Chapter 10

—xx—

It was incredibly hard for Blaine to concentrate on memorizing irregular French verbs and their conjugations when his mind was stuck in both the day before and the one to follow. From the moment he stepped out of his duet audition with Jesse, he had been anxiously awaiting the results, constantly picking the audition apart in his mind. Jesse had assured him that they had done well as they walked out of the room, but Blaine still found himself nerve-wracked. He knew that Jesse performed perfectly; their rehearsals did little to prepare him for how truly talented he was and how easily Jesse could dominate a room with his performances.

To be honest, the thing that worried him the most was that the council would deem Jesse perfect and Blaine subpar, and pair the older boy with one of the other Warblers.

In addition to that, he couldn't help but be constantly reminded that tomorrow his roommate had a date with his ex-boyfriend. Watching Kurt flit around the room each evening and check over his outfit three or four times, checking his phone every couple of seconds, chuckling to himself at something that someone sent him; it all made it very impossible for Blaine to forget about it. However, he didn't dare say a word; Kurt was happy and he deserved it. But, he'd be lying if he said that it was easy to watch.

So, while he conjugated boire for the sixth time, these two major events buzzed through his head and made memorization quite impossible. He kept hoping his phone would buzz with a distraction or someone would come visit, or maybe a meteor would decide to hit Williams Hall; anything to keep him from having to continue his failed efforts to study.

Unfortunately, he was forced to focus when no such catastrophic disaster came, so he struggled on.

Still, he found himself distracted by his persistently annoying mind. He didn't want to be as bothered by any of this as he was, but the audition insisted on tugging at his mind every few minutes, convincing him that he'd failed. As for the date…

Blaine couldn't quite place why it was truly bothering him so much. Surely it wasn't jealousy. He knew that he should be happy for Kurt—and he was, truly he was happy for his friend. But, something about it just made him feel inexplicably sad.

Without warning, the door to his room swung open and successfully—thankfully—interrupted his thought processes. He expected Kurt to appear in the doorway, but was surprised to find Jesse there instead.

"How in the world did you get in here?" Blaine fought the smile building on his face. "The door was locked."

"Insignificant. I am here to retrieve you, Blaine," Jesse strode across the room, closed the book his friend was reading, and pulled him out of his chair. "I am more than certain that you have been sitting here pretending to study while you agonize over our audition, and I am not going to let it continue."

"What? No." Blaine frowned, trying to take his arm back from Jesse. "I have a French exam tomorrow afternoon and I have got to study."

"You aren't studying now, Blaine," he learned over the notebook that lay open, "I can see that you've written the same conjugation repeatedly. Surely your examination isn't over this one word?"

Blaine chuckled. "Jesse, je dois étuider ce soir."

"You sound adequate to me. Now, follow me. You do not have a choice in this matter." Jesse then pulled Blaine from the room, only letting him pause to lock his door.

"Alright, where are we going, then?" The sophomore boy stumbled along as his older friend practically dragged him down the hall. "Since I'm not allowed to have a say in whether I stay or go."

"Please be patient, Blaine," Jesse said over his shoulder as he led him down an unfamiliar hallway. "Or do you not trust me in all my vast wisdom?"

Blaine grinned and reclaimed his arm to walk alongside the senior. "I'm not sure why I should trust you," he laughed, "and yet, I still do."

In mock hurt, Jesse put a hand to his heart. "I've given you nothing but reason to place your faith in me, Blaine." He led his friend up a set of stairs and to a door that was clearly not meant for students to make use of. Jesse turned and smiled. "Still trust me?"

Blaine paused for a moment. He knew this was a bad idea, but he had no reason not to trust his friend; and besides, a week's worth of detention definitely beat sitting in his room, brooding and pretending to study. Without a word, Blaine strode past his friend and pushed the door open, "I guess I have no choice."

He registered the grin on his friend's face and walked on up a set of stairs. His smile faded when he scaled the top step, taking in his surroundings with a gasp. Jesse had led them to the roof of their dorm, where the only light was from the waxing moon, the bright, glowing stars, and a few candles that he had placed near two lawn chairs. In front of them, a projection screen had been set up.

"Jesse… what the hell is all this?" Blaine walked forward a couple tentative steps, almost in disbelief in what he was seeing. "When did you… how did you have time for this?"

The older boy grinned, walking past him. "A little bit of money never hurt anyone, Blaine. I had a strong feeling that you were stressing over a couple of things, so I decided to distract you. I believe I've done a decent job, or do you disagree?"

Blaine smiled in a way that completely floored Jesse, in a way that reminded him of that first genuine smile. A surge of warmth coursed through Jesse's body as he joined his friend in the seat next to him. "Tonight, we will be viewing a classic: West Side Story."

"This is great, Jesse." Blaine settled in his seat, his smile growing even wider. "It's just what I needed to ignore all the things that are bothering me. Thanks so much."

Jesse merely nodded and started the film. When Blaine's smile didn't fade, even as the first number ended, he noticed that the warm feeling hadn't either. Normally, he felt it necessary to pull Blaine close, wrap an arm around him, and be physically near him. But, this felt different—better, even. Watching Blaine smile like that because of him, it was a completely alien feeling.

It didn't even cross Jesse's mind to make a move.

—xx—

Jesse was disappointed to learn that the results of the audition still hadn't been decided by Friday evening's Warbler rehearsal. He had arrived early in hopes that there would be something posted, perhaps some congratulations as he entered the room, but no sign of any celebration was to be found; and when he tracked down Wes, he had merely said that they hadn't decided yet and walked on.

These events had caused Jesse to sit alone in the Warbler lounge with a deep scowl on his face. Heaven help whoever decided to disturb him.

That person happened to be Kurt, who had arrived early for reasons similar to Jesse's, only to catch Jesse's facial expression and deduce that he would be forced to wait to find the results. Upon noting the senior's general unpleasant demeanor, the countertenor considered walking back to his dorm, but instead, in spirit of refusing to be bullied, took a seat across from him.

A long silence engulfed them and just as Kurt was about to break it with small talk, Jesse surprised him.

"So, I must know," the senior put down the book he had been pretending to read, "what is it that brought you to us? Blaine refuses to divulge such information."

Kurt remained silent for a moment, unsure if there was some ulterior motive, some way that Jesse would manage to use this information against him. After a moment of deliberation, he shrugged and answered, "I was tormented at my last school by a Neanderthal football player that insisted on making my life a living hell. When it became clear that no one intended to help or protect me, my dad decided to pull me out and transfer me here."

Jesse nodded. "People can be such idiots. I'm sure I'll never understand how one person's sexuality is any business of the next. So much wasted effort." The senior paused, then made eye contact with Kurt. "I'm sorry to hear about that, Kurt. No one deserves to be chased out of a place where they should feel safe."

Kurt stared for a moment, almost in disbelief. "Well," he started slowly, "I'm here now, so I can't exactly complain." He broke eye contact and chuckled, "I can't imagine being serenaded by another boy at my old school, that's for certain."

Jesse laughed, "Well, that's not exactly commonplace here, either. Samuel is just a little more…" he contemplated a word that wouldn't insult his friend, "…eccentric than your average Dalton student."

"Well, that's certainly true," Kurt smiled thoughtfully. "He's not like anyone else I've ever met."

Jesse looked up to say something else, but the doors to the lounge opened and a handful of Warblers, Blaine and Sam included, traipsed into the room. Upon seeing the two seated alone in the room, Blaine nudged Sam, whose chattering ceased to look questioningly in their direction. Cautiously, the two took seats next to them.

"Um, hey guys," Blaine sat down across from Kurt, "what… uh, what's up?"

Kurt cocked an eyebrow at his roommate. "Not much, Blaine. Jesse and I were just discussing how absurd it is that they haven't posted the results of the auditions yet."

"Oh, was that this week?" Sam said sarcastically, "I hadn't noticed the three of you losing your shit every day over it."

The three boys narrowed a collective glare at him. "Yes, Samuel," Jesse finally said, "Unlike you, some leads actually give a damn about singing at competitions."

Ignoring his best friend, Sam looked at the junior next to him. "Well, I'm sure the council is just gonna announce it during rehearsal. They like suspense."

Blaine laughed, "like last year when we rehearsed that Maroon 5 song for weeks and then the week before the competition, they changed it. Always with the dramatics." The sophomore leaned back into the couch cushion. "No wonder everyone thinks everyone at this school is gay."

"Are you not?" Kurt joked with a grin.

"Some of us more than others," Jesse said, staring right at Sam.

The blonde junior frowned, "Listen, St. James. Just because I don't sit around brooding and reading plays and constantly singing doesn't make me any less interested in men than you. After all, which one of us has a date tonight?"

Kurt flushed pink and shoved Sam. "Are we really having a contest to see who's the gayest? Jeez, this is really a different vibe here, isn't it?"

Blaine laughed, "Quit bragging, Sam. Besides, we all know Jesse is the gayest of us all."

The oldest boy narrowed his eyes and reclaimed the book on the table without a word.

"I think you're confusing gay and angry, Blaine." Sam laughed, "and in that case, Jesse definitely wins. I'm pretty sure he secretly hates all of us."

"Secretly?" Kurt laughed.

Jesse looked over his book, eyebrows raised at Kurt, who merely mimicked his expression back at him. Despite his qualms for the boy, Jesse had to respect the way he wasn't daunted by his standoffish attitude.

Soon, the group was joined by Jeff and Nick, who took seats next to Blaine on the couch. "So," Jeff started, "How did you guys do on your auditions? Man, Blaine, you guys had such a good idea, doing the duet together. Wish we'd have thought of that!"

Blaine threw up his hands, "Not my idea. It was all Jesse's brilliant plan."

With a sigh, the senior replaced his book back on the coffee table and looked over at the two boys. "As I've said before, I am a performer; a professional. I can't comprehend how any of you are still surprised by the things I do."

Jeff and Nick, by now used to Jesse's arrogance, merely laughed. "Of course, Jesse. How dare we?"

The group, minus Jesse, laughed. The oldest smirked a little and leaned back, "I'm not entirely sure why the council feels the need to delay the results of the audition. It's obvious that it belongs to Blaine and I. Besides the fact that we had the genius idea of auditioning as a duo, rather than alone, we kicked that duet's ass."

Blaine grinned and nodded, "I'm not usually one to be too cocky, guys, but you should be worried."

Just as Kurt was about to protest, the banging of a gavel effectively silenced the entire room. All eyes zeroed in on the council's table, and the whole room seemed to anticipate the results of the duet.

Jesse leaned in to Blaine, brushing shoulders with him, "You needn't worry, Blaine. If anyone deserves a duet, it's you."

Blaine fought the building flush—where had that come from, anyway?—and turned to his friend. "Oh, please. It was you that got it for us. I was just there to make you look even better."

Jesse smiled but didn't respond. Breaking eye contact with Blaine, he tried his best to ignore the knowing looks from the four boys surrounding them. Being transparent was not a character trait he cared much for, but he was not about to be pressured out of giving Blaine the compliments he deserved.

"Alright, Warblers," Wes announced, interrupting Jesse's though processes, "I know we're all very excited about the duet auditions, but we are still in the process of choosing who the two best auditions belonged to, so all of you are going to need to just be patient. We predict that the decision will be final tomorrow afternoon, so until then, I would appreciate if we could just proceed with rehearsal as normal."

A collective groan chorused through the room, causing Wes to bang the gavel a second time to silence them. "Please, gentlemen. Let's act like we have some sense and patience. Jesse?" He called, "We'd like to run through your song again, if you would."

"Gladly." Jesse grinned, squeezing Blaine's leg before standing and taking center stage at the front of the room. The boys in the room rustled in their bags for their music, then the room fell silent.

"Can anybody find me

Somebody to…"

In an instant, as the Warblers struck up in the opening chorus, Jesse smiled at the difference between Thursday's performance and the one he was witnessing at that moment. The senior grinned at being in such a talented, professional group; one in which he clearly belonged.

Blaine caught the grin on Jesse's face and smiled even as his mouth was open in song. The older boy only ever seemed to look so pleased when in a performance or rehearsal, be it for the Warblers, a play or musical, but it was incredible to watch him completely change into a different person when he found a creative outlet.

The younger boy was not prepared for this particular performance, however, and found his breath caught in his throat, unable to sing once Jesse began the song. Sure, he had heard him singing it with breathtaking passion at the piano a few days prior, but his back had been facing him, masking his face.

Jesse was in pain.

Blaine finally found his voice, but he couldn't seem to tear his eyes away from Jesse, who was fortunately looking everywhere but at him. The third lead sung the words with such conviction that the song might as well have been written about and for him. Blaine chanced a look around the room, trying to see if anyone was as troubled by the senior's performance, but everyone seemed to be unmoved.

When Blaine glanced back over at him, Jesse was looking directly at him, almost as if he was singing to him.

"Got no feel, I got no rhythm
I just keep losing my beat
I'm ok, I'm alright
Ain't gonna face no defeat
I just gotta get out of this prison cell
Someday I'm gonna be free, Lord!"

Blaine gulped, frozen even after Jesse stopped singing and looked away. The room seemed to go silent,like someone had plugged his ears. It was only after he took another breath that he discovered that he was the only Warbler in the room not singing and quickly joined in.

When Jesse delivered the final line with much vigor, Blaine found his legs working of their own accord. Before he knew what he was doing, he was on hid feet, applauding with fervor. The other Warblers immediately followed suit, but the young first lead hardly noticed. After taking his notes from the council, Jesse reclaimed his seat next to Blaine.

"Damn, Jesse," Sam interrupted, "You kicked that song square in the balls. No wonder they didn't even pick me for a solo this time around."

Kurt nodded in agreement, and looked over at Blaine, who seemed to be lost in his own world. "You okay, Blaine? You look like someone just knocked you in the head."

The youngest Warbler shook his head and feigned an obviously fake smile. "What? No, I'm fine. Jesse, you were beyond incredible. I had no idea…" Blaine bit his lip, not even sure where his own words were going, "I mean, you were great."

Jesse cocked an eyebrow, but was quickly distracted by several other Warblers delivering their own respective compliments. Blaine merely sat silently, unable to shake the strange feeling in the pit of his stomach. He had never recalled being so very moved by a single performance, and for some reason it had truly shaken him.

Once again, the banging of a gavel interrupted all the going-ons in the lounge, and Wes stood. "Quite incredible, Jesse. I can see that we made the right choice in entrusting such a challenging song to you. Now I'd like it if we could split into our respective vocal ranges and practice harmonization for our three numbers—whether you are or plan on soloing for them."

Kurt pursed his lips and waved at his friends as he parted from them, but Blaine missed it completely.

"What a waste of time, don't you agree, Blaine?" Jesse elbowed his friend, then finally noticed that his eyes were rather glazed over and that he had completely missed the last couple minutes of conversation. "Blaine? Blaine, is everything quite alright?"

Once again, the sophomore shook his head and reclaimed his grip on society. "Oh, yeah, sorry." He tried to grin, "I guess I'm just more tired than I thought I was."

Not quite buying it, Jesse scooted in a bit closer. "Blaine," he murmured, "you know it's not necessary or wise to lie to me, right? You might be able to fool all these other idiots," he subtly pointed at the room, "but, I'm different—and we both know that you're well aware of that."

Blaine nodded, smiling softly. "Thanks, Jesse, but I really am okay." He wasn't exactly lying, as he didn't know what was wrong. "I promise that if there's something wrong, you'll be the first person I go to."

The younger boy found himself feeling strangely better when Jesse smiled at his statement and squeezed his shoulder. He grabbed up his music, feeling more like his normal self, shooing off the strange feeling and grinning widely.

Sam left his music sitting on the table between the two couches, unable to read it well enough for it to do any good. "I wish we'd just get this rehearsal over with already." He grinned at no one in particular. "I need to get ready for my date."

And just like that, Blaine's smile vanished.

A/N: WE'RE SO CLOSE TO MY FAVORITE PART OF THE STORY!

maria