Author's note:
Warnings: Rated M
Disclaimer: I do not own Glee
On Wednesday after school, the band got together for rehearsal at Jeff's uncle's house. This was actually the usual place they would meet to practice, so this didn't raise any questions.
But the prominent bruises on both Jeff's and his uncle's faces did.
After a few too many scared glances in Matthew's direction, Jeff had quickly explained that he had had a fight with his father and he was staying here for the moment. But because that didn't explain why Matthew also had black eyes and a swollen nose, he had to explain that his father had done that too.
After practice, where they ran through the entire set list for Friday's gig, Jeff was left with only Lana remaining.
Jeff had hoped that her dad would have dropped her off so he could witness any interaction between him and his uncle to see if there were lingering feelings on both sides, but he was disappointed when she had gotten a lift with a girl friend of hers from work. She worked part time as a receptionist at a doctor's surgery in Westerville while she completed a course in beauty therapy.
I guess most 22 year olds have their own place and don't need a lift from their parents. Jeff thought.
"Hey, that was a great job with Valerie Lana." Jeff said. I love her voice, especially when she sings stuff that Amy Winehouse did or Adele.
Lana smiled widely, "Thanks Jeff! You did great yourself, I loved that middle song. Anyone special you're going to sing that to?" She teased.
"Haha, no. Not yet, any way. But Uncle Matt reckons I've got some girlie groupies who'll love my current badboy look, so you never know!" He laughed.
Lana smiled, slyly this time. "Yeah, not just the girls though. You'll have the whole audience after you at this rate - plays bass, sings, wears leather, the bruises - you've got the whole rock thing down!"
Jeff blushed, noticing that Lana was apparently not homophobic. "I'm not sure about that."
They were just closing up the garage when she asked, "Jeff? You don't have to tell me if you don't want to, but why did your dad kick you out? You're not exactly the typical badly behaved teen that that would happen to." She looked intently at him. After a few beats of silence, she continued. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have pried."
She slung her bag over her shoulder and went to walk down the driveway. Jeff called out, "Wait! Sorry, I want to tell you, it's just difficult, you know?"
Lana nodded, before plonking herself on the grass and patting the space next to her. "Take all the time you need. I'm a good listener." She smiled kindly and Jeff joined her on the lawn. Jeff explained everything.
"Luckily Uncle Matt isn't homophobic like my dad is, otherwise I'm not sure where I'd be living right now."
"Yeah, your uncle's cool. I'm sorry your dad did that. He doesn't sound like a nice man. I'm struggling to be polite here!" She exhaled loudly. "I can't understand how a parent could do that to their kid." She shook her head.
"Watching your parents go through a divorce is bad enough, but I can't imagine what you have been through over the last few days and yet you're still coming to band practice!"
Jeff stared silently at the grass, counting the blades. "Yeah, well I love playing and singing. I won't let him take that away from me. It feels even better knowing that he didn't like me doing it. He probably thought it was too gay or something!" He tried to laugh, but Lana covered his hand with hers sympathetically and gave it a squeeze before releasing it.
Jeff turned the conversation back onto her. "Was it rough on you when your parents divorced?"
Lana shrugged. "When I was little I thought I could find a way to make them love each other again, but once I hit my teens I realised that although each of them is great and they love me to bits, they're just not right for each other.
If it wasn't for me I'm sure they would never have gotten married in the first place. It's fine though, I've talked to each of them about it and I know they don't regret it. I just hope they both find that special person someday, because that would make me feel guilty otherwise. Sorry, that must sound stupid."
Jeff studied her as he replied. "No, I get it. So, is either of them dating?" He ventured.
Lana nodded. "Yes, actually my Mum just got engaged! She's asked me to be her bridesmaid, I'm really happy for her."
"What about your dad?" Jeff probed, trying not to sound too interested.
"No-one special. Back when they started fighting, Mum always accused him of cheating, but he denied it. He told me years later that there was someone, but that he had never had an affair."
At Jeff's puzzled look, she explained. "It has to be someone from high school that he may have dumped my mother for if she hadn't gotten pregnant with me."
Jeff tried to bite the inside of his cheeks to stop the wide smile that was threatening to break out. "I think you're right." He muttered under his breath. Then louder, "I think this is your ride."
Lana's boyfriend, Dean, pulled up in his truck and honked the horn. Lana scrambled to her feet, waving at her boyfriend. "Okay, I'll see you at the gig! Bye Jeff!"
Jeff headed into the house. He quickly put the oven on to warm it up for dinner before poking his head round the lounge door to speak to his uncle.
"Uncle Matt? I'm getting my hair cut tomorrow after school ready for the gig. Why don't you come too - yours is getting a little long on top. You need to look sharp on Friday, you never know who you might meet there, especially looking all badass too!"
He giggled as his uncle threw a cushion at him. "There's no need to imply I'm not looking my best, but I guess it wouldn't hurt. I suppose you're going to inspect my outfit too then?" He raised his eyebrows, laughing when Jeff nodded eagerly.
When Jeff left the room, Matthew fiddled with his hair a bit, thinking. I guess I don't go out to actively meet anyone much. I should take advantage of the fact that it's at a gay bar on Friday. Maybe it's time to start dating again.
Matthew followed Jeff into the kitchen to help with dinner. "After our haircuts tomorrow, I think we should go shopping for some new outfits for Friday. My treat!"
Jeff let out a whoop and hugged his uncle. "You won't regret this! We're going to look amazing!"
Jeff stopped bouncing up and down and held onto the counter to steady himself, the other hand holding his forehead. "Woah!"
Matthew was worried. "Are you okay, Jeff?" He asked.
Jeff nodded gingerly, sitting down. "Yeah, just a bit dizzy. I've been getting a few headaches since... you know. I think I'm just tired after all that practice. And thirsty!"
Matthew nodded, quickly fetching him a cold drink and some painkillers.
"Er, Jeff, I got a call from your dad's solicitors. It seems he hasn't wasted any time getting the legal guardian paperwork started. I can deal with it all for you and I'm happy to be your guardian, I just wanted to check this is still what you want." He sat across from Jeff, waiting.
Jeff's face was blank as he simply nodded.
Nick was in his and Blaine's dorm on Friday, getting ready to go out to the gig. He didn't know why he felt oddly nervous at meeting Mr Sterling's nephew. He didn't even know his name or age, but presumably he was at least Nick's age, maybe older to be in the band.
I just want to make a good impression if he introduces me to his nephew. That's all. Yeah.
Blaine was also preening himself more than usual, so Nick was glad he wasn't the only one. At least Nick had managed to persuade him to use less gel than the usual helmet style for school. Blaine's hair was curly and flopped a little, with just enough product to hold back the frizz.
They both had on dark jeans and Nick had a dark green long sleeved t-shirt and Blaine had a blue button down shirt. After a little more preening and once the room stank of aftershave, the boys grabbed their jackets and left to find Thad and Sebastian, so Thad could drive them to Scandals.
Once the boys had paid to get in and deposited their coats in the cloakroom, Nick bought a round of beer, light for Thad, and then scanned the room to see if Mr Sterling was there yet. He thought he saw him talking to a guy near one of the high tables at the edge of the dancefloor, so he made his way over.
As he got closer, he could see that his teacher had got a recent haircut that really suited him and he definitely approved of the fitted jeans and leather jacket too. Something else was different though, which he realised as soon as he greeted him.
"Hey, Mr Sterling! Holy shit!" He stammered, staring at his battered teacher. "I-I mean, er, sorry... what happened to you, sir?"
Matthew laughed. "Hello to you too, Nick! When we're off of Dalton grounds you can just call me Matthew. And the rest is a long story for another day, but I'm okay and for the record the other guy came off worse." He turned to the well dressed guy next to him, who Nick thought looked disappointed about being interrupted. "Excuse me for a minute, Justin."
He walked with Nick over to the stage, pointing out how things were positioned for each instrument and why, and he was just about to take him backstage to meet the band when he got the signal that it was only five minutes until they were due to come on. "Oh well, perhaps I can introduce you to the band next time."
Nick nodded, feeling a little disappointed, but he plastered a smile on. "Cool! Tell your nephew good luck!"
Matthew nodded. "Yes, I'll just go and check on Jeff and the others to make sure they don't need anything. I'll see you later." He disappeared through the crowd and then went through the door to the backstage area.
Shortly after that, the lights dimmed and Blaine and Thad joined him with their beers, all three lining up near the front for a good view. The band filed out and Nick watched closely, waiting for the bass player to appear.
Beside them, the crowd surged a bit and a slim brunet with perfectly coiffed hair was pushed into Nick and stumbled across him when their feet tangled. He went to help but Blaine got there first, helping the guy stand.
Once he was righted he threw an apologetic "Sorry!" at Nick, then turned to Blaine and seemed to gulp, staring at the hazel-eyed Warbler. Blaine was doing no better as Thad sniggered, elbowing Nick, watching him gawk at the model-like boy in front of him.
Thad leant in to whisper in Blaine's ear. "Earth to Blaine! You're drooling, man!" As Blaine shot an annoyed and embarrassed look at Thad, the blue eyed boy slipped away to the front, just where the bass player was setting up.
Blaine watched as he caught eyes with the guy on stage and mouthed something before blowing a kiss and giving him a thumbs up.
Blaine's heart sank. He was pretty sure it looked like they were an item, so he'd better stop the giant-sized crush that was threatening to overwhelm him right now. Although he thought it was probably too late already.
He sighed, turning back to Nick, who was also staring at the two boys. But Nick wasn't looking at the guy who had tripped. He was looking at the bass player.
Nick was trying to remember how to breathe normally. After the guy had tripped over him, he had looked up to the stage, hoping he hadn't missed the bass player coming out. Jeff, he reminded himself.
Just as he remembered his name, he emerged and Nick couldn't help but stare. This boy looked a similar age to him, bright blond hair was sexily mussed up and fell softly into his eyes which were currently hidden behind shades.
He had on the tightest pair of jeans which left nothing to the imagination, and the elastic of his boxers showed cheekily above his belt. A tight black t-shirt was hidden under a leather jacket and he had one of those earpiece microphones, which suggested he would also be singing.
Oh fuck. I'm a goner. Nick thought. I can't crush on my teacher's nephew! It's useless any way, he's clearly with that tall brunet over there. I'm nothing like him, he probably wouldn't notice me any way if that's the type he likes.
The music started and the room was immediately filled with the electric energy of the band. The lead singer, a sexy dark haired girl, just Wes' type, kicked off with Valerie.
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