Dear Readers,
Okay, so I basically owe anyone still reading this a huge apology because it's taken me ages, again, to update this! All I can really do is say that, unfortunately, my health isn't getting that much better, quickly, and I've had exams. That, and my mind refuses to focus on just one thing. I have literally been unable to type one story for longer than half an hour before, either, getting distracted or bored. It's been really frustrating for me 'cause I'm trying to write and my brain just won't let me.
So, anywhere, here's chapter nine, a long time overdue, and - as I have a week - of I'll attempt to make good headway with chapter ten, but it's definitely best that I don't make any any promises.
Enjoy the story,
Sopphires.
Parry. Advance.
Every night without fail. He doesn't even know.
Balestra. Lunge. Recovery.
I reckon they've gotten worse since he met this guy.
Feint. Lunge. Reprise.
I think it's affecting him subconsciously.
Parry. Retreat.
But it's not just him, it's all of us. We're lucky if we're get five hours sleep these days.
Parry. Retreat.
It's hitting Bailey the worst. They room together, after all, and I know that he's not telling us when it starts immediately. I know he's letting him go till it's gets so bad he has to call us.
Parry. Feint. Lunge.
It's not gonna be long before other people start noticing. It's not exactly discreet.
Appel. Retreat.
I'm not sure how much longer we can keep this from him. Bailey and Derek, they already wanna tell but for some reason my word is law.
Retreat. Parry.
I still don't think he realises just how much he means to me.
Feint. Lunge-
"Stop!" the whistle went and both fencers came to a halt, chests heaving. Blaine reached up and pulled the helmet from his head. He ran a hand through his sweaty locks and pointed his blade to the ground.
"What?" Logan had pulled off his helmet too, and was looking between the instructor and Blaine in confusion.
"Blaine's what the matter with you?" he demanded, ignoring Logan. "That's the sixth consecutive hit you've taken. You're the defending champion, you need to buck up your ideas before I take you off the team. Logan, I would say well played but Blaine's head's somewhere else." with a final shake of his head their coach walked off, towards one of the other duelling pairs. Logan looked at Blaine with a raised eyebrow as he sunk onto one of the benches, running a hand through his hair again.
"Here." Logan extended a water bottle towards Blaine. Gratefully, Blaine reached out for it and caught it as it dropped a couple of inches from Logan's hand to his.
"Cheers." Logan pulled out a snack bar and sank down onto the bench next to him.
"So, what was that?" Blaine sighed and took a huge swig of water.
"Dunno."
"Yeah, liar." the pair smirked at the ground and Blaine rolled his eyes.
"Couldn't concentrate. If you had a ploy to distract me and thus take the crown, it's working well."
"Yeah," said Logan, nodding. "that was totally my agenda all along." they snorted simultaneously and Blaine emptied the rest of the bottle into his mouth.
"I keep thinking about everything you told me." Blaine sighed as his eyes finally met Logan's. Logan held his gaze for a brief second before looking away.
"Yeah," he said, his voice distant. "great." Blaine ran a hand over his mouth.
"Mm, funny thing, I don't think it is." a heavy silence sank on the two of them. Logan so weary that he didn't bother biting out a retort.
"You know, apparently, St Patrick's have a new kid, a Freshman, 'pparently he's captain of their team, 'pparently he's better than us."
"I take it you got this from Derek."
"Who else could have an encounter with a St Patrick and come out unscathed." there was a pause in which Blaine suppressed a laugh and Logan rolled his eyes. "I mean, most of the time." the silence sank onto them again and Blaine, tired from everything, didn't want to make the effort of bridging it. "How's Kurt?" Blaine sent him a disbelieving look.
"Are we really gonna do this? Small talk?" Logan shrugged.
"If we have to." Blaine nodded, wetting his lips slightly.
"Well, he's good, happy that they've won Sectionals."
"Not much competition."
"True." said Blaine, tipping his head to him. "But still, no one wants to be told that." Logan nodded.
"Do you have an answer?" the question tentatively phrased and Blaine knew that he couldn't just keep dancing around it for much longer. He had an answer and he knew that Logan wasn't going to like it.
"I agree with the others. I think you should tell him. I think you should tell him everything. I think he has a right to know. I also think you should find a more productive way to deal with your feelings then venting them at your friends. I think the longer you keep it a secret the worse the fall out will be when he finds out. I think that the only way you're gonnna move on is if you help him, and I think you knew I was gonna say this and that you're gonna ignore every word I just said." Logan laughed quietly to himself.
"I think you're right."
"Woohoo!" Blaine raised his arms in mock celebration. Logan rolled his eyes.
"Come on. If we stand any chance of beating St Patrick's you've got to improve." Logan was back on his feet, seemingly reenergised by his snack and rest. Blaine groaned and hauled himself up onto his feet.
"I'm too tired."
"Come on Blaine, pretend you hate me."
"Pretend?" Blaine shoved his helmet back onto his head and lunged at Logan who retreated hastily, foile raised.
"I can't do this." Alice had the music laid before her, they were inside the Windsor Common room and the general lack of noise ought to have been eerie. In truth, however, many of the occupants were at the fencing practise or had vacated so as not to distress their new member by accidentally causing chaos. Her right hand was rubbing, in a subconscious manner, against her left, leaving a red mark. Shane, who had been attempting to draw, and Dwight, who had been busy reading an ancient tome on the subject of exorcism, both looked over at her.
"What can't you do?" asked Shane, confused, and then hissed in pain as Dwight dropped his book onto his fingers. Sending him a glare he exclaimed; "Jesus dude! You gotta be more careful." Dwight gave him one last look before turning his attention onto Alice.
"You did well before the school." the speed with which her hand was moving increased.
"No I didn't, I messed up and since then…" she trailed off as she straightened the corners of the music and Dwight's gaze flickered back to Shane who was still nursing his hand. Shane shrugged before getting up and leaving, fearing his foot-in-mouth syndrome would make things worse. This left Mr Socially Awkward - Dwight - alone to comfort Alice. Dwight tapped his fingers against the cover of the book, desperate for some guidance, some inspiration.
"You know you don't have to do anything." he said finally. "You get to choose what you want to do in life." he swallowed as her brown eyes moved to lock onto his. "It's not about what everyone else wants, it's about what you want. What you believe in. I believe that you can do this. I think you're strong enough. I think you're better than them but you don't have to. You don't have to do anything. You really don't. You shouldn't be…afraid of saying no to us. Telling Harvey that you don't want to sing solo isn't the end of the world, there are more important things." he fidgeted, aware that she was hanging onto his every word like it was her only means of survival. "I think…I think that you need to…to listen to yourself. I think, you should think." he trailed off, his hand tracing the pattern on the front of his book, unable to look at her anymore. "I think you need to listen to what the voice inside of you is saying, the one that's been trodden on over and over again." he stood up suddenly. "Just…" he breathed heavily, trying to convey everything he was thinking. "just be…" he trailed off again, not wanting to tell her to be happy because after everything that she'd gone through that didn't seem at all right. "Just make sure that you're the one that makes the choices, not anyone else." he gave her the best smile he could before leaving. Alice stayed there for another second, rubbing her right hand against left, before getting up as well, heading towards Harvey's music room.
When she reached Warbler hall she was surprised to hear music coming from it. She paused outside of the door and tilted her head towards it, listening with curiosity.
They can't break me. As long as I know who I am
And I want a moment to be real.
Wanna touch things I don't feel.
Wanna hold on and feel I belong
The voice sounded achingly familiar, but for the life of her Alice couldn't place who was singing. There was a smooth piano line and the faint strum of a guitar in the backing. There was no harmony, just a single melody line being sung with incredible emotion.
They can't tell me who to be.
Cause I'm not what they see.
Alice pushed the door open a little further and caught sight of Logan's blonde head seated at the piano keys. He had his back to her but the way he sang, and moved his body as he played, was enough to tell her that he was feeling the song with everything that he had. Blaine was sitting nearby, angled slightly towards Logan, he was strumming his guitar and she could see how his gaze was fixed, in a penetrating way, on Logan.
And their words are just whispers and lies that I'll never believe
And I want a moment to be real.
Wanna touch things I don't feel.
Wanna hold on and feel I belong
Alice moved into the room as silently as she could, captivated by the beauty of Logan's voice. She was sure that, when he'd auditioned for the lead, he hadn't sound at all like this. There had been a certain degree of flatness to his voice, but now it was colourful, and heavy, filled with an immeasurable weight. His fingers moved over the keys seamlessly, changing the whole feel of the song, making it his own.
I'm still here.
I'm still here.
I'm still here.
His voice faded away into nothing, and his hands stilled on the keys. Blaine, too, remained in his position, watching Logan carefully. Alice wasn't sure what to do. She felt like she'd just intruded on a very personal, intimate, moment between the two boys. She started to walk away slowly but Blaine, who was now moving, caught sight of her. He broke into a grin.
"Hey Alice." both Alice and Logan jumped simultaneously and Logan twisted around on his stool. He smiled at her.
"Hi." Alice smiled, forcedly, at both of them.
"I'm sorry…I was just...just looking for Mr Harvey." she was backing away from them as subtly as she could and both boys shared a look.
"I'll go see if he's in his office." said Blaine, rising from his seat and propping his guitar against the wall. Logan turned around properly, resting his hands on his knees, and looked at her squarely.
"So… did you hear the song?" Alice hesitated for a second before nodding. Logan nodded, as if in thought.
"What did you think?"
"Pardon?" Alice nearly jumped in shock at Logan's question.
"What did you think of the song? Was it good, bad, somewhere in the middle?" Alice shifted uncomfortably.
"It was good." she said eventually. "Really good…very emotional."
"Thank you!" exclaimed Logan. "Please tell Blaine that, he's trying to get me to 'vent' so if you think that it was emotional, he may just get off my case."
"O…okay." there was an awkward silence until Blaine returned, he shook his head.
"Harvey ain't here, sorry." Alice shifted, unsure what to do.
"Is there something we can help you with?" she looked between Logan and Blaine, unsure. Her right hand moved to rub along her left again.
"I don't want to sing solo…I can't." and suddenly a damn burst. The worry, the expectations, the pressure, the confusion, all came bursting out of her. She put a hand over her face and began to cry, her knees giving way slightly. Blaine was by her side in an instant and Logan was bending down in front of her.
"I'm gonna take your arm, okay?" said Blaine and she didn't do anything more than nod. A couple of seconds later she felt a comforting, strong, grip on her elbow and she was being guided onto the piano stool. Blaine let go of her when she was seated and she could hear Logan and Blaine breathing, right in front of her.
"Alice, nobody's making you." said Logan quietly. "If you don't…feel like performing then don't. You can't fake feelings, you can't make yourself into something you're not." Alice looked up at Logan with confused, brown, eyes. Blaine, on the other hand, was leaning away from Alice, gazing up at the ceiling as if lost in a brilliant thought.
"Alice, you don't want to perform on your own in front of a large crowd and I get that…It's all happening so fast for you so of course it's scary and seems out of control, but how would feel if you weren't alone on that stage? How would you feel about being with one us?" Logan looked up, his eyes questioning Blaine's idea - already having seen many flaws in his plan - but Alice looked caught between hopeful and wary.
"You want to sing with me?"
"Well, yeah, you've got a great voice." Blaine nudged Logan as he watched Alice's eyes travel to him and he jolted slightly.
"Yeah!" he said, though the tone was rather forced. "though, it would mean another audition, you'd have to sing to the Warblers again." Logan was fully aware of Blaine rolling his eyes as Alice looked into his. Alice glanced at the ground.
"I don't know. I mean, I cried last time."
"And we voted for you." said Logan casually. Blaine stepped on his foot and Logan grimaced.
"Remember, your decision, not ours." Alice nodded.
"I just…" a small sob ripped at the back of her throat. "I want to be strong." the admission was whispered and Logan shifted uncomfortably, feeling slightly awkward in the situation. Blaine reached forward and gently touched the soft fabric that circled her thumb.
"You are strong." he said. "You are so strong, Alice. You have been through so much and you're still here. You're carrying on. I can't even begin to imagine what life must have been like, I've been bullied and I've argued with my family, but that all pales in comparison to what's happened to you. You have lost so much and you're still so very young but you've yet to give in." Alice looked away.
"Alice?" questioned Logan, eyebrows knitted together.
"I nearly did."
"Give in?" she nodded in response.
"But something most have stopped you." she didn't reply, instead choosing to burst into renewed tears. Logan frowned deeper as Blaine squeezed her hand.
"Why give up? Why give in? It's not enough. It never is but I will go until the end." his voice was soft and his gaze was calm and steady. "I've lost my way. I've lost my way but I will go on until the end. The final fight I'll win.. The final fight I'll win. The final fight I'll win but I will go on until the end." The simple effect of his voice and the warmth of his hand on hers was enough to calm her and she took a deep breath, using her other hand to wipe the tears from her face.
"I think, yes, I'd like to sing with you." Blaine smiled, gently, and Logan nodded. Alice got up and the boys copied her. "I think I'll just go and…" she shrugged but gestured to the door. Blaine nodded, letting go of her and watching her walk away with a satisfied look. When the door had closed and there was silence in the room, Logan turned to Blaine with a frown on his face and green eyes narrowed.
"How do you do that?"
Shane and Dwight leant against the wall outside of Murdoch's English classroom, silently hoping that Murdoch wasn't getting too mad at her. Thankfully, Louis was in there too because he was deeply unhappy with both of their essays. Shane had gotten away unscathed as he had coerced Wes into giving him a copy of his essay which, because Murdoch hadn't taught him last year, Shane had edited a touch and then handed in. Dwight had also managed to escape because, whilst half of his essay was completely unrelated to the subject, he had somehow managed to include all the essential points, and add a few that Murdoch had absolutely loved.
"What a jerk!" hissed Louis, slamming the door and making Shane jump and Dwight, narrow his eyes. Alice was following him, her hand clamped around her essay and a frightened look in her eyes.
"You alright?" asked Shane, ignoring Louis and focusing on Alice. She did not give any response other than to tighten her grip on the essay. Shane turned to Louis for answers whilst Dwight took Alice's bag for her.
"He's a jerk." repeated Louis. "I mean, sure, everyone says it but, just, wow! Jerk of the century or something." Shane rolled his eyes.
"What'd he do?" he asked as they began to stroll through the almost empty halls towards the choir room.
"Well, I don't really get what was wrong with my essay but he was getting down on Alice for using British colloquialisms."
"Huh?"
"You know like pavement instead of sidewalk, and also the spelling, like colour with a 'u' and realise with an 's' instead of a 'z', and loads of irrelevant stuff like that." Shane frowned, obviously trying to think of why Alice would have used the word 'pavement' in her essay in the first place. "I'm not saying that's what she wrote, I'm just saying that's the kind of thing he was getting all angry about." Shane rolled his eyes.
"Like that matters!" Dwight held out his hand and Alice silently handed him the essay. It was covered in red marks and Dwight pursed his lips. He threw Alice's bag at Shane and turned ran off.
"Oi!" yelled Shane, clutching the bag to his chest and looking confused and surprised. "Where are you going?" there was no reply and Louis snickered quietly underneath his breath. Shane rolled his eyes again. "Well, at least we've got the bag, what on earth would've happened if he'd taken it."
Dwight threw open the doors to the gym and came to a halt. The fencing meet against St Patricks was tomorrow and, as a result, all of those on the squad had been pulled out of their last lessons to train. He'd come here immediately because if anyone knew how to deal with people and the general situation in a responsible manner it was Blaine, but now he was here he was having difficulty spotting Blaine amongst all the white clad fencers with helmets. His eyes fell, after scanning most of the room and noting the lack of defences, upon the pair in the middle. One tall and one short and both were duelling as if their lives depended on it. As, slowly, the other pairs broke apart and removed their helmets, they turned to watch the two boys. The coach had a small smirk on his face as he watched their blades clash and their feet dance backwards and forwards. In a quick motion the smaller of the two forced the other to back up to, almost, the wall and landed a hit right in the middle of their chest. There was a moment in which they both paused and then the others watching burst into applause and the two fencers reached up and pulled off their helmets. Laughing, Blaine shook hands with Logan who was saying something that Dwight couldn't hear. Not caring about the looks he was getting he pushed his way through the crowd.
"Blaine." Blaine blinked at the Junior before him.
"Dwight. What are you doing here?"
"I need to talk to you…about Alice." Blaine frowned and Logan relieved him of his foile and helmet. Blaine beckoned him over to the corner.
"What is it?" he asked, brow knitted together in concern. Dwight handed him the essay.
"Murdoch's discriminating against her…"
…and I don't know what to do…
Blaine looked at his friend, hearing the end of the sentence even if he hadn't said it. Blaine nodded, wordlessly, and his eyes skimmed over the essay, noting that the majority of it had been defiled by Murdoch's vicious red pen. He made a hmming sound in the back of his throat when he'd finished and ran a hand through his hair.
"Leave this to me." he said, eventually. "I'll talk to Howard, and maybe Logan'll be able to help me with how best to deal with Murdoch." he clapped Dwight on the arm. "Don't worry about it, just leave this with me." he glanced up at the clock. "You're late, tell Harvey me and Logan will be along in ten minutes." Dwight nodded and turned back around, dashing out of the sports hall and back towards Warbler hall.
"Alright, now we - I've decided." Harvey hastily corrected himself as he began to speak to the Warblers. He was still getting use to the idea of running them alone. Still hadn't adjusted everything. They had a teacher covering Ms Medel's classes but Harvey had made it clear that he didn't want anyone else running the Warblers. "that we're going to have a duet at Sectionals, opposed to a solo." most eyes turned to Alice whose eyes were silently thanking Harvey. He gave her a small smile. "Now, as Alice was going to lead, she has one part and, if they were here, Logan and Blaine are going to be duelling for the other spot." there were nods from the Warblers. "I have here some early drafts of what we might-" the door banged open and Dwight ran in. Harvey rolled his eyes, it always amazed him that Dwight kept coming back to Warblers. The boy could very easily be lead but, as he watched him pick his way to sit next to Alice, ignoring the questioning looks from his peers, he knew that he never try for it. Not that they needed more people duelling for lead, since Shane had got here and Louis had finally plucked up the courage to audition they were spoilt for choice for their leads.
"Settle down." he said. "as I was saying, I've made provisional copies of what I think we might perform but that's subject to change. Now it's on Friday and I want each and every one of you to work your hardest because we can win this."
"That was so boring." said Wes, stretching as the large group of Windsors left Warbler Hall. In the background they could hear the sounds of Logan and Julian bickering and a faint thudding noise that came from Bailey's headphones. "Shut up jerks!" he added, turning round and shouting at Julian and Logan who both glared at him.
"It's a bit harsh, don't you think." said Reed, as he trotted along next to Shane. "Both you and Logan are in the fencing match and you're the returning finalists and now you have to sing for an audition, tomorrow." Blaine shrugged.
"I'm sure we'll manage Reed. I wouldn't worry yourself over it." Reed opened his mouth, probably to deny any accusation of fretting, when David cut across him.
"So, I get why Blaine was late but where did you go, Dwight?" Dwight gave Alice a nervous half-glance before replying.
"To talk to Blaine about Murdoch." David frowned, and it wasn't at the Twins hiding behind statues and then leaping out at passers-by.
"What about Murdoch?" Dwight opened his mouth but Blaine replied for him, fearing that Dwight would dance around the topic for too long.
"Murdoch's giving Alice a bad grade because she's writing like she's British."
"But she is British."
"Exactly Reed, he's discriminating. I'll talk to Howard about it." he added, for Alice's benefit.
"You know, it'll be so good if you win the fencing." said Wes. "Then we might get back those privileges we had revoked." Alice frowned.
"What happened?" the entire group, including the Twins who had just returned, winced.
"Let's just say," said Blaine looking pained. "Never agree to lend someone a cauldron and let them cook tomato soup in the grounds whilst the Twins, Wes, David and Shane are running around with Nerf guns. It doesn't end well." Alice opened her mouth, possibly to inquire as to why someone had a cauldron, before deciding it was better not to delve. Wes shook his head as he thought back over the whole incident.
"I thought Milo was going to have a heart attack. He went so pale and then, suddenly, he looked like a tomato." the others laughed but Alice just shook her head.
When they made it back to Windsor Alice sat down with the others in the common room. Blaine was the hounded by several other members of the fencing team so he got up, rolling his eyes, and went to talk to them. Reed began to examine the sheet music and Shane peered over his shoulder, comparing their parts. Wes had pulled out a mini Nerf gun and started a fight with the Twins, which turned out to be a very stupid thing to do, and David pulled out a small box, turning it over in his fingers.
"It's Katherine's engagement ring." Alice jumped and looked at David. David gave her a small smile and Alice blinked, realising that she'd been watching him turn the small box over in his hand. Alice nodded and straightened her tie self-consciously.
"I thought you weren't engaged." David nodded.
"I haven't given it to her." Alice nodded. David tilted his head and guessed that she wanted to know why but was too scared to ask. "She's sick…she's going to die." Alice looked back up and frowned whilst David continued to smile, slightly.
"When's her birthday?"
"March, March 2nd." Alice nodded.
"That's not long."
"Yeah and I'm already 18 so…" he trailed off, continuing to spin the box.
"You should do it." it was a whisper and Shane was so busy bothering Reed that they didn't hear. David blinked.
"What?" Alice went bright red. "It-it…doesn't matter." David shook his head.
"Come on, I wanna hear." Alice chewed her lip.
"Life's really short." she mumbled. "Living is like drowning, and if you've got a life buoy you should cling to it for as long as you can." David tilted his head, listening intently. Alice looked up, meeting his gaze briefly before looking away.
"You think I should marry her?" Alice didn't look like she wanted to answer so David took up the conversation. "I would have proposed, actually, but things got out of hand…the fire and she went back into hospital and Doctor Lopez said it wasn't good." Alice bit the inside of her lip.
"It's drowning." tears were filling her eyes but David didn't think he'd done anything wrong. "Living is hard but when you have a buoy it gives you hope, and when you have hope you have a reason." David bit his lip, having a feeling that half of this conversation was about something he didn't understand. David leant across the table to her.
"Are you saying that I should do it because I'm keeping her afloat or she's keeping me up?" Alice shook her head.
"I guess only I understand my metaphor. She's the best thing in your life." David nodded. "Then why not?" she blinked. "You can lose everything in a second, and then in another minute or two or one decision whatever's left can come falling down. It takes one idea to ruin a life…stands to reason that one idea… one choice can make it all better." she shrugged and stood up. "I need to find a solo." David frowned, deep in thought.
"Alice." he called out and she turned instantly. "Dalton, it's your new life buoy, right? You're not drowning anymore?" Alice seemed to dither before she slowly shook her head and for the life him David couldn't tell whether she was saying 'no I'm not drowning' or if she was saying he was wrong. He frowned some more and opened the box, staring at the ring.
…"…stands to reason that one idea…one choice… can make it all better."…
Alice sat at her piano. One choice. She closed her eyes and breathed deeply.
The darkness was everywhere. It was so cold. So wet. So much pain. She was on her own. She was dying. The sound of an engine. She had whimpered from the physical pain and the fear of what might happen if someone found her…if they sent her back. When the light shone on her she curled into herself as much as she could. She saw that it was a boy her age and she moaned, curling inward because they would hurt her. When he held up his hands and he began to talk. He was bumbling but casual, releasing all sorts of personal information and she could relax because he was so unsure…because it took her mind off it. He asked what happened but she couldn't tell. No one could know. No one. She didn't even acknowledge anything until he leaned closer to her and she screamed because he was going to attack her. Through the haze of fear she noticed two things; one he had backed off and two, the word courage. She forced herself to look in his eyes and flinched when she saw that he was scared but pitying her. She looked at his hand. One choice. She reached up and took it.
She opened them and stared at the keyboard. Tentatively she played a chord. She hadn't written anything in a long time. She played another chord. She frowned. What if she made herself a life buoy? She grabbed a piece of paper and, with a small smile quirking the left side of her mouth, began to write.
"Hey Alice!" Reed came running, tripping on every other step, down the hallway towards her. She stopped in her tracks and waited for him to come to a halt.
"Reed." the boy ran a hand through his curly hair.
"I heard you practising last night, through the wall, you're brilliant." Alice smiled, tentatively, her hand reaching up slightly.
"Thank you."
"Are you coming to the fencing?" he asked as he walked slowly along side her, back to Windsor house. Alice tilted her head to the side.
"Um…I hadn't really thought."
"Blaine's in it, he's the returning champion, and Logan was his opponent in the final. It's against St Patricks, they're our biggest rival." Alice nodded slightly.
"I don't know…are the rest of you going?"
"Of course! I'm heading back to Windsor to change. The others are probably doing the same, though not Dwight."
"Change?"
"You're allowed to wear your own clothes!"
"Oh." Reed practically bounced and Alice nearly frowned.
They walked the rest of the way in silence. Wes and David met them part way to Windsor house and both of them explained that there was a deep rivalry between them and St Partricks and they wanted nothing more than for Blaine to crush them, and if not Blaine then some other Dalton boy. David was talking as much as he could because, after their conversation yesterday, he was trying to figure out some other way to let Alice know that Dalton wasn't just a life buoy that would slip away, but an island where she could stay for as long as she wanted, as long as she was allowed.
Alice hadn't spent that long trying to pick out what to where. They'd gotten back and Reed had dashed to his room, and Wes and David, rolling their eyes, had gone into their own. Alice was glad to see that Martha, the housekeeper, had taken all the clothes that she felt that she could wear. She pulled out her oldest, most worn, pair of jeans. They were meant to be dark blue but they were more like white around the knees. The ends were frayed but they were loose and comfortable. She routed through and found a long sleeved, white T-shirt and a green hoodie. She changed quickly and pulled out her trainers that she'd come in. The other clothes she'd washed compulsively and were hidden at the back of her wardrobe, but the trainers she felt she could wear. Her converses were bright yellow and she'd bought them because her father hated bright colours.
Reed, who was dressed to the T, looked rather shocked at her casual appearances but David grinned at her.
"Nice shoes." he said and Alice managed to smile lightly, the curvature of her lips not quite hidden beneath the extended forefinger. Both David and Wes were wearing shirts and slacks.
"I feel underdressed." she muttered.
"Don't worry. Reed's more interested in fashion then any girl I've ever met and David always dresses like that, I just felt like copying." Shane came bouncing, unexpectedly, out of his and Blaine's room. He was dressed far more like Alice in tatty jeans and a polo shirt.
"Come on!" he said, grabbing Reed's hand. "They're about to start."
"We won't miss it." said David, relaxed. "And if even if we do get there late we'll only miss the opening heats." Shane, however, was not satisfied with that answer and continued to tow Reed after him.
"Calm down Blaine!" Logan was sitting on the Dalton bench, tapping his foile against the ground. Blaine was fidgeting, throwing his blade between his between his hands. Blaine looked up at him. His green eyes were intent and Blaine exhaled heavily.
"Right." Logan's eyes flickered over the Patrick bench.
"Which one do you think is the dangerous one?" Blaine looked up and examined the bench. His eyes passed over the older students and rested on the four Freshmen.
"The one with light brown hair." he said as casually as he could. "The one that looks really composed." Logan nodded, he had grey eyes that locked onto Logan's. Logan glared at him, as best he could and then blinked.
"I swear I recognise that guy." he muttered. Blaine frowned and then shrugged. He glanced around and saw Alice standing at the back in a green hoodie. She looked far more casual than he'd seen her as she listened to David talk. Blaine's eyes scanned the hall and spotted Dwight, still in uniform, forcing his way to Alice. Logan followed his gaze.
"She looks okay." he muttered. Blaine raised his eyebrows. Logan rolled his eyes. "Not like that! I mean she looks…normal to happy." Blaine nodded as he saw Dwight speak to her.
"Where's your posse?" Logan jabbed him in the ribs at the comment and pointed to Derek, Julian and Bailey who were standing relatively near one of the Twins.
The draw was made and Blaine ended up with a St Patricks boy named Edward who looked quite intimidated by Blaine. He clapped hands with Logan who had drawn another Dalton boy.
"Good luck." Logan nodded.
"Hopefully I'll see you in the final." Blaine smiled and walked away from him to Edward.
Alice knew absolutely nothing about fencing, but just by watching she began to understand that Blaine and Logan were easily some of the best in the room. The heats, which were over remarkably quickly, had led them to the Quarter finals in which Blaine polished off his opponent in record time and Logan finished just after some St Patricks boy. Blaine then drew someone else from Dalton to play in the Semis and Logan got the St Patricks boy that Alice had quickly identified as the best on their team.
"Go! Go! Go!" Wes was leaping up and down, waving his arms in the air and shouting up at the top of his lungs as Logan and the boy from St Patricks duelled with ferocious elegance and speed. Blaine had won his match and was waiting, with a frown on his face, by the side of their mats to play the winner in the final.
"Come on Logan!" yelled David as Logan narrowly avoided the hit that would have cost him the game. Reed was gnawing on his lip nervously.
"Oh god!" he exclaimed, covering his eyes. "I can't watch." the score was 14-14 and they were playing first to 15. Whoever hit next played Blaine in the final. The Twins were leading a resounding chorus of - what sounded like - Pat Benatar's Hit Me With Your Best Shot but Alice couldn't be sure whether she was just mishearing them.
"No!" cried Shane as Logan was caught, mildly off guard, and the hit was landed square to his chest. The St Patricks moved to mob their player whilst Logan pulled off his helmet and shook his head in frustration.
"You need to watch out for him." he said, gratefully accepting the drink that was being handed to him. As Logan squirted it into his mouth, Blaine bent the tip of the blade on the floor.
"Any tips?" Logan shrugged, turning to glare at the back of the Freshman's head.
"Don't play like me." Blaine raised an eyebrow and Logan sighed. "I played like the rest of the team so he knows how I play. If you play differently to me you might just catch him off." Blaine nodded.
"Right, so be…erratic?"
"You don't have any thing to lose."
"Except the title." Logan snorted and clapped him on the shoulder. The St Patricks boy had turned back, mask already on, and Blaine took a deep breath and put his own on.
The final was incredibly short. Blaine and his still unnamed opponent exchanged hits rapidly and Blaine's new erratic method of play was as much as a hindrance as a help. On the one hand the crowd could see the shock in his opponent's body language when Blaine took what seemed like foolish steps. It clearly messed with his rhythm but the longer that it went on for he seemed to be able to anticipate what Blaine might do and began to creep ahead in the hits.
"Come on little bro!" Shane was managing to leap higher than Wes in his excitement. Reed had covered his eyes with his hands and the Twins had restarted their chorus of Hit Me With Your Best Shot. Alice chewed her lip out of her nerves and worry.
"Do you think he'll win?" Dwight, who was leaning casually a wall, blinked.
"Erm…" he stood on tiptoe, trying to hide the fact he hadn't been paying attention. "no." he said and was immediately whacked by about five different people.
"Dwight!" cried Reed. "You can't say that?" Dwight blinked again.
"Why?" there were collective groans from the group around them and no one replied.
"Back up!" screamed David at the top of his voice, suddenly. Blaine was coming under a barrage of attacks but seemingly refusing to move. "Move you short, curly-haired, Hobbit of a rabbit!" Wes dissolved into laughter at David's insult and so missed the lunge that took the St Patricks boy to 15. There was a great groan from those in Dalton that actually drowned out the cheers from the visitors.
Blaine pulled off his helmet and held out his hand for his opponent to shake.
"Good game." the boy snorted, ignoring Blaine's hand.
"You weren't even close to beating me." Blaine raised an eyebrow and opened his mouth to reply but Logan, who had just appeared by his shoulder, got there before him.
"Don't bother, Blaine, they don't teach good sportsmanship at St Patricks."
"Hmm." said the boy. "maybe I shouldn't transfer after all." he smirked at their frowns and turned to walk away, saying in a smug fashion. "but then again I'm sure Dalton would just love to have me. Anything to boost the shambolic thing you call a reputation." Blaine's hand found Logan's shoulder.
"Come on it's not worth it." he steered him away but not before they heard all the gloating;
"That was the best, Sebastian."
"You totally wiped the floor with them, Sebastian." Logan ground his teeth and Blaine steered him towards the showers, trying to get the obnoxious laughter from his head.
"It was a good game." said Reed encouragingly. Blaine shrugged and just shouldered his kit. Logan was walking behind them with his friends and grumbling about their gloating laughter.
"Yeah, 'tever."
"Don't feel like you let us down, that guy was freakishly quick at learning." Blaine nodded at David's words.
"Come on if you win the duel, you're still better than Logan." Blaine snorted at that.
"Cheers Wes." the group, looking oddly colourful in their assorted own clothes and sports kit, made their way into the Hall and Harvey nodded at them all.
"Alright, hurry up - we've got three songs and voting to do." Blaine, after indicating at Alice, walked along with her and Logan up to the front. "Logan if you'll go first." Logan nodded and Bailey clambered to his feet, snatching a guitar up from the rack. Sitting down at the piano stool he and Bailey began to play the intro to I'm Still Here.
Alice blinked and frowned at Logan's performance. There was something missing from it. There was less…something in it. She glanced at Blaine noticed that he was frowning as if he, too, had recognised that there was something different and, slightly, wrong about the way he was singing. It wasn't bad, though, just less…emotional she guessed. Like when he was singing it this time he didn't mean it like when he had before.
Logan shrugged at Blaine's raised eyebrow. He also saw Bailey's look of almost concealed surprise. Even Alice looked like she'd heard something different. He sighed. It wasn't the same with him in the room. He couldn't be honest with him around. He took a seat next to Blaine, who was climbing to his feet, with a slight look of regret on his face. Blaine made his way to the piano and, after a little pause, began to play intro to Katy Perry's Teenage Dream. Most of the hall burst into laughter, not that Alice knew why, and when he'd finished he'd shrugged and said that he'd been unable to think of anything else.
"Alice." Alice nodded and walked over to the piano and picked up the folder that had her name on it that she'd placed there at lunch. Carefully, she placed the sheets on the stand and took a seat. Nervously she placed her hands on the keys and began to play her own intro.
"Home."
I've heard the word before,
All heads looked up. Some looking awed by the fact that she'd clearly written the song herself but others - the ones that knew her best - were listening hard at the lyrics. David crossed his fingers; could she be saying what he thought?
But it never meant much more
Than just a thing I've never had.
Alice looked up from the keys, making sure that she didn't meet someone's eyes. She could barely remember England. It was all a blur of memories. Memories she'd quashed and repressed because it hurt. Hurt too much to thing about being happy, or having people that called each other friends but never even tried to find her. Never.
A "place,"
They say, "Hey, know your place!"
But I've never had a place to even know,
Or a face that I could go to
If I needed someone there...
In the end she'd even become disillusioned with her mother. They may have gotten along and they'd gone to musicals but her mother had always had more important things to do. She thought that if she bought Alice things it would make it all alright because, in the end, her mum loved her father - more than she loved her.
I'm laughing
It's hard to hide a smile
My god, it's been a while
Since I have had a reason to.
Blaine shared a look with Logan. Surprise showed up in his green eyes but he gave Blaine a nod as the smile grew on Blaine's face. Blaine nodded back, hardly daring to believe that them - and their crazy friends - were actually making her better. David sat up straight, grinning and wishing he knew the tune because he wanted desperately to join in.
To think
It's been here all along
Somewhere to belong,
And a reason,
A something-to-believe-in
Blaine could only smile in happiness. He glanced over at Dwight who looked alert for a change. He was watching Alice, he wasn't exactly smiling but there was something intent in his gaze and it took Blaine half a second to realise that he had found Alice's gaze. Blaine leant back and this time Logan gave him a small smile and another nod.
I've finally found it,
A place where I'm wanted...
This must be how it feels to have a home
Shane rubbed Reed's back as tears came to the smaller boy's eyes. He wiped at his eyes, giving his friends watery smiles. Dwight almost felt as if someone had stuffed cotton wool into his throat. It was ridiculously hard to breath, and he dared not to blink unless it was in time with Alice. A pressure seemed to be lifting, slowly, from his chest. He was choked up and it didn't make sense. She was getting better, already, and the way she stared at him made him feel that he'd done something. Finally, he'd done something right.
I used to dream about it
But never schemed or counted
On fantasies or wishes-
It breaks a man to see what he misses
The change of tone took the hall by surprise. Shane let out a little whoop of encouragement that was echoed by the Windsor boys and some of the others in her year.
So many nights I'd pray
For a better life, a better day
But I never thought that it'd come true
Now that it's here, I don't know what to do
And I'm trying not to cry
Alice almost didn't feel as if she was sitting in the Warbler hall. It was as if she was safe, and free. The sounds around her, brief humming, cheers and clapping, was all background noise, fading into nothing. It didn't matter because nothing mattered; not anymore. It didn't have to matter. She shouldn't trust the boys around her but her own body was betraying her. Her heart; battered and bruised but always somehow healing, was telling her that, this time, it was going to be okay. There really were tears in her eyes.
This must be how it feels
To have a home
I've finally made it
I've hoped and I've waited
And for the first time in my life, I don't feel so alone
Dwight found that a smile was quirking up the right side of his mouth. He meant it to be encouraging, meant for her to be able to take confidence from it but he found that, really, he was just smiling because he was happy - happy for her and happy because this was something that he understood and there was a look in everyone else's eyes that told him that this was the most important thing that had happened in a long time.
My heart starts to heal
To know that it's real
This is how it must feel
To have a home!
The Warblers burst into whistles and cheers. The boys had all risen to their feet on her last note and Reed was wiping tears form his eyes. Alice could only feel elation at the moment. She put a hand over her mouth, aware that her face was scarlet. The smile on her face was true but, still, it was hidden. Hidden until her habits could break down. Her twitches and ticks weren't ironed out; she wasn't fixed but something in her had mended, as tears coursed down her cheeks. David was smiling at her and she sort of understood. She'd opened up to him and it was like the first crack in the dam, the trick was now to make sure she controlled the flood.
"That was amazing!" Reed squealed, putting a considerable distance between himself and the floor.
"Thank you."
"No but really," grinned Wes. "that was freakin' brilliant!"
"Yeah, I totally can't believe you wrote that yourself and-"
"Brilliant work." Bailey had appeared by her shoulder and interrupted Shane.
"Yeah…so much better than Blaine." Alice frowned at Logan, and Blaine rolled his eyes whilst Julian allowed himself a smirk.
"It's a shame he never gave it to me, I could have made it a whole lot better."
"I was about to add, though, that Blaine was immeasurably better than Julian." All the boys began to laugh at the put-out look on Julian's face whilst Alice continued to chew her lip. Harvey was busy counting the votes and didn't seem at all put off by the wall of non-musical sound that was rising from the Warblers at that moment. David leant forward.
"You really meant that, right?" Alice blinked at him before slowly nodding.
"Yes…" he sat back again, a thoughtful look in his eyes.
"Sink or swim, huh?" Alice's head tilted to the side and she frowned. The rest of the group had fallen into relative silence, watching the exchange with poorly concealed curiosity.
"Yes, sink or swim."
"Swimming?"
"It's the only thing I know how to do." before any of the other boys could ask just what the hell was being discussed, Harvey got to his feet.
"Alright, quiet!" the hall fell into expectant silence. He rolled his eyes. "You know I'm going to have to change the rule so that you can only vote for what I say." everyone in the Hall - except Logan and Alice - dissolved into laughter.
"Huh?" questioned Logan, glancing at the snickering Blaine. "What's going on?"
"You're all singing, the three of you." Logan raised an eyebrow whilst Alice looked shocked. Green eyes searched for the answers in Blaine's.
I'm not letting her stand up there alone.
Logan nodded. He turned to Alice, who was gnawing on her lip.
"You okay with that?" there was a small nod. The corner of his mouth forced itself to twitch into a smile.
"Good." Harvey clapped his hands together.
"Right…what are we waiting for, everyone up and places!"
"David, Windsor's that way?"
"I know." the African-American boy continued to walk in the opposite direction. Wes, arm stretched across his body as he indicated towards their house, blinked and frowned.
"Okay…so where are you going?"
"To do something I should have done a long time ago."
"Great!…what?" David just shook his head.
"I'm clinging on." was all he said in reply but Alice's face slackened in understanding.
"Oh." she said, the sound quiet but the Windsors turned to her.
"What?" she glanced at David who just beckoned.
"I think he wants you to see." David stopped and turned to look back at the group, most of whom were puzzled.
"Blaine…can you get us into Dobry." Blaine looked at the rest of the group before shrugging.
"Sure…I guess." David's face broke into a grin and he ran off. "Wait! Come back!" Blaine and Wes began to run after him and, after the Twins were standing properly, the rest followed.
Blaine came back, hands raised in triumph as he held passes to get into Dobry.
"Um…on what grounds are we going in?" asked Reed, tentatively.
"We're got a meeting with the dance group so that we can be assisted in our dancing for Sectionals."
"You're joking?"
"Nope, Shane, it was the only thing that I could think of." David shrugged and snatched the pass from Blaine, shrugging it on.
"I don't care…if this gets us in, good."
"You still not telling us what's going on?" David shook his head and glanced at Alice who was biting her lip.
"Nah. I think you'll like the surprise."
The group of Windsors made their way across the pristine lawns of Dobry. The atmosphere at Dobry was one of studious calm and most of the girls wondering around nodded and frowned at the group as they made their way, briskly, across to the dance studio. There was no mistaking the spring in David's step, or the way Alice's moved over the girl's school with wonder and curiosity.
"Katherine!" David had burst into the dance studio. The girls, half way through a routine, looked up at the group of Windsor boys, and girl, with frowns. Nadia Cohen, standing centre stage, flipped her dark hair angrily, and turned to glare at Katherine who sat in a chair.
"What is he doing here?"
"I don't know." said Katherine, honestly, and clambered to her feet. "David?" David just continued to walk until he was right in front of her, then he dropped onto one knee. Most of the girls - and Reed and Shane - let out squeals of delight and shock. The rest of the Dalton boys - barring Dwight - whooped and began to snicker. Katherine's mouth just hung open.
"Katherine Rivers." he said, retrieving the ring from his pocket. "Will you marry me?" there was a shocked pause in which Katherine's eyes filled with tears, and nobody breathed.
"Yes." she said, quietly, a couple of tears trickling down her face and around the corners of her upturned mouth. "Yes I will." David's legs seemed to wobble slightly as, after he'd slipped the ring onto her finger, he stood up and, after running a hand down her arm, pulled her tightly into an embrace. The watching students began to cheer, the Twins and Shane beginning to wolf-whistle, and David rolled his eyes at Katherine as they broke apart, just before the Windsors launched themselves on top of them. Everyone had been pulled into the embrace except Alice, and Wes who was standing there like he'd been bludgeoned.
"Err…Earth to Wes." said David, waving a hand in front of his face. "You in there mate?"
"Yeah…"
"Isn't this the point when you tell me that you told me so and tell me I'm an idiot for waiting so long?"
"Yeah…I just…I never thought you'd actually do it. I think I'm in shock." Wes pinched himself and blinked. "Ah! Better!" he punched David on the arm. "What prompted that?" he demanded and David turned to Alice. He looked like he wanted to throw his arms around her and Alice, seemingly picking up on this, took a step back.
"It's okay!" he exclaimed, bouncing on the balls of his feet. "I'm not going to! I just…thank you…like, really, thank you. I don't think I would've…I just…thank you…so much." he grabbed Katherine's hand and pulled her to his side, grinning like an idiot. "Katherine, Alice. Alice, Katherine." Katherine smiled, gently at the younger girl who was standing there, unsure and scared looking.
"Hey…thanks for whatever advice you gave him…I have to admit I've been waiting for him to pop the question for a little while." Alice's hand covered her mouth, which they took as a good thing because it meant she was smiling.
It's nice to be smiled at, she thought as all of her dorm mates and Katherine smiled at her. It makes me feel better. No one ever smiled at me till now.
"That's…um…" she struggled find words in reply to Katherine's statement but the other girl shook her head.
"Hey, you don't have to say anything to that, I just thank you. You didn't have to do anything…but you did, that's what matters." Katherine smiled at her some more. "I think that's the most important thing." All Alice could do to that was look back with an overwhelmed look in her eyes.
"You do realise you now have to plan the wedding, right?" they had been on their way back to Windsor when they'd run into Julian, Derek, Logan, Bailey and Merril. David had wasted no time in spilling the big news to all of them and, whilst Merril and Bailey had both been excited and hugged him, and Derek had punched him good-naturedly on the shoulder, Logan seemed to want to pop his little 'good mood' bubble, likely because he found his extensive euphoria disturbing. Julian hadn't said anything, though, and Blaine was beginning to suspect that that had a lot to do with David's rambling explanation as to why he hadn't done it earlier.
"My god, Logan! Can't you ever just be cheerful?"
"It's not in his vocab, Merril. It doesn't compute into his brain."
"Oi!" Logan shoved Derek, slightly, and his best friend just laughed.
"Have you told your parents?" asked Bailey, almost nervously and David's mouth dropped open.
"Ah…"
"Why did I befriend a bunch of idiots?" Logan faced-palmed.
"Wait? Wait? Did you ask her mum?" David's mouth fell even further open at Merril's words. "Or her brother?…Please tell me you at least mentioned it to her sister?…"
"Did you tell anyone what you were planning?"
"Well…um…these guys knew I was thinking…and Alice knew what I was going to do…" The Stuarts looked at each other, incredulously. Merril rolled her eyes in a long suffering manner.
"I suggest you get your phone out, now."
Alice looked between the two songs. Her brow dipped into a well used frown.
"I'm meant to pick one?" she asked slowly, and Harvey nodded, for the fifth time. "But we learn them both?"
"Again, yes."
"Sorry, sorry. I didn't mean to-"
"It's okay, Alice, let's just take it from the top…which one do you want?"
"Um…the…err…the, um, the…"
"Second?" guessed Dwight, appearing from seemingly nowhere by her right shoulder. She barely flinched, however, instead shifting uncomfortably.
"Yes…how…how, did you know?" he shrugged.
"It was a fifty guess." there was an outburst of spluttering, coughing, and laughter. Blaine cuffed the main culprits - Wes, David, Shane and the Twins - around the back of their heads, knowing that their outburst of noise had hidden mutters of
"Liar." and "Yeah right."
"Excellent." said Mr Harvey. "We'll begin with that one…but, you know, it never hurts to have a back up option. You have no idea what might happen at Sectionals…you could turn up and find that they've picked the same song as you."
"But that's unlikely." assured Blaine, noting the panicked look on her face.
"Didn't it happen to Kurt's club?"
"Yeah, Wes, but only because their cheerleading coach leaked the set list to the competition." There were quiet murmurs of
"That's dumb." and "Weird." so Blaine turned back to Alice with a comforting smile. Logan was fiddling with the sheet music, looking distracted, and Blaine trod on his foot.
"Ow!"
"Focus." Logan scowled at him and Alice looked between the two boys, unable to understand the conversation passing between the two Seniors.
"Um…"
"Don't mind Logan, he's just tired." there was a moment in which the Warblers, with raised eyebrows, looked between their prefects as they had an intense staring match.
"Alright…" drawled Harvey. "Let's stop glaring at each other and focus. Blaine, pay particular attention to your footwork, and Logan, sort yourself out won't you." Logan raised an eyebrow. "You look like you want to murder the audience, it's not attractive." there were quite a lot of snorts and Logan, turning his back on Harvey, gave Blaine a quick sneer before pulling out a winning show smile. Alice continued to frown.
"Don't worry about him." Bailey was idly brushing the corners of his sheet music against his hand, and watching Logan with an intent expression. "He is just tired…he'll be fine by the performance." Bailey turned a smile to her. "You'll be amazing, by the way." Alice blinked and Bailey just winked at her before moving over to a little group of Hanover Warblers, out of whom Alice only recognised Louis. She bit down on her bottom lip. Her brows were pulled down into a frown. Everybody kept saying that. The more she thought about it the more she couldn't believe it. They were obviously just saying it because they thought that was what she wanted to hear. She wanted…she didn't know what she wanted. She wanted people to be honest but she was scared. There was always the chance that the moment they stopped feeling sorry for her they'd hate her, like everyone else. Everyone here was happy, they had what they wanted. Harvey was busy with David helping to teach dance moves, Blaine was laughing with Wes and the Twins as they slowly went through their harmonies, Shane was spinning Reed around and Dwight was shaking his head at them. Julian was teasing Logan, and Bailey was half chatting to Louis and half keeping an eye on Logan and Julian.
"Alice?" Dwight had moved over to her, noting that she was standing there, no doubt looking upset. The other Windsors, and some of the Stuarts, looked over at her, faces contorted with confusion and concern.
"Yeah?" he took another step towards her, looking nervous and worried.
"We mean it…we mean what we say…we wouldn't lie." she nodded and Dwight, giving her an awkward smile, wandered back to Reed and Shane. Alice, shuffling through the sheets again, followed him, standing by Blaine's shoulder to listen to what he had to say about the performance.
"You're going to be amazing." Blaine squeezed Kurt's hand across the table. It was Thursday afternoon and Blaine was surprised that he'd managed to get out of Dalton giving Harvey's tendency to act like a maniac just before a major performance. However, whether it was down to a lack of Medel or a desire not to pressure Alice, he'd given the surprised Warblers Thursday evening off.
"Thank you."
"And, of course, we'll be there cheering you on." Blaine smiled.
"Thank you, I'd have come to yours but I just couldn't get away…not with Warblers and fencing." he shook his head. Kurt's tilted to his left.
"You're still upset about that?" Blaine shrugged.
"It's not so much that we lost…it was just his arrogance. They way he looked at me." Blaine shook his head. "I can't believe he's thinking of coming here…and what he said." he shook his head again. "It just gets to me." Kurt rolled his eyes.
"Don't let it…he's obviously not worth any of your attention." Blaine gave Kurt a more relaxed smile.
"Yeah…" they lapsed into a peaceful silence and Blaine finished his cup of coffee. He could feel Kurt's gaze boring into him. There was something watchful yet distant about his expression and Blaine frowned. "What is it?" Kurt blinked.
"Nothing."
"You sure?"
"Yes." there was another silence. "So…how's Alice?" Blaine pulled a face and shrugged.
"She's getting better, if her song was anything to go by, and she does seem to trust me, which is good…but I don't know…you just can't tell…or at least anyone who's not Dwight can't tell; he seems to be pulling some crazy mind-reading skill out on her." Kurt chuckled. "Though, I reckon her and David have reached some sort of understanding…they had some weird conversation about swimming and sinking…it was just odd! But, anyway, it's good that she's talking to people…whatever she said finally spurred David into action."
"I heard, he proposed!"
"Yeah…the conversation with their parents and Francis was damn funny."
"Francis?"
"Her brother."
"Ah."
"He was squirming so badly. I'm pretty sure Wes nearly choked because he was trying so hard not to laugh." Kurt began to laugh and Blaine could feel a swelling sensation in his chest. His worries seemed to vanish. It was like he'd left all the nagging thoughts, and contemplative silences back at Dalton with the issues.
"So what's the atmosphere like? You guys nervous?" Blaine shrugged.
"I dunno…should be pretty quiet." Kurt raised an eyebrow just as Blaine's phone began to buzz.
As Blaine had driven off towards his date with Kurt, the Windsor Warblers had been left standing by the windows of Windsor house all with frowns on their faces.
"Okay…" said Drew. "Let's think this over, carefully." there was a long pause before he decided to speak again. "Harvey's let us all have the evening off, and Blaine has gone out…why are we not going crazy?" there was a pause and then most heads turned to Alice. She was staring at the grass with an intent frown and didn't notice all the gazes fixed on her.
"Um…Alice?" asked David gently. "Are you okay?" Alice nodded. Her eyes were glazed over and her hand played with the fabric that lay against their backs. Alice felt strangely detached. It was as if she had been wrapped up in cotton wool. She didn't feel real. She wasn't alive anymore.
"Alice." her names was being hissed, whispered through the haze and the blankness. It was like the dial tone of a poorly connected phone, out of reach and confusing.
"Alice..."
I am human. I am alive. I am courageous. I am strong.
"Alice!"
She turned around.
"What's wrong?" the Windsors were looking at her with concerned eyes.
"I feel numb." the words fell through her lips, her brain so tired and downtrodden that it do not even consider censoring them. There was a pause in which the boys blinked and, then, the younger ones slid off, and Drew scampered up to his bed room. The conspirators were left standing together.
"That's bad, right?" Shane's feet were promptly squashed and Alice continued to gnaw at her lip.
"Look, Alice, what helps?" there was a pause in which she said nothing but her hand, twitching towards her wrist, said everything.
"Okay…" David looked at Dwight who was frowning.
"You weren't like this earlier?"
"It's…it's been coming on…"
"All week?" she nodded and Dwight crossed his arms, in thought. David looked at Wes who shrugged and the Twins continued to frown.
"If you sung?" asked Reed, cautiously. "Would that help?" she seemed to shrug.
"Wait here." Wes took to the stairs and dashed into his and David's room. Shane began to fiddle with Reed's hair in order to alleviate the awkward, tense, silence. Wes' thundering footsteps attracted attention from most of the people in the common room. He slid down the banister and landed, with a certain amount of grace, on the floor. Slowly, he extended the guitar to her.
"It's mine." he added, clearing up her questioning frown.
"I…I don't know what to sing." she muttered.
"Anything." said Reed. She continued to look at him with sad, confused, eyes. "I'll start." Shane reached for the guitar and she handed it to him. He seemed to communicate with Reed before he began to play. There were some raised eyebrows from some of the boys but Alice didn't know the song.
Down in a local bar out on the Boulevard
The sound of an old guita
rIs saving you from sinking
The song was different to the one she had heard Reed sing for his audition. He was clearly mildly out of his vocal range but it didn't sound wrong.
It's a long way down, it's a long way
Don't turn away, dry your eyes, dry your eyes
Shane joined in the solo strumming away with his head bent and, again, the timbre in his voice was different. She guessed it had something to do with the last song he'd sung was upbeat and he'd been dancing around exuberantly, but, now, he looked serious and sad.
Don't be afraid, but keep it all inside, all inside
When you fall apart, dry your eyes, dry your eyes
Life is always hard for the Belle of the Boulevard
In all your silver rings, in all your silken things
The other boys around her were beginning to harmonise along and Alice felt strange. It wasn't a comforting song, particularly, but at the same time…it seemed, to her, to be about keeping going. About surviving.
That song you softly sing
Is keeping you from breaking
It's a long way down, it's a long way
Don't turn away, dry your eyes, dry your eyes
She took the melody line but the song didn't work. Her voice sounded small and pathetic. The other boys were frowning, looking confused and surprised. She couldn't stop it from shaking.
Don't be afraid, oh keep it all inside, all inside
When you fall apart, dry your eyes, dry your eyes
Life is always hard for the Belle of the Boulevard
Please hold on, it's alright
It was a relief when Reed and Shane took back the vocal line. Their voices worked in perfect harmony; Reed's higher and sweeter whilst Shane's kept the melody grounded.
Please hold on, it's alright
Please hold on
Down in a local bar out on the boulevard
The occupants in Windsor were hanging over the rails and the backs of chairs as they watched the couple sing, to Alice and to each other.
The sound of an old guitar
Is saving you
Don't turn away, dry your eyes, dry your eyes
Alice's body, which had gone from light and numb to heavy and aching at her failure, began to relax. The weight of her problems seemed to sore with their harmonies towards the crystal chandelier that hung above their heads.
Don't be afraid, but keep it all inside, all inside
When you fall apart, dry your eyes, dry your eyes
Life is always hard, let me dry your eyes, dry your eyes
It twisted and spiralled away before, slowly, slowly, dissipating. Dancing over the heads of the watching students and vanishing into nothing.
Life is always hard for the Belle of the Boulevard
Alice could not react when the song ended. The rest of the common room burst into applause, and Shane, grinning again, took several deep bows. Wes rescued his guitar from Shane's grip before it got damaged and David clapped Reed on the back.
"How do feel?" inquired one of the twins. She tilted her head.
"Light." there was a moment of pause.
"What happened with your singing?" asked Dwight, and Alice let out a sigh.
"I find…sometimes…I find it hard…to…" she looked around before dropping her voice into an almost silent whisper. "to sing." there was a pause before most of the boys shrugged.
"Same." agreed David.
"I think most people have problems at time." reassured Wes.
"No…but…I just…" she looked at her hands. "Sometimes…if I don't feel it…if it's not real to me…I just can't do it…"
"You should talk to the Knave." piped up the other Twin.
"That's Logan." substituted Reed.
"He's all drugged up, I think, and he can't always sing properly."
"Okay."
"Come on. We'll take you over there now." The mismatched group of Windsors got to their feet and, after picking their way through the crowded common room, headed off towards Stuart.
At the moment that Blaine was driving away from Dalton and the Windsors were staring out of the window, Stuart house was enjoying an unusual moment of calm. Logan sat at the keyboard, absentmindedly playing chords, Derek was texting and writing, and Bailey had his laptop open before him and was writing an e-mail with an intense expression on his face. The other Stuarts were working, drinking coffee and chatting quietly. The only thing missing from the picture of studious tranquillity was Julian Larson. No one had seen him since the end of lessons that day.
A discordant, angry, sound filled the common room and everyone looked at Logan with looks ranging from surprised to exasperated. The prefect did not look up at his peers, all of whom were watching him, but instead chose to glare at his phone.
"Lo?" Derek had placed his pen down, the black ink still glistened on the paper and he was careful not to smudge his conclusion as he set his phone down and moved to his friend. Bailey, who had one headphone over his right ear and the left resting just behind the other, stopped tapping, peering cautiously over the top of his screen.
"Jules hasn't texted me back." he muttered. Derek, turning to look at Bailey, frowned further.
"Did he say where he was going?" the other students had begun to work again, and Bailey got up and moved over to the keyboard.
"Said he was meeting Dave."
"Then he's probably too busy to text you, misery guts." Bailey's fingers tapped against the side of the keyboard and he glanced, nervously, at Derek. Derek licked his lips before continuing. "Look, Lo, Jules is a big boy…he can look after himself." green eyes smouldered with condescension. Derek acknowledged Logan's silent point by bowing his head, and the nervous tapping accelerated.
"We should just trust him." said Bailey quietly. "Julian isn't stupid…he'll call if he's in trouble.." he shrugged, front teeth biting down on his lower lip. Logan nodded, slowly, moving back to the keys, hands expertly mapping out the pattern to another Adele song. Derek shared an exasperated look with Bailey who just shrugged.
"I'm going to bed." he muttered eventually. Logan looked up, a flicker of concern passing behind his usually even eyes. Derek's face sunk into a deep frown, and his features tautened. Bailey didn't say anything, though, accept giving them a weary smile goodbye, before walking out. Derek looked back at Logan whose eyes had fallen to the keys again. He rolled his eyes and sighed, moving back to his seat just in time to scoop his phone as it began to beep. Logan glanced at his phone, wishing for his message to be acknowledged, before turning back to the keys.
"Logan?" he blinked up in surprise.
"Evan, Ethan." he frowned and looked round, seeing that Stuart had been invaded by that group of Windsors. "Why are you here?"
"Can you talk to Alice?" Logan blinked and saw the girl, standing quietly by Dwight and Shane, looking pale and ill. "Sure…what's wrong?" neither of them replied, but they did beckon Alice over. She came, slowly and with a great hesitation. Evan grabbed her a chair before departing back to their friends, with his brother. An awkward silence descended upon the two of them, Logan began to prod at the keys.
"So…what's up?"
"Singing." Logan frowned.
"Fancy explaining a little bit more?" she took a deep breath.
"I can't…" she took another steadying breath. "I just…I thought it had gone away but…sometimes…if I don't feel…it doesn't come." Logan's eyes raised to the ceiling before he clocked it.
"Oh." he looked down at the keys. "I see." she looked at him, sad eyes. "You know…it doesn't matter…as long as you sing what you want, when you want it's not a problem." Alice nodded.
"I guess…I just…I use to be able to sing for fun…now I…I can't." Logan sighed and nodded.
"Just…it doesn't matter…you need a bit of…practise…it probably had more to being around the others than anything else…the more you try it…the longer you're in Warblers, the more it'll come." he gave her a small smile. "I promise." her cheek seemed to twitch upwards in what was the ghost of a smile.
"Thank you, Logan." he nodded, his hands tracing the keys but not pressing any of the notes. She paused, as if words she wanted to say were stuck to the edge of her tongue, but, eventually, she twitched her face again and got up, making to leave.
"Logan!" all eyes turned to Bailey who was jumping down the stairs frantically and almost collided with Eryk as he skidded towards the prefect.
"What?"
"Julian." he held out the phone and Logan, face creased with worry, snatched it from him.
"Jules?"
"Logan!"
"What's happened?"
"I need a lift."
"What has happened?"
"I'll…I'll tell you later, please can you just get me out of here!" Logan's face was sunk into a deep frown.
"Alright. I'll come and get you but if that Dave has done anything-"
"It wasn't him…just some jerks."
"Okay…where are you?"
"Lima."
"Lima!" all of the boys were staring at Logan now.
"Logan, please! They trashed my car and Dave's in an ambulance!" Logan paused at that, blinking rapidly.
"Okay…" he repeated. "Just…can you make it to Breadstixs?"
"Where is that?"
"I'm sure one of the Windsors can get you there, it's where Blaine and Kurt are. I can pick you up from there."
"Okay. Thank you." Logan hung up and turned to Derek.
"Right…looks like Jules has gotten himself stranded, his friend is in an ambulance." Derek raised an eyebrow but didn't comment.
"Do you want me to call Blaine?"
"Yeah. Cheers." Logan grabbed his blazer, lying sprawled across a chair, and hurried out of the room as Derek began to call Blaine.
Blaine pulled the phone out of his pocket and frowned, lightly, when he saw the name "Derek" flashing on his screen.
"Yeah?"
"Hey, Blaine…look this is gonna sound weird but Julian's coming to Breadstixs."
"Uh…what?"
"Look, don't really know what's going on…but something's happened. The friend he was out with is in an ambulance and his car's been trashed…I don't know…but he's coming over."
"Okay." said Blaine slowly. "Thanks for the heads up, I guess."
"Yeah, no problem." Blaine hung up, eyebrows raised.
"Everything okay?" asked Kurt, head tilting to the side.
"Yeah…well…something's happened to Julian…he's coming here until Logan can pick him up." Kurt raised his eyebrows.
"Oh? What's 'something'?" Blaine shrugged.
"I'm not sure but Derek said someone ended up in an ambulance." Kurt raised an eyebrow.
"I'll call him." said Kurt, pulling out the phone. "Check that he's okay." Blaine nodded, but Kurt didn't stay on the line long.
"His phone is engaged." he said with a shrug. Blaine rolled his eyes and smiled at the waitress who came to ask if they wanted any more food.
In the end, everything turned out okay. Julian was unharmed, but silent, and his car was picked up by one of his mum's people that hung around town in case anything happened. He didn't say what happened, properly, but insisted that some jerks had seen him and his friend out and, knowing who he was, assumed he was on a date. They'd then laid upon the two of them; smashing the windows of his car, slashing the tyres and attempting to beat the crap out of Julian and his friend. Luckily for Julian, a couple of adults intervened but not before Dave, standing up for Julian, had been thrown against a window and suffered from mild concussion, though no one seemed too worried about that. Julian, shaken and suddenly alone, had then called Logan. After he'd come to Breadstixs he'd sat in silent with Kurt and Blaine in their both and declined any offer of food or drink. Blaine had to admit he was a little worried about him. Kurt had attempted to get him to open up, but it was no go. Blaine had resolved to wait until Logan came, and, he was glad to see, that after a little while in Logan's presence he seemed to relax. He still hadn't told him what had happened, and, because Logan had enough sense not to start a row in public had dropped. After they'd left Blaine had decided he might as well go too, knowing that they'd need a good night of sleep before Sectionals. As they drove back to Dalton, Logan had called to him - on speaker phone - and talked him through what had happened with Alice, with occasional input of Shane who was calling Julian. Blaine didn't know whether to be worried or not, and so, resolved to just trust Logan's judgement on the situation, which was that everything would work itself out given enough time. It was a strangely optimistic outlook from Logan but Blaine guessed that he wouldn't have said it to him if he didn't mean it. Him and Logan had worked it out that it was generally easier, and quicker, to sort out their problems if they were completely honest with each other, or at least honest enough so that they other could read between the lines and work out the whole truth for themselves. On the whole, it seemed to be working quite well. Blaine actually felt relatively confident as, just before he went to bed, he spied Dwight and Shane talking to Alice by her room, and relaxed look on her face, though he tried to ignore the thumps and crashes from below that meant Reed had fallen, and the Twins had decided to wage war against David and Wes, again.
There was an expectant, almost quiet in the green room. It was just before the start and the seconds were ticking away. The Hipsters were going on first, then them and lastly Aural Intensity. Thankfully there hadn't been any of the drama that they'd had last year, yet. Blaine wasn't about to jinx the situation, mainly because he'd noticed some tensions between Logan and Julian. Both of them were pretty volatile and, judging by the nervous look on Bailey's face as he sat between them, there had been sparks flying. Evan and Ethan were chatting to the Alice. Her eyes were slightly wide and Dwight was hovering near by, ready to collar the twins if they said anything inappropriate. Wes and David were eating sweets whilst Shane hunted for their hoard that was hidden in the room with Reed. Julian was staring at his phone and Logan was making rather forced looking conversation with the nervous Bailey.
The squeal that sounded in the room made everyone start and look round. Most eyes fell onto Reed, expecting to see him lying on the floor, or in Shane's arms. He was, however, standing upright on his own and looking just as surprised as everyone else.
"It wasn't me." he said, defensively, when he noticed most people staring at him.
"It was Julian." said Bailey, looking surprised and incredulous. Julian wasn't aware, though, that he'd done anything abnormal as he was still staring at his phone. In the silence as everyone watched him, including a baffled Harvey, he began to tap out a short reply. He then looked up and saw all the Warblers and their, now lone, teacher staring at him.
"What?" he asked.
"Did you just squeal?" asked Logan, his voice dripping with disdain at the very thought of making a sound like that.
"If I did?" there was an incredibly defensive tone to his voice.
"Oh my god." muttered Bailey in a soft voice. Then he shook his head. "You guys never cease to amaze, and worry, me." Julian glared at him.
"Why?" asked David, who looked very amused.
"None of your business." came the snappy reply. The phone was then pinched from between his fingers by Evan, an evil Cheshire smile on his face that matched his brothers. "Hey!" he exclaimed. "Give that back!" he leapt off his seat and Harvey moved forward.
"Evan, Ethan, return Julian's phone." however both boys were frozen as they stared at the screen. Then, wide eyed, they threw the phone back to him. Julian caught it and immediately looked at the screen. He let out an angry noise.
"God what is wrong with this place? Do you have any respect for anyone's privacy but Alice's?" there was an awkward pause in which Alice went white as the topic of conversation moved to her.
"Hey." David was leaning down so he was facing her. "I have something to show you." Blaine sent David a look questioning what he was doing and David gave him one in return that asked him to trust him.
"What?" she asked, quiet.
"I thought you might like a sneak peek at what you're about to perform in front of. Would you like that?" she stayed immobile for another second before nodding.
"Yes." David straightened up and Alice got to her feet. The two of them left the room. The door closed and Harvey was about to talk when Dwight leapt in, looking very angry.
"Why did you do that?" he demanded. "Why did you drag her into this?"
"I didn't mean to. I just wasn't thinking."
"Do you ever?"
"Hey!" Logan leapt up in his friends defence.
"Stop it." said Blaine, moving between his angry deputy and the Stuarts. "Everyone just calm down." there was a silence in which some deep breaths were taken. "Right." said Blaine, when he thought he had control of the situation. "Julian and Dwight, apologise." no one spoke. "Now." Dwight rolled his eyes.
"I'm sorry." he said, voice disparaging.
"Yeah, ditto."
"Julian."
"Fine, I'm sorry, happy?"
"No but I'll take it."
"What is going on?" asked Jesse. "I mean, why did you just flip out, Julian?" Julian looked like he wanted to argue but he had a thing about the Hanovers. It was his fault he'd taken away one of them and if they asked him a question, not that they really talked to him, he couldn't refuse. He felt that that wasn't fair on his part.
"Um." he said, swallowing and suddenly looking uncertain. "I…well, I have a boyfriend." all the Warblers and Harvey gaped at him for a second, unable to believe that that could be. The idea of Julian having a boyfriend, after everything that had happened and they'd learnt last year, boggled the mind. Eventually Logan voiced what everyone was thinking.
"What?"
"The judges are there." David was pointing at the people sitting in the best seats in the house. He had drawn the curtains at the corner of the stage slightly apart and Alice was peeking through. "Hang on." David squinted, sticking his head further out. "One of them is missing." Alice blinked and saw that one of the chairs was empty.
"Maybe they went to the bathroom."
"Yeah." he said, retracting his head. "Though they're cutting it fine."
"Thank you for that input Mr Sullivan." the voice was dangerously familiar and Alice spun on the spot, internally begging that she was wrong.
Mr Franklin Smythe looked down from his great height at her. His relatively light brown hair was combed back and looked almost oily from too much product. His nose was pointed and his chin was angular. His eyes were a dark brown and incredibly hard. His eyebrows, which were very thick, contracted.
"Alice?"
"What?" David stepped up between them.
"Run away have we? Does your daddy know where you are?" Alice turned and ran.
"Alice!" David's shout fell away under the sound of her thundering feet and heart. Not here, not now, no! She ran, her feet leading her back towards the Warbler's green room. Something was burning her throat. Something was rising up inside of her.
BANG! The doors flew open and crashed against the wall, bouncing against the wall. Every eye in the room turned to her as she flew inside.
"Alice?" she didn't here the cries of concern as she fell to her knees. With a giant retch she threw up. All those near by jumped backwards as she continued to throw up onto the floor. Tears raced down her cheeks as she sobbed and retched.
"Alice." Blaine edged towards her, a hand outstretched.
"DON'T TOUCH ME!" she slid away from the hand and collided with a chair. She curled into a ball, the tears falling fast, her body convulsing as she sobbed.
"Everyone out." it was Logan who took charge in the end. He glanced up at Harvey who nodded at his order.
"Logan's right, everyone leave." the Warblers all filed out except for the suspect Windsor boys.
"Guys..." said Logan.
"We can't just leave." said Reed sounding tearful. "Look at her." Logan swallowed. Harvey had already left, and was looking for someone to explain the situation to him.
"I'll leave it up to you Blaine, your house." Blaine nodded as Logan clapped him on the shoulder as he left.
"Wes, go find something to clear the sick up with." he left instantly, not complaining about the job he'd been given. "Shane, go get some water. Twins, make sure no one comes in here and then see if you can find out what's happened. Dwight, sit there." he pointed to the floor nearby her. Dwight sank onto the floor with no protest about needing to salt which made Blaine unthinkably grateful.
"What about me?" asked Reed.
"Just do something that won't cause you bodily harm." Reed promptly sat on the ground next to Dwight. Blaine was just about to call David, who'd been out with Alice, when he came in.
"Blaine…" he trailed off and stared at her.
"David what happened?"
"I don't know!" he said, looking overly stressed. Blaine placed both hands on his shoulders.
"Breath David." he said. "Just tell me what you saw."
"We were talking, I was showing her where the judges sat and then we noticed that one of them was missing. She said that they'd probably gone to the bathroom and I said that they were cutting it fine and they 'thanked me for my input'. They knew my surname! Then we turn around and this tall man is standing there. He says Alice's name, but it's like a question, and then he asked if she'd run away, if her dad knew where she was." Blaine went pale and pulled out his phone, calling the twins back.
Alice stopped crying after five minutes. Five minutes of painful silence in which they sat around her, not moving or doing anything. Evan and Ethan had informed him that Logan, Julian and Bailey were standing guard outside, stopping anyone from coming inside, including - and perhaps especially - adults.
"Alice?" Dwight was the first to brave trying to talk to her.
"Yes." her voice was hoarse and barely audible.
"Would you like some water?" asked Blaine politely before Dwight could forget all social etiquette and ask her why that had happened. Alice managed to push herself and was surprised to see all the Windsor boys ranged before her. She nodded mutely. Shane poured the water into the cup and passed it to her. She didn't take it from his hand. He placed it on the floor and she scooped it up. Gulping it down once she'd taken a few cautionary sips. She wiped a hand across her mouth.
"I think I know what you want to ask next." she said looking down at the empty cup. "It was his idea." she said, rubbing her hand against the rim of the glass. "He and…, they were… friends, I guess." she hiccoughed. "It was his idea." tears began to fall, again, from between her eyelashes and no one had to ask what she was talking about.
"Who was he?" asked Reed gently, coaxingly.
"Franklin Smythe." she choked out. The tears began to fall faster and she choked slightly.
"Okay." said Blaine. "I think you need to lie down, me and Logan can handle the song on our own." Blaine was painfully aware that the seconds were ticking down until they had to go on. He knew that Harvey had convinced the judges to send on Aural Intensity before them but he they still didn't have much time.
"No!" her voice was louder and stronger than she intended. The next second a hand flew to her mouth and she seemed horrified by what she'd said. "I'm sorry." she whispered. "I'm sorry."
"It's okay." said David reassuringly. "Just tell us what you think."
"It's just…I just…I need distraction!" she exclaimed. "I need to stop thinking." she was getting worked up and Blaine held up his hands.
"Okay, okay, if you want to sing solo that's fine. The others will be delighted and I'm sure that this song will help you." she nodded and got to her feet, her knees feeling unstable.
"Alright?" asked one of the Twins. She nodded.
"Excellent, onward Alice Duchess!" she nearly smiled at the other Twin's comment. Wes pulled the door wide open and the three boys leaning against it stumbled backwards.
"Jesus!" snapped Julian. "You could, maybe, I dunno, give some warning!"
"Cool it Jules." said Logan. "I'm the one with the messed up temper, remember." Julian scowled and stalked off to the rest of the Warblers. Bailey shook his head, whether from exasperation or confusion they couldn't tell. Logan rolled his eyes, however, and turned to Alice. "Performing?" he asked. She nodded.
"Places!" Harvey came hurrying along. "Places! Alice?" he turned to her, the question he was asking was plain. All the Windsors, except Blaine, and Bailey scurried away, leaving Alice standing with Logan and Blaine.
"I'm singing." she said, her voice was quiet but there was a steely note of defiance in it. Harvey smiled at her.
"Excellent! We're also doing our back-up song too, first." there were raised eyebrows. "Well I had to say something! I couldn't admit I didn't know what was going on, and, it was a good way of stalling them. So, Alice, you will be amazing. Now places!" They began to move away but he stopped Logan and Blaine. "Take care of her out there." he said, warning in his voice. "I don't know what's going on but I need you to take care of her."
"Of course." said Blaine, sounding indignant at the thought that he wouldn't look out for her, and Logan nodded with a small frown on his face.
"Sir, when have we ever failed to do that?" Harvey stared him down, eye to eye.
"Good. Places!" there were slight eye rolls from the two boys as they ran off to join the rest of the Warblers behind the curtain.
"Ready Alice?" whispered Blaine. Alice shook with her head. Blaine held out his hand, flat, palm down. "You're going to be brilliant." Logan, after raising his eyebrows questioningly at Blaine, laid his hand on top.
"This is going to go fine." Alice placed her hand, in the air just above.
"Thumbs up." she said. She chewed her lip nervously and, as the boys moved to the wings of the group, she gave them the thumbs up.
The curtain lifted upwards and a spotlight fell onto the centre of the stage. The Warblers were lightly lit from the back but nothing to clearly define them; Logan and Blaine heading either flank and Alice in the middle. Alice felt her knees tremble at the knowledge that Franklin Smythe sat in the audience. How could she sing when the man who had been in joint enterprise with her father when it came to her 'punishment' was sitting there, judging her. However there wasn't time to consider it and there certainly wasn't time to back out. So she stepped out into the spotlight, opening her mouth to sing.
When your tears are spent on your last pretence
And your tired eyes refuse to close and sleep in your defence
When it's in your spine like you've walked for miles
And the only thing you want is just to be still for a while
The intensity of the light shining on the Warblers increased in the build up to the chorus.
And if your heart wears thin I will hold you up
Blaine stepped forward into another spotlight that had combined with Alice's. He was smiling softly and he looked very calm. He acted out the words, as best he could, with his hands.
And I will hide you when it gets too much
I'll be right beside you, I'll be right beside you
Logan stepped into the last spotlight that had been formed and he looked a great deal calmer than he had earlier on. His green eyes were shining rather brightly under the spotlights, and he looked, with certainty in his eyes, at Alice.
When you're overwhelmed and you've lost your breath
And the space between the things you know is blurring nonetheless
When you try to speak but you make no sound
And the words you want are out of reach but they've never been so loud
I will stay, nobody will break you, you!
Blaine was inching slowly towards her as he sang and they sidestepped along.
Trust in me, trust in me, don't pull away
He was very into the song, smashing a fist into his chest as he told her to trust him.
Just trust in me, trust me 'cause I'm just trying to keep it together
Logan was now standing next to her, her shoulders nearly touched both boys but, incredibly, she didn't feel fenced in, she just felt protected.
'Cause I could do worse and you could do better
Logan was singing out into the crowd and, like Blaine, he was using his hands to emphasise the words that he was singing.
When your tears are spent on your last pretence
And your tired eyes refuse to close and sleep in your defence
The song had built to a frenzied climax but when Alice sung, tears shining in her brown eyes, the energy seemed to die away.
And if your heart wears thin I will hold you up
And I will hide you when it gets too much
I'll be right beside you, nobody will break you
They sang the last chorus all together, the Warblers voices strong behind them. The lights dropped as they finished. They were all standing, legs shoulder width apart, arms folded neatly before them right over left, and heads down. There were loud whistles and cheers as they audience gave them a standing ovation before retaking their seats, waiting for the last performance. The backing vocals started after complete silence had taken the hall and soon Blaine stepped forward.
You know the bed feels warmer
Sleeping here alone
You know I dream in colour
Logan moved forward and stepped down off his block so he and Blaine were both on the stage.
And do the things I want
Alice's voice was much stronger than it had been when she'd delivered her last solo and she didn't tremble as visibly but - for some reason - the fact that they'd started a new song brought back all the nerves.
You think you got the best of me
Think you've had the last laugh
Bet you think that everything good is gone
She could just see Logan and Blaine out of the corner of her eyes; both nodding and moving in time to the beat. They were both smiling slightly and it made her more confident.
Think you left me broken down
Think that I'd come running back
Baby you don't know me, cause you're dead wrong
She sounded almost like her old self by the end of her little passage and Logan and Blaine came in so that they were either side of her, ready for the chorus.
What doesn't kill you makes you stronger
The entirety of the Warblers burst into a completely synchronised dance. They punched the air and moved in time to their soloists. Kurt, quickly followed by the rest of the New Directions, surged to his feet, clapping along.
Stand a little taller
Doesn't mean I'm lonely when I'm alone
What doesn't kill you makes a fighter
Footsteps even lighter
Doesn't mean I'm over cause you're gone
What doesn't kill you makes you stronger, stronger
Just me, myself and I
She felt strangely light as she sung with Logan and Blaine. There was something powerful about being on the stage, under the spotlight and singing as loud as possible.
What doesn't kill you makes you stronger
Stand a little taller
Doesn't mean I'm lonely when I'm alone
Alice leapt back onto her block, in between Shane and David as Blaine and Logan moved even further down stage.
Thanks to you I got a new thing started
Most of the crowd cheered in appreciation when Logan began to sing on his own again, a burning intensity in his eyes.
Thanks to you I'm not the broken-hearted
Blaine received the same reception when he sang and Kurt was sure that Blaine was looking at him.
Thanks to you I'm finally thinking about me
You know in the end the day you left was just my beginning
In the end...
What doesn't kill you makes you stronger
Shane and David both performed flips at the same time and they then did a handspring that took them to the front where they began to do a more complex version on the routine.
Stand a little taller
Doesn't mean I'm lonely when I'm alone
What doesn't kill you makes a fighter
Footsteps even lighter
Doesn't mean I'm over cause you're gone
What doesn't kill you makes you stronger, stronger
Just me, myself and I
Franklin Smythe sat back in his chair completely taken aback. Well this was…unexpected. Who'd have guessed that rape could make someone more confident. He raised an eyebrows to himself. It had made her more human, weird.
What doesn't kill you makes you stronger
Stand a little taller
Doesn't mean I'm lonely when I'm alone
The crowd leapt to their feet and the screams and cheers were louder than the first time. The lights returned and the Warblers remained in formation long enough to take two bows before the curtain fell.
"Yes!" shouted Shane, leaping off his platform, arms out and legs kicked backwards. "That was epic!" Blaine rolled his eyes and ignored his younger brother who was bouncing, over enthusiastically around the stage, hugging people at random including Julian and Dwight who both looked somewhere between horrified and freaked out.
"Well done boys," said Mr Harvey coming out from the wings, clapping. All the Warblers stared at him with raised eyebrows and pointed looks, he stared right back at them, confused. "Oh." he said, a couple of seconds later. "Well done boys, and girl." he turned to Alice and dipped his head at her. Alice gave him a fake smile, unsure. "That was an excellent performance. Very passionate. Now, let's get back into the green room and wait for the results." they filed off the stage and walked, the majority chattering loudly.
"You were really brave out there." the Windsor boys were standing around their female boarder. Alice gave Wes a half smile.
"Thanks."
"No but really." David bent down so that he was looking into her eyes. "That must have taken a lot of courage." Alice held up her arm, half-heartedly smiling.
"It's all that keeps me going."
"Not anymore." said Dwight confidently. He was poise was unsure and he was shifting from foot to foot but he sounded certain. "You're got us now." he didn't expand on his statement, leaving Alice to extrapolate the message behind his words.
"He's right, you don't need to keep yourself going anymore. We can help with that. What was I singing? 'When your heart wears thin, I will hold you up', that's a promise." Alice gave them all another taut smile. "I don't think you should make a promise like that." she said quietly. "They're too easily broken." Blaine pursed his lips and exchanged looks with the Twins.
"Then it's not a promise it's a challenge." Alice looked up at one of the Twins - she had no idea about how to tell them apart - in confusion.
"We graciously accept your challenge." reiterated the other one. Alice looked, in confused panic, at Blaine for assistance. Blaine rolled his eyes. "They're going to try uphold my initial promise." Alice opened her mouth to protest even further when they were interrupted.
"It's time." Bailey had come over, he looked nervous. Alice got to her feet and smoothed her skirt. "It doesn't matter." said Blaine, taking a stab at soothing her thoughts. "It doesn't matter if we win or loose, the point is helping you. If you come out of this better than no amount of trophies could make up for that Alice. You need to know, and believe, that." Alice gave him a watery smile that showed that she was incredibly touched by his words. Content, he didn't push the matter anymore.
"And the winner of Sectionals, who will join the New Directions and Vocal Adrenaline at Regionals, is…the Warblers!" The scream that was in fact a cheer deafened the losing teams. Blaine accepted the trophy and he held it up high as the other boys, all high on sugar and adrenaline, jumped up and down in delight. Mr Harvey applauded his boys from the corner, letting them soak up the glory. He was proud of them, everything they'd achieved. They'd come and won with only one coach and plenty of personal problems. As he watched them for a little longer he suddenly realised that Alice wasn't covering her mouth as she smiled. He suddenly felt more satisfaction than seeing his boys win. What ever they'd done, it was working, probably better than they knew.
"Who is it?"
"I told you! His name is Dave!"
"No you didn't tell me, you told Derek and Bailey.""Yeah well it's your own problem that you're harder to talk to!"
"I'm worried! Is that what you want to hear? I'm worried about you!""Well maybe you should show it in a more productive way than shouting!"
"You know what. I don't care! You go get yourself broken-hearted, fine by me! Just don't come crying to me about it!""Yeah because you never did that! You know what Logan, you're full of crap! You say I'm your best friend but you don't treat me like that at all! I was in love with you but I still helped your relationships! Do you want to know why? Because I cared about you! I wanted you to be happy! I don't know what you want but you've never wanted me to be happy!" Julian stormed away, barging past the New Directions who had come to congratulate the Warblers. Bailey let out an exasperated sigh, looking between Logan and Julian, unsure who to go after.
"You go after Julian," said Blaine. "I'll deal with Logan." Bailey ran off, giving Kurt a half smile as he passed. Blaine turned around and called after Logan. "Logan! Logan!" he managed to catch up with him and, as the New Directions approached, he began to talk to him. Kurt raised his eyebrows as the two locked into a fierce argument.
"What's going on?"
"Julian has a boyfriend." Kurt's mouth dropped open and David's words.
"Logan isn't taking it well." added Wes, unnecessarily. Kurt regained composure and blinked several times.
"I am having a very shocking week." he deadpanned. Logan finally decided he'd had enough of what Blaine was saying and walked off. Blaine turned around and widened his eyes as he shrugged at Bailey. Bailey jogged past the group and up to Blaine. They had a brief conversation before Bailey ran after Logan, shaking his head as he did so. Blaine ran a hand through his hair as he stopped at the edge of mashed-up group of Warblers and New Directions.
"Well, I don't think he'll be bearable for a little while." the majority of the Warblers snorted. Blaine shot a glance back at Bailey and Logan who were still talking.
"Where's Julian?" asked David in confusion. Blaine shrugged.
"Sulking?"
"You reckon-"
"Definitely." there was a small in which most of the New Directions pulled confused faces and the younger Warblers let out confused sounds like;
"Huh?"
"Reckon the 'was' was a bit of a lie?" Blaine looked up at the Evan in disbelief.
"Did anyone believe it?"
"Sorry what?" Mercedes was staring between the boys, looking confused. Kurt was frowning lightly but Blaine reckoned that he'd just about kept up with exchange. "How are you guys doing that?" Blaine looked back up at the Twins. Wes shrugged.
"We're all thinking the same thing; Julian said he was in love with Logan, but we reckon that is is a more honest way of saying that. He's not over him." Kurt frowned.
"How do you know?" there was a pause in which the Windsor boys looked between each other. Eventually Reed shrugged.
"It's just what seems to be happening. Julian barely knows this Dave."
"It's all kind of rushed." added Shane.
"Which made us think-"
"-maybe he's just trying-"
"-to get over a certain grumpy-"
"-arrogant-"
"-moody-"
"-Stuart Prefect." Kurt was staring at Reed, completely ignoring the Twins' words.
"Sorry, did you say Dave?" Reed blinked up at Kurt in confusion.
"Yes…" Kurt clapped his hands over his mouth, his eyes widening.
"Kurt?" Kurt shook his head, still wide eyed. "I don't believe it."
"Kurt?"
"I don't believe it!"
"Don't believe what?" demanded Blaine, starting to get impatient and nervous.
"Julian's dating Dave!" all the Warblers and New Directions raised their eyebrows simultaneously.
"Yeah…" said Blaine slowly. "We kinda got that." Kurt shook his head.
"No, I mean Dave, 'cause he ended up in hospital and he just got a boyfriend too!" Finn blinked.
"Wait? You don't mean…" Kurt nodded.
"Yeah, I do."
"Sorry, Kurt, but you're gonna have to be a lot more explicit." Kurt turned to Blaine.
"Julian is going out with Dave, as in David Karofsky!"
