HOLLA! As I promised, here we have the boys finding out a little bit about their new captain. I hope you enjoy it!
'You cannot hide from the internet. If you need information, the internet is the place to go. The internet will hunt you down and expose the things that you would have wanted to have kept locked away forever.' – Hunter Clarington
There was a degree of satisfaction and maybe a hint of swagger in the way that Hunter strolled into Warbler Hall just a night after they had stolen the Nationals trophy from William McKinley. The glittering statue had been in their presence for around 36 hours and it was a beautiful Saturday mid-morning so the curtains had been thrown wide open and sunlight streamed in through the glass and fell onto the currently empty Warbler Hall, light reflecting off the metal of the trophy and bouncing all around the room. The prize had been placed in a cabinet at the far end of the room where it couldn't be in the way of rehearsal for Sectionals which was creeping up on them. The shock of now 'owning' it was yet to wear off and there had been a slight surprise but respect for privacy when Hunter had imposed a ban on anyone coming into Warbler Hall who wasn't a Warbler, the prize had to be a secret for as long as they could get away with it.
Hunter smiled as he lowered himself into the comfort of the armchair and stroked Mr Puss absent-mindedly as the fluffy white cat jumped up onto his lap and settled down. He had managed to maintain his demeanour and lie about the truth for the moment but he wasn't sure how much longer he could last, how the test of time would last against the web he had created to protect himself.
The steroids were working their magic on his young protégées, Trent being the only problem but Hunter would have that problem soon fixed. Trent was not necessary for the success of the Warblers and while he was a friend, success came before friendship, the academy had most certainly taught him as much. They still had 14 Warblers which more than constituted as enough for a Sectionals performance. The group had been practising Whistle and My Dark Side for a while now and they were excellent numbers, perfectly fitting the specification they had decided upon. But there was something about My Dark Side that wasn't satisfactory, it wasn't showy enough and didn't give the boys a chance to show the newfound energy they had gained thanks to the boosters. They needed a number that would blow the minds of the audience and the judges. Whistle was already quite impressive, but it didn't contain anything that would make someone especially sit up, his backflip didn't really count. And while Sebastian and Nick (the boy had been promised a solo for Sectionals and he didn't break promises, Nick had a fine voice anyway) did a superb job of My Dark Side, again it wasn't quit e the song that would do the job.
As he bathed in the sunlight that made him feel warm and ever so slightly too comfortable, he smiled with the knowledge that no one knew the secret he was not willing to share. It was almost subconscious as Hunter put his hand to his collarbone, he could still feel and see the effects of what had happened now four months ago. He had run as soon as he could but that had taken time, he was just glad that he was out and the bruises were healing. Soon none of the boys would be able to get a glimpse of them. But the mental scars of that would never fade; they would haunt him forever, no matter what good happened to him. But they couldn't know the real reason why he was at Dalton. The Warblers were only a part of the reason; it was far more complicated than that. Little did he know that he wasn't safe. With the capabilities of the internet, no secret could remain as such for very long.
A lazy Saturday was just in order for the seniors at Dalton. They basked in the knowledge that their finals weren't for another few months, they didn't have to start revising for at least another two. So they had to use the free time as freely as they could with as little work being done as they could not which wasn't wouldn't have been very much with the weak November sun shining favourably down on them, a rare warmth in its rays making an appearance.
This Saturday, as Hunter sat in the Warbler Hall, found a group of friends bathing in the glow and warmth that they were being offered on the rooftop of the building that held their dorms. They were alone for once, no doubt the younger years were doing something strange like playing sports that was important to some of the seniors but not as much as just chilling with the friends they now had very little time with.
Jon had his headphones in and lay on the smooth concrete, bare chested and shades over his eyes as he let the music and beat relax him. Nick, Trent and Jeff were in the middle of a heated game of Blackjack, Thad watching with a small smile on his face as he refereed the heated match, having got out first, a win for the first time for him. The others now vid to join him and it looked at the moment as if Trent would join him, the boy keeping his good cards close and playing a perfect poker face. Sebastian sat a little apart from this intriguing scene, engrossed on his laptop. He had been asked by Hunter to find out as much about their potential opposition for Sectionals and do some research on the newest members of the New Direction from what they gaged from hacking McKinley files. It wasn't exactly legal but a piece of cake for the brilliant minds that inhabited some of the seniors and juniors in the Warblers.
Feeling spontaneous and honestly rather intrigued, Sebastian typed his captain's name into YouTube, followed by the ominous 'Springboks Choir' that he had been a part of. It wasn't hard to find a decent video, Nationals had been televised and CNN had been the ones privileged enough to film and broadcast it. Clicking the YouTube link to one of their performances, Sebastian was torn between two very different emotions that different aspects of the video seed to stimulate as he watched it. On the one hand, the group were simply incredible, the moves slick and regimental and the blend of voices rivalled that of the Warblers, no wonder Hunter had found it easy to lead the group. But it was that boy indeed that meant that Sebastian was struck with horror. The man he knew was most definitely different to the one on the screen. His face was gaunt and drawn; his eyes did not have the light and dance in them that he had become so used to seeing. His voice was still astounding as he led the group in a perfect rendition of The Secret Garden's You Raise Me Up, a harrowing version that seemed darker than uplifting and inspiring that was the essence of the song. But it was his features that were what scared Sebastian. Sebastian Arthur Smythe did not get scared very easily but this indeed was kinda scary. The Hunger in the video was a shadow of the Hunter that he knew, how could he have changed in such a short space of time?
"YES!" Trent's triumphant cry came from a little way away. "Last card and out!"
Sebastian smiled gentle as Trent leapt up and punched the air while Nick and Jeff threw down their cards, defeated. There was never any point in trying to play the game with two people. Now that the game was over, Sebastian felt an urge to share his findings. "Hey guys!" He called and they all looked to him. "I think you need to see this." Nick nudged Jon who started up right and heaved himself up to join the rest of the group who crowded around the laptop, their faces betraying their interest as to what Sebastian had found that would draw them out of their mood. "It's the video from Nationals last year, Hunter's show choir performed You Raise Me Up as one of their numbers and I want to know what you think."
Their interest piqued further, the boys crowded around the screen and it was not surprising how similar the reactions of the boys were, just the sight of the change in their captain was reason enough for them to look horrified and while they marvelled at the talent of the choir, their eyes were drawn back again to the bruises and haunted features that appeared on his face. It was one they were not likely to forget in a hurry.
At the end of the video, Sebastian closed the laptop lid and leant back, putting his weight on his hands as he pressed them on the concrete rooftop. A silence fell over the group, one that was thoughtful, shocked and an attempt to process what they had just seen. "How could he be like that?" Jeff asked, the horror clear in his voice as he shook his head slowly.
Nick blinked away what looked like tears. "Bullying, years of it. I'm," he choked and Jeff drew the boy into a hug, "I'm all too familiar with what Hunter looks like there." He let out a small noise that sounded bitter and hurting. "It's a miracle he didn't kill himself if he suffered so much."
He didn't need to explain any further to the boys as to why he was saying these things. Every one of his closest friends knew about his younger sister's suicide aged 14 last year, none of them had gained such a description before as that. Nick didn't like to talk about it and no one had ever pressed him for details. Many of the boys at Dalton had come to the school for the security and bullying policy it dealt out, many had had to deal with such things that they never wanted to talk about ever again.
They had never really questioned Hunter as to how he ended up at Dalton, they had assumed that his transfer was all there was to it. But they were being forced to think again. Did they really know him? "Why didn't he tell us?" Trent asked, still staring at the laptop.
Jon was looking at his iPod, it wasn't on but it was a staring point. "Perhaps we assumed that we would know by knowing about his Nationals group."
"Which we didn't until now." Sebastian cut in. "Or perhaps he deliberately hid it from us. Why would he do that? We're his friends!"
"There are some things that you keep from even your closest friends." Thad's voice was hollow and void of emotion, as if he wasn't the only one keeping secrets.
"So do we go and find him? Ask about it?" Trent queried, his brow furrowed in concentration.
Nick shook his head. "No. He's only been here two months. We can't just ask him straight out, who knows what his reaction would be."
"But what if he wants us to know?" Sebastian shot back.
"He would have told us then, wouldn't he?" Nick retorted. "No, I suggest we wait to see if Hunter reveals anything and if not, we conduct our own research."
"Isn't that prying though?" Jeff turned to look at his boyfriend. "It seems a little rude just looking into business that might not concern us."
"We're his friends; surely we have some right to know about where he's come from and what the heck happened to have him like that at Nationals." Jon shot back, trying to weigh it all up.
Thad nodded. "You've all got good points. We'll give it time but not much, I do think we should know eventually. The wounds might still be healing and goodness knows what we could set off if we open it again."
There was a nod of assent and Sebastian lay back on the ground, deciding against doing any more research. He needed to work out what he knew and what could happen. Would it change the dynamics of the friendship? For the sake of all of them, he certainly hoped not.
Ooooooh, so what do you think?