A/N: Well here it is. Sorry it took a little longer. Hope you like it. Thanks again for the reviews, they feed me. So please read, enjoy and review if the mood takes you. See you next chapter.

CHAPTER SEVEN

Blaine stood in front of his bathroom mirror on Monday morning, surprised that the weekend had gone by so fast. And now that the day of his Dalton return had come, he was surprisingly nervous. Logically he knew that there was nothing to be worried about but that didn't stop the butterflies that were flying around his gut. If anyone asked him why he was nervous, he didn't think he'd be able to give them a cognitive answer. He couldn't explain it to himself. So he continued getting ready. After he had gotten dressed, he headed to the kitchen to grab some breakfast. The house was quite just as he expected it to be considering the time. The one major drawback to Dalton was the commute. Luckily they lived on the outside of Lima so the trip only took just under 90 minutes. Still, it meant getting up really early so that he wasn't late to class. As he entered the kitchen, he could smell the coffee and hear his folks talking.

"You two didn't need to get up."

"Yes we did honey. It's a big day for you." Ruth said as she placed a cup of coffee in front of him.

"And I wanted to make sure that your car was all good for the trip. I've already warmed the engine for you."

"Thanks dad."

He waved at his parents as he reversed down the driveway, yelling at them to go back inside before he wound up his window and turned up his music. He knew that singing along would help pass the time. As he got closer to Dalton, the butterflies began fluttering around again and he had half a mind to turn around and go back to Lima and McKinley. What had he been thinking? But then common sense returned and he knew that he couldn't go back, he was going forward now and he needed to stop looking back. As he drove through the gates, a sense of calm came over him and he knew that everything would be alright.

Sitting in Kelly's office fifteen minutes later, he waited to be seen by the principal. He hoped that she had spoken to Mr Flanagan about the Warblers. He really wanted to get into things straight away. Soon enough he was shown into her office and he sat down opposite her.

"Well Blaine, welcome back. Now, I'm not going to go through the entire welcome package with you as you already know it all. After speaking to the Heads Of Departments, I've drawn up a timetable taking into consideration the subjects that you were studying at McKinley." She said as she handed over his timetable. "I've also spoken to Mr Flanagan and he is more than happy to have you rejoin the Warblers. You will go to rehearsal this afternoon after classes. As of last year, all Warblers also have lessons with Mr Flanagan during the school day. You can see on your timetable that where you studied Music at McKinley, you will now have Warbler training."

Blaine looked down at his timetable and smiled. He could see that he would have Warbler training at least four times a week during the day and then whatever else there would be after school. He was so happy to be back with the boys. Standing up, he thanked Miss Kelly for her time, grabbed his bag and headed off to his first lesson. Although he didn't get very far. As soon as he stepped out of her office, he was mobbed and he knew instantly who they were. Everyone was talking at once but the message was the same, they were all welcoming him back. When he could lift his head, he looked around and saw that most of his friends were there, all but one. His brow creased as he looked around, trying to find Sebastian. Surely he wouldn't miss this moment. Just then he saw him, he was leaning against the wall on the other side of the hall. He was just standing there, watching as everyone else slapped Blaine on the back. He had a twinkle in his eye and a grin on his lips and Blaine knew that he would come to talk to him in his own time and that made him happy. The butterflies were back, every time he looked up and caught Sebastian watching him.

He had forgotten how hard the lessons were at Dalton. Sure, he was studying the same subjects but the content was so much more than at McKinley. He would have to study and make it work, he wanted to get into a great college and he'd need the grades to make sure that that happened. Every lesson was the same, but he knew that he'd be able to handle it. When lunch time came around he was surprised and more than a little upset that Sebastian was nowhere to be found in the cafeteria. He joined Nick, Jeff, Jon and some of the others and talked about how his day was going so far. He told them that he was indeed rejoining the Warblers. The rest of the day went exactly the same as the morning and before he knew it, Blaine was walking into the Warblers rehearsal room.

Once again, he was taken by surprise. The room was decked out with blue and red balloons and streamers and the rest of the Warblers were waiting for him inside the room.

"Welcome back Mr Anderson. We are glad to have you back."

Blaine nodded at Mr Flanagan and thanked him for letting him return, which Flanagan just waved off, smiling. Once again, Blaine found himself enveloped by the group and once again, Sebastian stood off to the side, smiling. Blaine began to wonder what was going on. Sebastian had said that he would always be there and now he seemed to be avoiding any contact with him. Eventually Mr Flanagan told the boys to let Blaine go and to take their seats. Slowly they all walked away and sat down. Blaine somehow found himself seated next to Sebastian and as the other boy sat down he got a jolt as their legs rubbed against each other. Glancing quickly over, he noticed that Sebastian didn't seem to notice. Maybe he was reading more into Sebastian's offer of friendship than what was really there.

Sebastian had to school his emotions as his leg brushed up against Blaine's as he sat down. He had purposely avoided touching Blaine today for this very reason. Every time he brushed up against him, he lost his breath and he couldn't let Blaine know that he affected him this way. He didn't want to rush their relationship, he didn't want to scare him off by letting him know by either word or gesture how much he wanted to be with him. He wanted to let Blaine come to him, have him seek him out and start a relationship.

He just hoped that it would happen soon. It was getting harder and harder to hide his feelings. He knew that every now and then he couldn't hide it all but he was going to do his damnedest to have a relationship with the guy he loved and had loved for nearly a year. His attention was pulled to the front of the room when Mr Flanagan started to talk.

"Okay guys, I received a letter from the Show Choir Board and they have informed me that Sectionals will be held on the 8th February and the theme will be 'Love' seeing as it's around Valentine's Day. So we have plenty of time to rehearse our songs, after the Winter Concert. However it does mean that should we get through, Regionals will be in April, which won't leave us a lot of time and then Nationals will be in early June, in Los Angeles, just before the end of the school year. So for now, we will concentrate on our concert. We have narrowed our song selection down to a handful of songs so now we have to vote. I suggest that we have a couple of you perform them so we can see how they will work."

Everyone stood up and milled around the piano as they discussed who should sing which song. Blaine held himself back from the others, not feeling like he should be taking lead in any of the songs as he had only just returned. He watched as they paired up or formed small groups to perform the songs. Just then Sebastian came up to him smiling.

"Hey Blaine, do you want to sing this one with me?" He asked as he handed over some sheet music.

Blaine smiled as he looked down at the music but he quickly blanched. Thrusting the pages back at Sebastian he nearly ran out of the room saying that he couldn't perform that song. Sebastian looked up in shock, not really knowing what had just happened.

"What the hell did you just do Sebastian? Why did Blaine run out of here like the hounds of hell were on his heels?"

"I don't know! I just asked him to sing this song with me." He thrust the sheet into Nick's hands. Nick looked down and read the song title, 'Baby It's Cold Outside', and he couldn't see anything that would or should have upset Blaine.

"You must have said something to him."

"Geez man, I said nothing. You have to believe me. Let me go and talk to him. I'll find out what's wrong."

When the others went to stop him, Sebastian brushed them off and went after Blaine. He didn't have to look far; Blaine was sitting on one of the settees at the end of the hallway. Sebastian sat down beside him and waited for Blaine to talk. Blaine didn't acknowledge Sebastian at all straight away, he was looking down at his fists as he clenched and unclenched them. Eventually he looked over at Sebastian.

"I'm sorry." He said quietly.

"You don't have to apologise but if you want to, I'll listen to an explanation."

Blaine looked over at Sebastian and started to feel silly. He didn't know why he had reacted that way.

"It's nothing really, I'm just being silly. It's just that Kurt and I sang that song together a couple of years ago and it was our first duet together. It just means so much to me. We sang it again last Christmas at our family dinner. I'm sorry if I upset you or any of the guys."

"Don't worry about it. We weren't upset; we were just worried about you. And you're not being silly. The song means something to you. Memories are always going to be there. But each one that you face will make the next one easier. How about I talk to Mr Flanagan and have that one removed from the suggested list."

"I couldn't ask that. As I said, I'm just being silly."

"Blaine, it's ok. Trust me; there are plenty of other Christmas songs to choose from. We only get to sing two or three anyway. No one will mind. Come on, let's go back inside and see what songs are left."

Blaine nodded and smiled as he stood up and followed Sebastian back into the rehearsal room. The other guys looked over at them as they entered but no one said anything. Clearly Blaine wasn't upset anymore and he and Sebastian were both smiling so that boded well. As they made their way over to the piano, neither boy seemed to be aware that the rest of the Warblers were watching every step that they took. They stood at the piano and flicked through the remaining songs. Nick noticed that Blaine was quicker with a smile whenever he was around Sebastian and that his general demeanour was happier around the other boy. Nick wondered if this was the start of something new for his friend. Maybe Blaine was ready to move on but he just hoped it wasn't a rebound thing because even though Sebastian could be a bit of an arse, he was actually a good guy and he didn't want to see him hurt.

"Don't look now but it seems that we are the main attraction." Sebastian whispered to Blaine.

Blaine shook his head and laughed at Sebastian. He turned slightly to the left and he could see that the rest of the Warblers were indeed watching the two of them and he smiled. He was surprised that he really didn't care that they were all watching them. Sebastian brought his attention back to the music that was strewn across the piano.

"What about this one?" He asked as he handed Blaine the song. Blaine looked down at it and he could feel himself start to blush. The song was the one made famous by Mariah Carey, 'All I Want For Christmas Is You'.

"Are you sure?" Blaine asked nervously.

"Why not? I reckon it'll be fun. It'll at least be different anyway. I'm sure if we perform it well, Flanagan will let us do it for the concert. Come on, what do you say? Do you want to give it a chance? Do you want to sing with me?"

Blaine looked over at him and had to tell himself to breath. Of course he'd love to sing with Sebastian and this song was amazing. He couldn't believe that he was reacting this strongly. What the hell was happening to him? When he was around Sebastian all thoughts of Kurt disappeared but then at the strangest moments he'd be sideswiped by a memory that would leave him breathless and heartbroken. He looked up, directly into Sebastian eyes and got lost. For a moment he completely forgot what they had been talking about and he just stared at the other boy.

Sebastian looked back at Blaine and tried to remember what they were talking about. Blaine's eyes captured him and they didn't seem to want to let him go. Sebastian knew that he should look away but he couldn't make his eyes obey. He didn't know how long they stared at each other and he didn't really care, even though he had sworn that he would keep his distance.

It was only when someone bumped into them that they both looked away. Blaine looked down at the sheet of paper that he was holding and he suddenly remembered what they had been talking about. At the same time, Sebastian also looked down.

"So, do you want to sing it with me? We'll need to work out the arrangements if we are going to perform it this week and have it ready for the concert in two weeks."

Blaine took a deep breath and agreed to sing the song with Sebastian. The other boy smiled a beautiful smile and grabbed the music from Blaine's hands and walked over to Mr Flanagan. Blaine watched him as he talked to the teacher and he saw Mr Flanagan nod his head with a little smile. Sebastian turned around and headed back to where Blaine was standing.

"We're on. Flanagan said it would be fine. Let's go run off a second copy for you and then we can start figuring out what parts to sing and if we want to change any of the arrangements. Let's go, Flanagan said we can use the photocopier in his office."

The two boys ran down the hall towards to the teacher's office and copied the sheet music. Sebastian handed the fresh copy to Blaine and they headed back to the rehearsal room. Sitting at the back of the room, they put their heads together and started to work on the song. Surprisingly, they were heading in the same direction concerning how they wanted to perform the song. They broke the song down and figured out who would sing what part and by the end of the lesson they had a very strong game plan.

"How about you come over to my place tomorrow after school and we can work on it. I know Flanagan wants everyone to work on their songs during lesson tomorrow and then we can do some more at my place. Only if you want to of course."

"Sounds like a great idea. I want to nail it. I want Flanagan to notice me so I can get a solo at Sectionals. Actually, what happened to the council? I thought that they made all the decisions? Well, at least they used to."

"The council was disbanded midway through last year when Miss Kelly decided that we would be better off by having the guiding hand of a teacher. So we had Mr Flanagan appointed to us and I have to say that it's been great. He's been really great and to be honest, he's pretty much letting us still run things but he's there to guide us, for want of a better word.'

Blaine nodded his head as he packed up his bag and prepared to head home. As with the drive into school that morning, he wasn't looking forward to driving home alone. He mentioned as much to the other guys as they were leaving the building. Instantly some of the guys offered to carpool with him. That would have been great but most of them still lived over an hour away from his place, everyone that is, except Sebastian. Blaine looked over at him and debated whether he could handle being couped up in a car with him each and every day. Would it help him make a decision or just cloud his mind with more questions? Also being within touching distance for over three hours a day was going to be difficult to say the least. He was drawn to him; he couldn't deny it any more. He wanted to be with Sebastian but he also knew that it was too soon. He still had feelings for Kurt even though he didn't want to. He couldn't start something with Sebastian when he hadn't resolved his feelings for Kurt. He couldn't do that to either of them. But he couldn't stop himself from agreeing to carpool with him, he wanted to be around Sebastian, he would just have to control himself until everything was right. Who knew, maybe he would be ready sooner rather than later.