (or even if you didn't) leave a comment so I can thank you again!
Keep on hunting.