Soothing Siblings, Undiluted by Diffidence
Author: ebb in and away
Rating: T (see warning)
Spoilers: Up until now(very few, but the ones that are there are somewhat large)
Disclaimer: I do NOT own Glee.
Warning!: There are some situations in here that might possibly be triggers. If you might possibly have any, please DO NOT READ THIS. I don't want anybody to be hurt or upset. There are mentions of bullying. These become more detailed as the story goes on. If you have issues with swearing, you might want to skip this story. If you have problems with two people of the same sex being in a relationship, you may want to skip this story.
Author's Note: The ideas for the ice cream flavors came from .edu/products/ice-cream I'm not trying to promote the site or anything, I just figured I should explain how I got two of the flavors. The mint chocolate chip is my personal favorite though. J
Chapter 6
The boys and Beatrice stopped for lunch before going to the ice cream place. Beatrice was silent through lunch, as well as on the way to the ice cream place, which was somewhat concerning since she normally talked about the books she and Wes were going to read after going to the bookstore. Nick wrapped an arm around her shoulders, letting her lean into him. He knew better than to ask any questions, experience had taught him that she didn't always know what was bothering her anyways. They reached the ice cream place and got out of the car, Jeff leading the way in so his ice cream would be available for Beatrice to try. It was a somewhat slower day for the store, which most of the boys were grateful for. It would put less stress on Beatrice as she tried to make a decision. Jeff was handed his ice cream after he paid for it, and he turned to Beatrice, holding out the ice cream and a spoon. Beatrice took a hesitant bite, her eyes widening in delight at the taste.
"Good?"
"Yeah. Thanks, Jeff-Jeff."
The rest of the Warblers, along with Kurt and Blaine paid for their ice creams, leaving Nick and Beatrice until last. Nick placed his order, explaining that he would be paying for Beatrice's ice cream as well, then turned to Beatrice to see what she wanted. His face fell as he took in the expression on her face.
"It's alright, Little Bit. What have you decided on so far?"
Beatrice swallowed.
"One scoop of mint chocolate chip."
Nick turned to the server with a pleading look that asked for patience.
"Can I have a scoop of mint chocolate chip on a waffle cone please?"
The server dished up the ice cream and waited. Nick looked at Beatrice again.
"One scoop of orange sherbet."
The server automatically scooped up the ice cream.
"Nick?"
Beatrice's voice was shaky.
"Little Bit, take your time."
"Is it alright if I have another scoop of ice cream?"
Nick smiled slightly.
"Of course you can. You had a healthy lunch and breakfast."
"What flavor is that?"
Beatrice pointed to an orangey ice cream that looked different from the orange sherbet. The server smiled at her kindly.
"That's pumpkin pie flavored."
Beatrice looked at Nick.
"Can I have a scoop of that?"
Nick's smile widened.
"Of course."
The server quickly dished up the ice cream and Nick paid for it. They walked to the table their friends were at, Nick handing Beatrice her cone after she had sat down.
"Thank you, Nick-Nick."
"You're welcome, Little Bit."
Beatrice took a bite of her ice cream, smiling at the flavor. The group chatted as they ate their ice cream, relieved that Beatrice had had little trouble choosing this time. They all looked up in alarm when they heard someone say Beatrice's name from the doorway. Beatrice turned, then handed her ice cream to Nick before running towards the person. Kurt whispered to Blaine.
"Why is Beatrice running towards Santana instead of away from her?"
"I have no idea."
Nick was watching his sister with a smile on his face, so Jeff answered for him.
"Nick and Beatrice met Santana at a park near their house a few years before the incident. She's great with Beatrice, she knows how to handle her childish behaviors better than most people."
Kurt's eyes widened as Santana approached the group, Beatrice in tow.
"Wow. I thought she only tolerated Brittney's childish moments."
Santana had just reached the table, and was about to greet the group when Rachel walked in with Mercedes. She walked towards the counter, then stopped and turned.
"Santana! Kurt! Blaine! You know better than to fraternize with the enemy!"
She stormed over, Mercedes following. She tried to pull Santana away from the group, but she was still holding on to Beatrice. Santana, Nick, Jeff, and Wes noticed immediately when Beatrice started going into a flashback. Nick was by her side in a flash, and Santana handed her to him before turning on Rachel.
"You idiot! That girl has problems and you just set her off!"
"She's with the enemy, so I don't see why..."
Santana snarled, leaping towards Rachel before Jeff pulled her back. Wes stepped towards Rachel, trying to hide his anger.
"We are not here to interrogate Kurt, Blaine, or Santana about show choir. We are here to have some ice cream and visit with Nick's little sister who has flashbacks of being beaten up when certain things trigger them."
His voice was icy. Rachel opened her mouth to argue with him, but Kurt interrupted.
"Rachel, shut up. You know we wouldn't tell them the set list, especially not after what happened last time."
Rachel's mouth closed, though she was still glaring at the Warblers and Wes. Nick had finally managed to pull Beatrice back from her flashback and was sitting with her in his lap, feeding her bits of his ice cream with a spoon, hoping that the familiarity of the flavor and the reminder of him would soothe her. Mercedes went to Kurt.
"Why didn't you say anything about her?"
"I didn't know anything before yesterday."
"What happened to her?"
"I can't say. I want to tell you, but I can't do that to her."
Mercedes nodded.
"Alright."
David and Thad pulled chairs to the table, away from where Beatrice was still curled up in Nick's lap, and Mercedes and Rachel sat down. Santana had already grabbed her own seat. Kurt spoke up.
"So, Blaine, you said that you met Beatrice the same year you transferred to Dalton?"
Blaine nodded.
"Yeah. Hard to forget that day."
The doorbell rang and Mrs. Anderson answered it.
"Hello, Mrs. Anderson, we're the Warblers. Is Blaine home?"
"Blaine! Your friends are here!"
Blaine came from the living room.
"Hey guys, come on in. Thanks, mom."
Mrs. Anderson smiled.
"No problem, sweetie. I have to go visit your grandmother. Be home around eight o'clock."
She left the group standing in the front hall. Blaine led the way to the living room, then looked around the room as the boys sat down. Nick approached Blaine, dragging a girl a few years younger than him by the hand.
"Hey, Nick, who is this?"
The girl turned pale and hid behind Nick, still clutching his hand.
"This is my little sister, Beatrice. Little Bit, meet Blaine. I talked to you about Blaine, remember?"
The girl nodded, taking a step forward. Blaine looked to Nick in alarm.
"What did you tell her about me?"
"I didn't say much, but I had to say something so she wouldn't be completely freaked out. She isn't used to new people, and after the incident, boys are especially a problem if she doesn't know them."
"Incident?"
"I'll tell you at school. Can she stay with us today? My mom couldn't find a babysitter, and Beatrice is normally quiet and stays out of the way."
"Alright..."
"Thanks, man."
Nick pulled Beatrice towards the couch that Wes and David were sitting on, then sat by Wes and allowed Beatrice to curl up on his lap. Wes spoke.
"Blaine, do you have any old yearbooks? They'll distract Beatrice from the unfamiliar surroundings."
Blaine went to his room and grabbed the year book from his old school, feeling slightly nauseous as he remembered what had happened there. He went back to the living room and held the book out to Beatrice, who immediately shrank back into Nick. Jeff poked Blaine from his seat on the floor by the couch.
"Hand it to me. She's used to me."
Blaine handed Jeff the book, then stepped back to watch. Jeff held out one hand, the empty one, to Beatrice. Beatrice looked at him, cocking her head to one side before taking his hand. She allowed Jeff to ease her off of Nick's lap and onto his own, and he handed her the yearbook. Blaine sat on an arm chair, and the boys started chatting about school and music. Everything was going well until Blaine heard the doorbell ring.
"I'll be right back."
He went into the front hallway, and was about to open the door when he heard a shriek. He turned around and saw Beatrice running at him, Nick and Jeff close behind.
"What's going on?"
"Blaine, for goodness's sake, do not open that door."
"Why?"
Nick was trying to hold Beatrice back so she wouldn't tackle Blaine in her panicked state, and Jeff spoke up.
"Beatrice has a really good memory for faces, which is why she likes year books so much. Nick mentioned that you were bullied by jocks at your old school, so she looked at the pages with sports teams."
"So?"
"She saw who rang the doorbell right after you left to get the door. It's one of the jocks."
Blaine felt his blood run cold.
"What?"
Nick spoke up.
"Let Beatrice answer the door. Trust me."
Blaine was feeling a bit skeptical, but stepped behind Jeff as Nick released Beatrice. Beatrice approached the door and opened it a tiny bit.
"Hello?"
"Hey."
Blaine heard the bully's voice and nudged Jeff, who simply nodded and looked over to Nick.
"May I ask who you are looking for?"
"Blaine Anderson."
"I've never heard of him before...is he your imaginary friend? I have an imaginary friend."
Blaine's jaw dropped, and he moved to grab Beatrice, but Jeff held him back as Nick moved to stand in front of Beatrice.
"I am so sorry, my little sister is such a pest. May I ask who you're looking for?"
"Blaine Anderson."
"I'm sorry, you have the wrong house. Have a nice day."
"Bye."
Beatrice hollered right before Nick closed the door.
"I hope you find your imaginary friend!"
Nick shut the door and Blaine locked it, sinking to the floor in front of it. Beatrice approached him, then knelt beside him, holding out her hand. Blaine looked up at Nick in confusion.
"It's her way of offering comfort. I told her about the bruises on your back, so she doesn't want to grab you in a hug. She wants to avoid hurting you."
Blaine looked at his watch at the mention of his bruises and sighed.
"Crap, mom left before she helped me with the cream for my bruises. Can one of you guys...?"
Jeff interrupted.
"Of course we'll help you."
Blaine went to retrieve the balm to help ease the ache of his bruises as the other three went back into the living room. Blaine returned with the balm and Nick took it from him. Blaine stripped off his shirt and the entire group could see the mass of bruises stretched across his entire back. Blaine laid down on the floor with his head resting on his arms. Nick knelt beside him, and was about to unscrew the cap on the balm when he felt a tug on his shirt.
"Nick-Nick?"
"Yeah, Little Bit?"
Beatrice looked incredibly nervous and sad.
"Can I help Blaine with the balm?"
"Blaine? She's really gentle, and her hands will be softer and smoother than mine."
Blaine considered.
"Alright, I guess."
"I'll keep an eye on her, don't worry."
Nick opened the container and let Beatrice dip her hand in. She knelt by Nick and rubbed her hands together slightly to spread the balm onto both of her hands. She leaned down and let her hands press gently against Blaine's back with a barely-there pressure. Blaine slowly began to relax as Beatrice worked the balm into the bruises, moving slowly and carefully so Blaine could barely notice that she was doing anything. When she was done, she wiped her hands on her pants and gently tapped Blaine's shoulder. Nick spoke up.
"You're all set."
Blaine rolled over and sat up, happy to have the balm easing the ache of the bruises.
"Thanks, Beatrice."
Beatrice was still kneeling next to him, and she held out her arms. Blaine looked at Nick.
"She'll be gentle."
Blaine turned back to Beatrice and hugged her, fighting to hold back tears when he felt her arms wrap gently around him and heard her mutter something.
"I'll never forget what she said. 'Those bastards. Those sick, messed up bastards. If they try to hurt you again, they won't have any unbroken bones left in their body.' I was so startled that she was reacting that strongly."
Blaine's eyes had teared up and he was wiping them with a napkin. Beatrice looked up when he quoted her and uncurled herself from her seat on Nick's lap to approach Blaine. He opened his arms and she curled up on his lap instead. Everybody had finished their ice cream except for Beatrice, and Nick approached the counter to ask for a bowl. Mercedes had been moved by the story, but Rachel was still annoyed.
"It's one thing that this kid is a nice person, but Sebastian isn't! I mean, you had to have eye surgery after the rock salt he put in the slushy that he threw at you!"
Beatrice sat up in alarm. Nick was on his way back from the counter when he heard Rachel, and his face drained of any color. Jeff leapt into action, knowing that Nick wouldn't be able to reach Beatrice in time.
"Beatrice. Let's dance. I need a partner, dance with me, please...?"
Jeff made puppy dog eyes at Beatrice as he practically begged her to dance with him. Beatrice smiled at him, then looked at Rachel. Nick had reached the table and was stunned when he realized what Beatrice was going to do.
"Sebastian may have harmed Blaine, but I'm working with him. He's got a good heart, most people are just too foolish to realize it."
She hopped off of Blaine's lap and let Jeff start twirling her around in the middle of the restaurant.
Rachel, Mercedes, Kurt, and Sebastian were shocked at the sudden speech that Beatrice had given. Rachel because she couldn't believe someone would defend Sebastian, Mercedes because she couldn't believe that the shy girl had turned that harshly on Rachel. Kurt was stunned that Beatrice hadn't turned on Sebastian, as was Sebastian himself. Wes cleared his throat as Nick took his seat, and the group that was seated turned to look at Wes.
"Sebastian, there's hope for you yet."
Sebastian swallowed.
"Really?"
David smiled at him.
"Dude, she's never announced that she was working with someone. That says a lot, especially since she told a complete stranger."
Sebastian smiled slightly, feeling a little bit better. Rachel had finally found her voice.
"What does she mean 'working with him'? Is she planning to sabotage our group too?"
Blaine sighed.
"Rachel, Beatrice would never do that, especially not when she knows that both Kurt and I are in the group."
Trent spoke up.
"She means that she is going to help him change. She has this, ability, to make people want to be better, and she can teach them simply by putting them to various tests without them knowing it."
He turned to Sebastian.
"You won't know when she's testing you. Believe me, she's worked with me before too."
"What did she work with you on?"
"Slight bit of shyness on stage."
Kurt's eyes grew wide.
"Really?"
Trent laughed.
"Yep. I could sing, but putting me anywhere near the front of the group could have been disastrous. She helped me."
Blaine looked intrigued.
"How?"
"She used to grab me and pull me into the practice room when nobody was there, tell me to start singing. I would increase in volume the longer I sang, and sometimes I would close my eyes. She noticed, and eventually she started bringing some of the guys in, one at a time."
Thad grinned.
"I was the first one she dragged in. I was told to shut up and follow her, so I did. I sat listening to Trent for awhile, then she brought Wes in."
Wes laughed.
"I remember that! She wouldn't let us stay for an entire song until the last day. That was the day when she managed to get the entire group in and she made us be completely silent and not look at Trent until he opened his eyes."
Trent was laughing again.
"I remember being so freaked out when I opened my eyes, but she had made you guys sit around the room in such a way that I couldn't get out! Then you all started clapping and whistling. I thought all of you were mocking me, but as I looked around the room, I caught the look on Beatrice's face. She looked so proud of me, and I looked at the rest of you and realized that you weren't making fun of me. I'd never felt that good in front of a crowd in my life."
David spoke up, a mischievous grin on his face.
"Thad, might this explain a certain phrase of yours?"
The Warblers laughed. Thad and Trent blushed. Thad looked at Trent.
"You first."
Trent sighed.
"Fine...I may have accused the group of mocking me before I saw Beatrice."
Blaine's mouth twitched, he had a feeling that he knew where this was going. Thad spoke up.
"I may have turned what he said on him..."
The Warblers, Kurt, Blaine, and Beatrice burst into laughter.
"Hey! In my defense, I was running on about two hours of sleep."
Wes grinned at him.
"That's what makes it so much better."
Beatrice and Jeff stopped dancing and returned to their seats; Beatrice on top of Nick, Jeff beside him.
"Hey, Little Bit. Do you want to finish your ice cream?"
She smiled.
"Okay, Nick-Nick."
He pulled the bowl towards them and handed Beatrice the spoon. She dug in immediately, smiling as she tasted the pumpkin pie flavor. She soon finished that scoop, moving to the orange sherbet. She grinned as she tasted the colorful treat, thinking that the color could be used to describe Jeff's personality. Finally, she started on the mint chocolate chip, her brother's favorite flavor and the one flavor that would always bring comfort to her because of that. She nudged Nick when she had eaten the ice cream, leaving the cone in the bowl.
"Are we splitting it, Little Bit?"
"Please?"
"Should we let Jeff have part?"
Beatrice looked over at Jeff, who was giving her puppy-dog eyes.
"Yep. We should split it with Jeff-Jeff."
Jeff grinned, planting a sloppy kiss on her cheek, which made her giggle. He turned to Nick, who immediately began scooting away from his best friend when he realized what he was thinking. The entire group at the table burst into laughter as Jeff jumped out of his chair and planted a kiss on Nick's cheek, sloppier than the one he had given Beatrice.
Jeff jumped back out of Nick's reach as Beatrice squealed in delight, her brother seemingly less than pleased about the situation. In reality, he was holding back laughter, especially since the goofy exchange brought so much joy to his sister. He nudged his sister, gesturing for her to get off of his lap. She looked at him, then at Jeff who was shaking his head. Nick swallowed. This is where they had to be careful with this game. If he and Jeff gave her contrasting orders for too long, she would get confused to the point of tears. He caught Jeff's eyes when she looked away from him and Jeff nodded. Nick nudged Beatrice again, and she looked at Jeff, who was now facing the opposite direction. Beatrice stood up, and Nick leaped towards Jeff.
"Mwa! Mwa!"
The group at the table burst into laughter again as Nick grabbed Jeff and planted an incredibly sloppy kiss on each of his cheeks.
Jeff wiped off both of his cheeks in fake disgust, though he was actually happy that he and Nick could play this game and get such a strong, positive reaction from Beatrice. Her parents were incredibly tolerant people, but they had never been the ones to explain that some people happened to love others of the same sex. Nick and Jeff had realized this before starting to attend Dalton, a few years before Beatrice would attend high school, and they had talked to Nick's parents about the idea of them possibly teaching her instead. The conversation had been somewhat short, especially since Nick's parents trusted Nick to do what was right for his sister. They had sat with Beatrice on the floor in Nick's room that night, explaining as much as they could without scaring her with talk of sex. Her reaction had been positive then too.
"Little Bit, Jeff and I need to talk to you about something."
Beatrice sat up from her sprawled position on the floor of Nick's bedroom, looking worried.
"It's nothing bad, just something we think you need to know about."
Beatrice relaxed and patted the floor on either side of her, so the boys sat down. Jeff let Nick start, knowing that he could set appropriate guidelines on what they would be telling her.
"Little Bit, do you remember the conversation we had with mom last year? The major one?"
Beatrice's face scrunched up in thought.
"The one about babies and where they come from?"
"Yeah."
"Well, mom and I forgot to tell you something."
Beatrice simply looked at him, waiting. Nick sighed, not entirely sure how to go about this.
"Jeff said he would help me out with this conversation, is that okay?"
Beatrice smiled.
"Yep. I like Jeff-Jeff."
Nick chuckled slightly as Jeff perked up a bit and grabbed Beatrice, pulling her into a hug while she was facing away from him. He figured that he should continue while Jeff has holding Beatrice in reassuring hug.
"Alright. mom and I mentioned that a guy and girl can be in a relationship, but we forgot to mention that that isn't always the case..."
Jeff was pulled from his reminiscing by a hand tugging on his sleeve.
"Can we finish the ice cream cone now? Please?"
He laughed and held out his hand.
"Sure."
He allowed Beatrice to drag him back to the table. The three of them sat down, Beatrice immediately looking over at Wes for help dividing the cone into somewhat equal parts. While she was distracted, Nick leaned over to Jeff.
"What had you so distracted?"
"Remembering how Beatrice reacted to our lesson on various relationship types."
Nick's grin was enormous, soon causing the rest of the group to look over when they noticed.
"You know how Beatrice is accepting of the various relationships she has seen?"
Most of the group nodded.
"Well, Jeff and I tried giving her a lesson about the various types of relationships there are, and since Jeff mentioned the lesson, I can't help remembering her response."
Blaine, Kurt, and Santana looked intrigued.
"She looked at both of us and said 'Why on earth wouldn't there be different types of relationships? I mean, I love Nick, but I don't want to kiss him on the mouth. I love Santana, but I don't want to kiss her in that way either. So people have different types of relationships, but really, when you think about it, everyone should have the chance to love somebody and be loved.' I just like knowing that she didn't necessarily need the lesson anyways."
The rest of the group nodded, several of them close to tears. Santana held her arms out for Beatrice and Nick let his sister go to Santana. The two girls moved their chair closer to Wes so he could continue explaining fractions with the help of the ice cream cone. Sebastian was sitting a few seats away, contemplating what Nick had just told them.
How is it she's going to help me? She seems to be so nice to everyone without trying to, this story was yet another example of that. But what is she going to do to help fix me? How is she going to help me be happy again?
Authors Note: Hello. If you've made it this far into the story, I am impressed at the amount of patience you have. I just wanted to say that I know that the "talk" that Nick and Jeff give Beatrice isn't the best talk possible, but it took me until I started watching "Glee" to really know that other types of relationships existed. I hope I didn't offend anybody, and if I did, I am sorry.
Please review. Having some feedback will help me to know if I should keep posting more to the story or not. Thanks for reading!