Chapter 9: Reveal Your Heart

On Tuesday afternoon, Talia and Blaine sprinted from their literature class in Dalton Hall back to Windsor to retrieve their guitars. They pounded up the stairs to their rooms and literally dropped their bags and slung their guitars over their shoulders. They rushed out and ran across the courtyard towards the auditorium building. They spotted Wes and David, who had made their way straight here after class, as they hadn't had any instruments to play.

'Hey, they've just announced that all auditions have to be done without music.' David said, looking with pity at the panting pair, leaning on their knees.

'What? We ran all the way here for nothing?' Talia asked, slightly furious. Wes and David nodded sadly. Suddenly, the sound of heels clicking on wood echoed through the auditorium, breaking through the layer of whispers. Mr Woodward -to the transfers' surprise- and a petite woman with ash blonde hair wearing a grass colored flowing dress stood on the stage smiling.

'Welcome, everyone to the annual auditions for the school acapella choir group, the Warblers. My name is Mr Woodward and I am one of the directors of the Warblers. Now today, you will not be allowed to use any music while auditioning, as if you do get into the Warblers you will not be using music anyway.' Mr Woodward said, smiling.

'Hello, everyone, my name is Ms Shay. One thing that we are changing this year, is that if you are auditioning as a duo, then you will also have to go through solo auditions if you make it through the duo auditions. If you feel you might not be so comfortable doing that, then you may leave.' She smiled.

'Let's get started then! Now, will everyone please take a seat and all duo groups please come forward.' Mr Woodward said. Talia and Blaine left their guitars with Wes and David and went on the stage. There were only two other duo groups. One of which, was Charlie and Miranda.

'Mr Lentley, what are you doing here? You're already in.' Ms Shay said, furrowing her brows.

'Oh, I'm only helping Miranda with her audition.' Ms Murphy glanced down her nose at Miranda, as if she was something unpleasant stuck to her wall.

'Very well.' She sighed. 'Then you two may go first.' Miranda happily skipped to the middle of the stage, Talia and Blaine walked to the edge with the other couple. Miranda started off first, and immediately everyone recognized Need You Now. Talia listened, unimpressed. Miranda was a very average singer. She could sing, but in the way that you would here it as a person singing along to their favorite song. Their song finished, and Miranda stood there with a proud smirk on her face as if she expected no one would be better than her and that she would definitely get in. The rest of the people auditioning clapped politely, the kind of clap you heard at school assemblies. She bowed and skipped off the stage. Even Charlie didn't seem too impressed.

'Okay, uh, the second pair… ah! You two there, boy with the glasses.' Ms Shay smiled, leaning forward on the desk. A boy that Talia recognized from her history class who always sat in the back walked up with a short, pleasantly plump girl. They started to sing Lucky, by Jason Mraz. Their voices mixed well and created a harmonious, clear sound, like a bird call. Different, in a fresh way, from Talia and Blaine's loud, powerful sound. They finished and everyone clapped. The door in the back opened, and in walked the Warblers from last year. Talia spotted Kylie, the spunky blonde cheerleader, who although fitted all stereotypes, was extremely sassy and witty. Kylie waved exuberantly, but was calmed down by her brother, Kyle. A be-spectacled, tall boy who was a bit lanky and had sandy blonde hair, different from his sisters natural golden blonde. Both reduced themselves to beaming. The rest of the warblers smiled in anticipation to see what Blaine and Talia would do. Wes and David grinned to one another. They were the only ones who had actually heard the two singing their piece.

Blaine started off and immediately, Talia followed. They played their guitars in their heads, remembering the chords and the notes. As Talia sang, she looked at Blaine. Really looked at Blaine. She sang with all her heart, trying to really feel the song, think about how she would feel in a situation like it. She stared at Blaine's eyes, scrunching and un-scrunching as he opened his mouth wider to accommodate the louder, longer notes. She read his eyes, as if she was unknitting a scarf, picking out each individual stitch. Talia realized that he had sincerity in his eyes, like he was screaming out at her to listen to the song. As Blaine watched Talia, sang to her, though she didn't know it, he saw realization dawn on her. As if a film of fog had been wiped away from her eyes, a veil removed. Blaine smiled just enough so that it showed ever so faintly while he sang. As the song finished, and the one and final harmonized note ended, the Warblers burst into applause, even the others auditioning clapped loudly. Blaine and Talia beamed at each other and the crowd, bowing slightly before scurrying off.

'Okay, so the pairs that made it through are Ben and Stacey, and Blaine and Talia. I'm sorry, Miranda, that was a great song but not up to our standards.' Ms Shay announced. Blaine and Talia squealed silently to one another.

'We will now move on to solo auditions, if you would all line up. Remember, it doesn't matter what you sing. Just do it as loud, and as powerful as you can.' Mr Woodward said. Blaine and Talia shuffled to the very end of the line of twenty people, silently communicating with their eyes that they needed to talk.

'I saw that.' Talia said quietly to Blaine, smirking softly, while looking at the person auditioning.

'I noticed.' Blaine said.

'I'm not good for you, Blaine.' Talia said. Blaine was almost annoyed by the fact that Talia couldn't get it in her head that it didn't matter to him. He grabbed her hand and turned her to him. Talia was startled by Blaine's sudden harshness.

'A nice guy like you deserves more than me.' Talia said, an almost age old sadness in her eyes.

'Get it in your head that nice guys might not always want a nice girl.' He said. He had a fierceness in his eyes, on the verge of anger. Talia noticed this incredibly. But she didn't back down, she was happy that she had finally fished a reaction out of him. The fierceness both scared and drew her in to him.

'And who ever said I was a nice guy?' He added, letting go of her hand.

'We've only known each other for a little under two weeks.' Talia said. They shuffled forward as the line shortened, not looking at each other.

'Does that really matter?' Blaine asked. He was surprised at himself. Before this, he had always taken it slow with girls, only making a move when the hints she dropped were so obvious to the point where she could have been waving a flag and screaming at him. It was like an out of body experience, the instant attraction he had to Talia emotionally and physically. To the 'old, normal' Blaine, this would have immediately triggered the image in his head of getting married in Vegas. But the other side of him, liked this 'new, more exciting' Blaine. Spontaneous, not afraid to feel things.

'Well, yes, it kinda does.' Talia said sarcastically. She couldn't believe she was being so calm about this whole thing. In her mind's eye, the way she should have reacted was immediately kissed him after they finished the song, as if they lived in that Hilary Duff movie, a Cinderella Story.

'I'll make a bargain. We'll get to know each other better while we date. As if I met you in a coffee shop.' Blaine said. In his head, he imagined a devil and angel Blaine, the angel bugging his eyes and gesturing as if to say 'What the hell, dude?', the devil standing there, with his arms crossed over his chest, rolling his eyes. Talia thought for a second.

'Fine. Deal. Let's see how this goes.' Talia said, crossing her arms. She mentally slapped herself upside the head. She was going to start this relationship with a bargain. As a bargain.

'Seal it with a kiss?' Blaine offered, hopefully. Talia looked at him and smirked, rolling her eyes.

'Don't push it, buddy.' She said. Slowly, they listened to each one of the auditions. Many of them were good but not an extreme 'OH MY GOD.' good. Finally, it came to Blaine and Talia's turn. Talia let Blaine go first, remembering her promise. He got onto the stage and immediately started to do a faster, rock version of Man in the Mirror. Everyone fought the urge to clap along. Talia saw him in a whole different light now. After his outburst of slightly more negative feelings, she remembered that Blaine. She found that that was the Blaine that was on the stage. The sexy, dangerous, attractive singer. He finished the song, his voice echoing off the walls slightly. Talia clapped exuberantly, beaming. He smiled and walked off the stage, joining Wes and David. Everyone started to talk for a while, discussing Blaine's performance. They were still talking when Mr Woodward and Ms Shay nodded Talia onto the stage. Talia ignored the talking crowd and started. She sang one single word: there. Her song was Rolling in the Deep, but she had changed the beginning of the song to play to her strengths. She breathed one deep breath and belted out the opening 'there' for a total of thirteen seconds, like Christina Aguilera. Immediately, the crowd stopped talking. Talia continued the song, singing as loud as she could. Her voice resonated throughout the hall, even without a mic. She finished the song with one final note, again lasting only, but a still impressive, nine seconds. At this point, she was getting light headed and was panting slightly. She bowed and walked off the stage slowly, not really trusting herself at that moment. Everyone realized that when she was sing Falling slowly, it was maybe only taking up a third of her extensive lung capacity. She sat down next to Blaine, not saying anything. Blaine squeezed her hand.

'That was incredible.' He exclaimed.

'Magical.' Wes corrected.

'Other. Worldly.' David said, settling everything. Talia could only grin, still slightly out of breath.

'So, after careful deliberation, we have only decided to put six of you through. Those are Blaine Anderson,' Wes, David and Talia beamed at Blaine, who was gawking in shock. 'Ray Bailey, Wesley Montgomery, Edith Norman, David Thompson, and Talia Reagan.' Ms Shay smiled knowingly as she said the last name, as herself and Mr Woodward had already decided to put her through in the first five seconds of her 'there'. The four friends hugged each other, laughing almost ridiculously in their exuberance of their own good fortune and the fact that they had all gotten through.

'Congratulations to all of you who made it through, practices are on Tuesdays and Thursdays in Warbler Hall, in Pierce Hall. See you all then.' Mr Woodward said. No one was really paying attention to him. The people who hadn't made it were filing out of the auditorium quickly. The existing Warblers made it over to Blaine, Talia, Wes and David.

'Oh my god! You lucky bitches!' Kylie squealed and hugged the four of them, her springy blonde curls bouncing around her heart-shaped face.

'Congratulations.' Kyle said, beaming, keeping a hand on his sister's shoulder to stop her from jumping around too much. Talia and Blaine introduced the rest of the pack of jumping, excited Warblers to Wes and David, who all acted like they were high on sugar. They all made their way down to the cafeteria as they talked and laughed. Eventually, Kyle, who apparently shepherded the pack of them, called them off to leave them to Rita and Farrah. They seemed to be sitting on the edge of their seats, waiting in anticipation for their return. As they set down their trays of food, they stood up expectantly.

'We all got in!' They said. Rita and Farrah jumped to hug Wes and David. Blaine and Talia sat down across from each other and began eating, glancing at each other from time to time.

'You should have been there to hear Talia, though.' Wes said, grinning. Blaine nodded in agreement.

'It was absolutely magical.' He said. The two girls raised an eyebrow at Talia.

'Well. I-' She started.

'She held a note for thirteen seconds. Enough said.' David cut her off. Rita and Farrah's eyes bugged out of their sockets.

'Thirteen seconds?' They screeched incredulously.

'Miranda tried out.' Talia said.

'And failed miserably.' Blaine finished. 'It sounded more like she was singing for her shower head.'

'That's what I thought.' Talia said. Rita and Farrah raised their eyebrows at Wes and David and glanced at Blaine and Talia. The two boys nodded slightly, confirming the two girls' suspicions. After dinner, of finally something other than pasta, they walked back to the dorm, along with the rest of the Warblers, who all coincidentally were in Windsor. All except for Ray and Edith who were in Mayfair, Windsor's ally. Talia and Blaine, who had been carried by the crowd to the back of the group, dawdled in front of the door.

'Come to my room. When you're done with stuff.' Talia smiled. Blaine nodded. Talia ran inside and up the stairs, once again showering as fast as she could. She ran back to her room and bothered to dry her hair. She sat on her bed, her nightstand slightly open so that she had easy access to… it. As she expected, Blaine knocked on the door just as she had settled down, discovering he had a knack for that. She opened the door and smiled softly, letting him in before closing the door again. He walked over to her bed and sat down like last time.

'We should talk.' Blaine said.

'That's what I wanted to do.' Talia said. She hoped with all her heart they wouldn't go down the "who are your parents" road.

'What's your favorite color?' Blaine asked Talia.

'Green.' She replied.

'Purple.' Blaine said. She raised an eyebrow slightly. 'Hey, I was born and raised in San Francisco.' He defended.

'Favorite food?' Talia asked.

'Sushi.' He answered immediately. Talia smiled.

'Kimchi.' Talia said, smiling fondly. Blaine furrowed his very triangular eyebrows. 'Korean fermented vegetable dish.'

'The red vegetable thing?' Blaine asked and made a face. Talia nodded.

'Where have you lived?' Talia asked.

'I used to live in San Francisco. When I was twelve I moved to New York and then I moved here this year.' Blaine replied, lying down.

'I was born in Switzerland.' Talia started, leaning against the headboard. Blaine turned his head to look at her. 'And then I was sent to Thailand, Korea, London, and now here.'

'My dad's a music producer.' Blaine said. 'Mom's an actress. Theatre.'

'My parents sell weapons. And something else I don't exactly know.' Talia said carefully.

'My brother, as far as I know, is in California.' Blaine said quietly. 'His name is Shane.' Talia didn't reply, instead fiddling with her fingers. Blaine turned his head to face her, silently asking why she wasn't speaking.

'Blaine, I have to tell you something. Something important, something you need to know if you really want to do this relationship thing. That you'll need to know, because you'll eventually find blank spots.' Talia said, looking at him seriously. Blaine nodded slowly.

'My parents work for the CIA, and they've been tailing this Mafia group. To keep my siblings and I safe they send us to odd corners of the world where they wouldn't think of finding us. I've lived in all those places under fake names. Every holiday, I go to Arkansas where there's a training base for agents. I go there to learn how to defend myself. To kill people in the blink of an eye. I've been trained since the age of seven to handle a gun.' She said, looking at him with her eyebrows raised. Blaine took her hands in his, noticing they were shaking.

'I'm not a good person.' Talia whispered, imploring for Blaine to see it with her eyes. Blaine cupped her cheek and brushed a thumb under her eye.

'You are not a bad person just because you know how to use a gun.' He said, staring seriously into her pale green eyes. There were tears in them, colored by fear.

'You are you because of things that are way, way bigger than you. Things that you can't control.' Blaine said, feeling as though he were talking to a scared, small child who was scared to death because of the idea of ghosts. Talia still looked extremely unconvinced, the tears began to fall, getting too heavy.

'It's not your fault.' Blaine said, louder now, stressing every word. Tears fell rapidly from Talia's eyes. 'I'm not letting you put yourself down, Talia. You're too good for that.' She laughed once humorlessly.

'You're too good for this.' Talia said. 'You're too good to be dealing with my shit, Blaine. You should be off serenading some girl.' She said, smiling.

'Haven't I already done that?' He said, smirking, raising an eyebrow. Talia laughed.

'I mean, you shouldn't have to be dealing with my problems when you could just be sympathetic, move on and find a girl you want to chase.' Talia said. 'I'm sure plenty would.'

'I'm three inches taller than you only.' Blaine said. 'Isn't that kind of short? No one would date me.'

'Yeah but you're hot.' Talia said. Blaine raised an eyebrow.

'You think I'm hot?' Blaine said slyly.

'Well, yeah.' Talia said bluntly.

'Well then, we're going out on a weekend.' Blaine said. 'It's settled.'

'Haven't I just cried in an attempt to get you not to?' Talia asked.

'I'd rather be murdered by these people knowing that I've dated you rather than not having so many regrets.' Blaine said. Talia raised an eyebrow.

'You're willing to do this for a girl who you've known for two weeks and who very well could be crazy and making this all up?' Talia said incredulously.

'Instant attraction, remember?' Blaine said. 'I don't want to die with regrets.'

'I would have been a regret? To not date, I mean.' Talia asked.

'I would have regretted never getting to know you better than a friend.' Blaine explained. He squeezed her hands again before getting up to leave.

'Thanks, Blaine.' Talia said. He turned around, smiling softly.

'Don't worry about it.' He said, and left, closing the door behind him. Screwing homework, Talia collapsed onto the bed, falling asleep quickly on top of the covers.