Blaine led the way into Warblers late that night. He bought two beers at the bar and then snagged a table along the wall. Wes dropped into the seat across from him and glanced around the bar, assessing. Finally he grabbed his beer and focused back on Blaine. "Not a place I would have pictured you taking me, but I like it. No frills. Just functional. None of that pretentious New York bar atmosphere," he pronounced.
"Just wait until the karaoke starts. There are some really great singers who come in here," Blaine assured him.
"Like you?" Wes asked hopefully, raising an eyebrow.
Blaine shook his head and started picking at the label on his bottle, a nervous habit he had whenever the conversation broached uncomfortable territory. "You know I don't do that anymore."
Wes looked pensive for a moment before speaking. Blaine had to lean in a little to hear him. "I know that. I also know you miss it."
Blaine stopped peeling the label and glanced up suddenly. "How do you know that?"
"Blaine, I saw you when you came to Dalton. You were this nervous, shy, reserved freshman who seemed to prefer being alone and isolated yourself from everyone. When you showed up to glee club try-outs, we all thought you had gotten lost. You got up to sing your solo and we were all still waiting for the punchline to the joke. And then the music started playing and suddenly you became this whole other person, like your entire body came alive and your personality burst out of its cage and you were finally free. For the first year, most of us called you Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, because we couldn't understand how you could be one person on stage and a completely different person off-stage. It wasn't until you came to trust us and told us about your history with bullying that we all realized that the person you were on stage was the real you, and the stage was the only place you had been comfortable enough to reveal yourself to us. The stage is your safe place, Blaine. It's your home. How could you not miss that?"
Blaine stared, open-mouthed, at Wes. Wes just shrugged as if he had commented on something benign and boring, like the weather.
They sat in silence for a few moments while Blaine processed. Wes didn't seem to mind, happy to just sip his beer and glance around the bar. Blaine knew they could have stayed like that all night and Wes wouldn't have pushed. That was the great thing about Wes; he knew when to speak and when to give people space.
Finally, Blaine cleared his throat, and Wes immediately refocused his attention on Blaine. "How… do I get it back?" Blaine asked.
Wes gave him an amused glance. "Why are you asking me?"
"Hey, you didn't seem to have any problem answering my earlier question."
Wes seemed to consider whether to answer for a minute. "Maybe you just… do it," he suggested.
"Just do it?" Blaine repeated skeptically. "Just get up on a stage and sing? That seems overly simplistic."
"It's how you've worked through all your other fears and emotions before. Why not try it?"
"Maybe that's how I used to work through things, but I haven't in 8 years. Why would it work now?"
Wes shook his head. "No, that's not true. That's exactly how you still work through things. Isn't that why you have your Youtube channel?"
"That's just for fooling around. I only post songs when… um…" Blaine trailed off, looking for the right words to explain the Youtube channel.
"When you need an outlet?" Wes offered.
Blaine nodded, and Wes gave him a pointed look. "Isn't that exactly the same thing?"
"I guess the principle is the same, but the Youtube channel is anonymous. Nobody can see me or judge me. Nobody even knows who I am."
"I do," Wes pointed out.
"That's different. You knew me before…" Blaine gestured vaguely.
Wes wasn't put off that easily. "Sam does, and you two didn't meet until sophomore year of college."
"That's Sam; he doesn't really count either."
"Doesn't Sam's girlfriend know too? And didn't you say that your brother showed it to a few of his friends?"
"Yeah…" Blaine conceded, still not entirely convinced.
"Look, my point is, you're not as totally anonymous as you think you are. If you started small, like… oh, I don't know, a hole-in-the-wall karaoke bar where nobody would really be paying that much attention or know you and remember you… it wouldn't be that huge of a leap."
"Mercedes would know and remember," Blaine argued, glancing over at the side of the stage where Mercedes was taking sign-ups.
"She's already seen you perform, though, even if just through Youtube," Wes pointed out.
Blaine bit gently on his lip as he tried to come up with other reasons not to. "I still don't know…"
"What if we did a duet?" Wes offered. "If you got uncomfortable, I could just take over."
Blaine continued chewing on his lower lip.
"Look, I'm not going to force you," Wes said gently. "It was just a suggestion. If you're not ready, you're not ready. It's your own thing, and you can work through it however you want. Don't let me force you to do something that you don't want to do. Take your time and do it at your own pace - it doesn't have to be tonight."
Blaine gave him a small smile. "You're a good friend, you know that?"
Wes grinned. "Takes one to know one."
Blaine took a drink of his beer while he thought about Wes's suggestion. "You know what? Let's try it. It can't hurt, right?"
Wes's smile grew wider. "Excellent. What song do you want to do?"
[Author note: I'm apologizing again - this backstory is taking longer than I expected, but as I'm writing, things are just kind of happening that I want to explore. I PROMISE we're almost to the meeting. I'm trying to get the chapters out as quickly as possible because I know you are all eager for them to meet (as am I) and you're being really, really patient with me, which I really appreciate! Also, since I am getting these out rather quickly, if you notice any typos/errors/problems or have any suggestions, feel free to leave me a message/review - I love hearing from you!]