Blaine was having a hard time concentrating on the group on stage now that he knew Kurt was here. His head couldn't stop swimming with the fact that the boy had bothered to come to the competition to support the Warblers when he and Kurt had had such tension between each other before. Maybe he wasn't failing at this seduction thing as badly as he'd suspected, and if that didn't boost his self confidence, nothing would.

He kept casting glances behind him, trying to catch a glimpse of Kurt and his reactions to everything but was forced to stop when Wes jammed an elbow into his stomach to get him to focus back on the front.

"What the hell, Wes?" he hissed, rubbing his midsection.

The older boy glowered at him. "At least pretend to pay attention. You're making us look bad."

"Sorry." It was insincere and he knew it, but Wes seemed satisfied with the mumbled apology. Blaine straightened in his seat and glued his eyes to the front to see the group finish their set. What he'd seen of them had been good, but he was confident that the Warblers were still in the lead here.

They'd been at the top of their game tonight: their choreography had really been pretty eye-catching, even if they were a little static compared to the group in yellow, and David and Trent had been really good as the leads for their songs (who knew that a softie like Trent could get such a gritty sound to his voice?).

Only one choir left to go before the break. That group from Lima. And then the results would be announced. He couldn't wait.

He stood and applauded with gusto as the music faded away into nothing and the stage cleared. Just one group left. He cautiously looked over toward Kurt and was a little surprised to see him even more excited than before. The woman with him (his mother perhaps?) seemed just as enthusiastic, if not more so. He didn't really understand, but perhaps they were gearing up for Dalton's big win. School pride and all that, even if Kurt had never seemed particularly spirited before this whole thing. Blaine slid back into his seat, vowing to corner Kurt during the break and get his reaction to the competition straight from him. If he was correct in his assumptions, then Kurt would be gushing all over how well they did, and winning his heart would be as easy as pie.

There was a low hum of voices coming from the stage to break the crowd into sudden silence, and he settled in for the last round of songs. Just a few more minutes and this would all be over. But the heavy red curtains didn't open, not even when singing started up from the back. Everyone twisted around in their seats, and Blaine was startled to see a cute blonde guy emerging from the entrance to the auditorium, his face lit up by the spotlight and perfectly accented by his maroon shirt.

Blaine's heart pounded madly at the sight of that adorable smile, the sweep of hair across his forehead, those strong hands, and he almost kicked himself for being so fickle. Looks really shouldn't matter, but he was allowed to ogle, especially since most of the other guys seemed quite taken with the little blonde thing this guy was singing with. The two soloists were like a matched set, and he was entitled to like Ken a bit more over Barbie, thanks.

He sighed as he watched the couple dance down the aisles. If only Kurt had looked like that. This whole thing would have been so much easier.

Speaking of Kurt, Blaine glanced side-long at him one last time to see…pride? He looked again, hoping that he'd misinterpreted Kurt's smile with smugness, but no, he looked genuinely proud and just a little bit surprised at the sight of the couple making their way to the front. What? Blaine barely registered as the curtains swung open to reveal the rest of the choir. He shuffled madly through his program, looking for any clues about the…New Directions, or whatever they were called, but there was little to be had. It just said that they were from William McKinley High in Lima, their director's name was Schuester, and their captains were Finn Hudson and Rachel Berry. Nothing else.

He turned his attention back to the stage to see the couple dancing back and forth, casting each other sappy romantic looks as the rest of the group (a rather mismatched but well-tuned bunch) backed them up, and he wondered if those two were Berry and Hudson. It made sense. Teams with co-ed captains often featured the two dating, so it wouldn't be surprising in the least. He just wished that they'd save the public affection for somewhere other than competition, as it wasn't exactly the most professional behavior.

But deep down he knew that the judges would eat it up. Little won over people's hearts faster than a schmaltzy heterosexual romance, and these guys were going last with a cute blonde couple as their leads, so they'd be freshest in the judges minds. It didn't really help that they sounded good either. Great. He scowled and sank down into his seat. This wasn't going well.

When the song switched over, another girl stepped forward from the back. Her voice was rougher, but it worked well for the song, and that dancing. He couldn't take his eyes off the duo at the front flipping around each other like it was nothing. He felt his stomach sink down to rest somewhere near his feet as the song drew to a close, and the room erupted into cheers.

This was bad. Very bad.

The hallways felt far less stuffy than the auditorium, though they were crowded with just as many people. Families and friends were greeting the competitors, and for once Blaine was happy that his parents hadn't bothered to show up to a performance.

He snuck away from the rest of the Warblers in search of Kurt, but the lithe brunet was nowhere to be found. After several minutes of fruitless searching, he was ready to admit defeat. He slid down the wall into a crouch and buried his head in his knees. This was not going how he'd planned at all.

"Kurt! You made it!"

His head snapped up at that, and his eyes shot across the room in search of the speaker.

"Of course, Mercedes. Did you really think I'd miss seeing you guys perform?"

There. Over near the vending machines. Kurt was surrounded by girls in black and white dresses, boys in maroon shirts and white ties. Crap. Blaine fumbled with the crumpled program in his hands once more, and wanted to cry as he reread the locations of each of the schools. Of course. He was such an idiot. These kids were from Kurt's old school, and he was here to support them, not the Warblers. The woman who'd been sitting with Kurt had her arms wrapped around one of the other members of the Lima choir. He was stupid tall and vaguely familiar, but Blaine couldn't quite get over his oversight.

He buried his head in his knees again, letting the group's conversation fade into the background, and he fervently wished he could disappear. How could he have been so stupid?

The warning lights flashed and he scrambled to his feet, eager to rejoin the Warblers. The judges had made their decision, but Blaine had already felt like he'd lost.

The lights were on full in the auditorium as everyone took their seats, the choirs all sitting eagerly on the edge of their seats. There were too many people to fit onto the stage all at once, but Blaine could see several members of rival choirs linking hands in anticipation as the judges took the stage.

"We've all had a wonderful time here tonight, and I can't think, in all my time as a teacher, that I've ever seen such a talented group of students. Let's give them all one last round of applause," the head judge began, and the crowd erupted into a chorus of cheers. Blaine could only manage a few half-hearted claps. They were doomed. Doomed with a capital D. He didn't feel much like celebrating.

One of the women beside the lead judge passed him an envelope, and Blaine's heart leapt up into his throat. This was it. "And now, what you've all been waiting for. The results of this year's west-central Ohio sectionals!" He waved the envelope around a bit to stir up the crowd before slowing leaning in to open it.

"And, our second runner ups for 2010 are," he sucked in a breath for dramatic effect and Blaine had never wanted to punch someone so bad in his entire life, "all the way from Westerville, the Dalton Academy Warblers!"

He sat there in stunned silence until one of the guys grabbed him by the arm and yanked him to his feet, dragging him up to the stage to accept their award. He didn't even register the announcement of the first runner up.

Lost. They'd lost.

"And now, let me be the first to introduce you to the winners of this year's western-central sectional." He opened up the last envelope, and Blaine almost mouthed the words along with him. "From William McKinley in Lima, the New Directions!"

So much for his good weekend.

So much for regionals.