A/N: Look, another chapter! Yayyyyy! Here, have more love: xoxoxo 333
"I hate him," Quinn muttered as Puck came up beside her behind the curtain. He raised an eyebrow.
"What did he ever do to you?"
"He said I looked like a drag queen," Quinn snapped.
"Oh, my, that can't be the first time that's happened," Jeff tutted from bedside them. Puck snorted.
"Seriously, Luce, get over yourself," Puck said rolling his eyes. Quinn growled at both of them. Thad and Rachel lined up behind them and the curtain began to rise.
"You're just mad that he gets more attention than you do," Puck hissed at her. She resisted the urge to step on his foot. Tonight, she would make sure he got the wrong kind of attention.
Sebastian and the boys were doing The Phoenix tonight, a new one Santana had choreographed because Sebastian had a slightly dark look about him. She felt like he needed something a little heavier, a little darker than the usual techno pop she had the dancers doing. And it worked for him. She was excited to premier it this Friday (not that she would show it). Quinn had a plan.
"Hey, Ian, Tana's looking for you," Quinn said sweetly, coming up into the light booth. Ian looked up from the sound board where he was readying the vocals for The Phoenix.
"Right now? I'm working. And since when did Her Royal Highness do Jeff's footwork," Ian snapped, plugging in the microphone labeled 'S. S.'
"Don't say I didn't warn you," Quinn muttered. Ian smacked her hand away as she reached for the light board.
"Touch it and die," he snapped. "Fuck, everyone fucking wants me. Might as well be fucking singing for them," he muttered as he walked off. Quinn smirked. The curtain rose and the music started automatically.
"San, you wanted me?" Ian asked, rushing back stage. Santana turned to look at him in confusion just as the music stopped entirely.
"What the fuck are you doing back here?" she demanded. Jeff came running back, indicating for the stage crew to start packing up.
"Close the curtain. Close the curtain, now," Jeff snapped. Santana peaked out. The audience was on its feet, packing up. They'd lost half the crowd already. Their bouncer was smiling politely with venom in his eyes. Kurt looked confused.
Quinn smirked in the sound booth, twirling the plug for the sound board in her hand. When the boys had seemed comfortable and confident on that stage, she'd pulled the plug. In the back of her mind she knew it was a horrible idea, but her rage had gotten the better of her. They'd stopped almost instantly, just like she'd wanted. This would knock Sebastian off his high horse; he was nothing without the vocals, he was just like everyone else.
Sebastian watched Santana's money walk out the door, just as confused as the others when the music had suddenly stopped. He faintly heard a commotion back stage and the curtain started to come down. Something snapped in him. He knew the part. He opened his mouth and he started to sing.
Hey, young blood.
Doesn't it feel like our time is running out?
There was silence; hardly a breath could be heard in the audience. He could see Kurt's and the bouncer's eyes the size of saucers. He kept going. In the background, he could hear the band pick up the tune in his key. The curtain stopped.
"Open the curtain," Santana ordered. They began to raise the curtain once more as they all stood stunned. The boys took up the background vocals and they continued dancing. Up in the sound booth, Quinn ground her teeth.
The performance was over before he knew it. He barely registered the fact that every breath burned through his lungs. He felt like he was about to fall over. Thad and Mike were at his sides in seconds, holding him up as the crowd (the remaining crowd) went wild. Through the adrenaline he saw Kurt at the bar, shaking his head and mouthing 'fuck you' over and over. He winked. Mike, Thad, and he ducked back stage as the curtains closed.
"What the fuck was that?" Ian was asking. Jeff was shaking his head.
"Who the hell cares? It was amazing," he said. Sebastian breathed heavily, resting his hands on his knees. Finn, Jesse, Joe, Artie, David, Chandler, and Wes came filing back stage as Santana approached Sebastian.
"You never said you could sing," she said. Sebastian shrugged.
"Well, I did try," he began. She smacked him.
"You didn't say you could sing like that," she amended. He smirked.
"San, Kurt's still out there serving drinks," Jesse said.
"Fine, fine, whatever," Santana said. "Look, you guys know the songs, right?" The band nodded.
"Great. Tomorrow, we're going to rehearse all day," she looked at them all pointedly, telling them silently not to even consider complaining, "and tomorrow night we're going live. You're singing, Horse Teeth, so you better find some way to boost your stamina by tomorrow night. I have a show to plan."
The band surrounded him, clapping him on the back as the dancers congratulated him. He saw Ian wink out of the corner of his eye before he retreated once more to the sound booth. Mike and Thad were laughing at him, even Puck was patting his shoulder. Jeff came toward him, parting the crowd as if he were Santana, only he had a huge smile on his face.
"How do you feel?" he asked the still panting Sebastian. Sebastian grinned.
"Fucking tired." Jeff laughed.
"That really was amazing."
"You think she liked it? She's not going to kill me or something tomorrow?"
"I was closing the curtains. She stopped me. Make of that what you will," Jeff replied with an eyebrow raise. Sebastian grinned again.
"C'mon, Horse Teeth. The night's over, at least for you." He steered him back toward the changing rooms.
Quinn watched him pass with a disdainful look on her face.
"Clearly one of us has underestimated the other," she hissed. Sebastian smirked.
"I get that a lot."
"Seriously, though, that was incredible," Mike said, sipping his water after the club had emptied. Sebastian smiled slightly.
"Yeah, there's the NYADA graduate," Kurt teased, drinking from his own beer.
"Like what you saw, Porcelain?" he shot back. Kurt shrugged but didn't say anything.
"But how do you sing like that?! I mean, it's just, like, out of nowhere," Finn exclaimed.
"Just happens," Sebastian told him. He rolled his eyes toward Kurt as he continued, "I mean, I just sort of tensed up and it came out all at once. You know what I mean?" A blush rose in Kurt's cheeks. He pushed Sebastian's elbow out from under his chin, causing his head to fall toward the bar top.
"Rude," Sebastian muttered. The guys laughed.
"Hey, we're getting something to eat," Mike said, "you want to come?" Sebastian stared straight at Kurt.
"You have no idea." He grabbed his bag and followed the others out, leaving Finn and Kurt behind. Ian laughed.
"I'll tell you, Kurt, if you're not interested I'm going in," he said, pulling a light jacket around his shoulders. Kurt looked at him hard.
"Go for it, punk," he said slowly. "I'm engaged." He waved his left hand in front of Ian's face. Ian rolled his eyes.
"And we're all sorry about that," Ian muttered, heading out. Finn coughed into his beer.
"Shit, Kurt, hide it a little better," he said. Kurt glared at him.
"Hide what?" he snapped.
"You want Sebastian. Bad," Finn replied. "Come on, Kurt, I've been by your side since high school, you know you can't hide anything from me anymore. I'm your brother. Just tell me."
"I'm with Blaine," Kurt said, downing the rest of his beer.
"We fucking know! But you don't want to be!" Finn cried jumping off his stool.
"Of course I do!" Kurt shouted back.
"No, Kurt, you don't! Ever since Blaine cheated on you back in 2012 you've been harboring this anger toward him! And it's been growing and growing and growing. For years, Kurt, you have been unhappy in this relationship. You knew it was a bad idea taking him back, but you did. And now you resent it. You're mad at yourself for taking him back, you're mad at him for putting you in that situation, and you're mad at everybody else because they can all see it! You're so fucking stupid, Kurt! Why the hell can't you just wise up and dump his ass? He doesn't want you any more than you want him," Finn exploded. When he got mad he tended to say anything that came to his mind. He had almost as fiery a temper as Kurt did. And normally Kurt didn't hold back when he got angry, either. But this time, he was speechless.
"I—" he started awkwardly.
"You know I'm right," Finn muttered. He grabbed his bag and headed for the door. "I'll see you tomorrow."
Kurt closed up in silence. Normally, he would sing along to his iPod or turn on the radio. But even music wouldn't help him. He picked up his bag and locked up. He prayed to God that Sebastian wasn't at the apartment yet. He needed to do something he hadn't done since college. He had to call his father.
The apartment was dark and silent when he came back. Sebastian wasn't passed out in the bed yet so Kurt breathed a sigh of relief. He changed into a pair of sweat pants and a light tee shirt and curled up on the couch, pulling a blanket around his shoulders despite the hot night. It was late, but his father always answered the phone, no matter what.
"Kurt?" he asked gruffly on the third ring.
"Hi, Daddy," he whispered. He heard shuffling on the other end and the sound of his father's heavy footsteps making their way down the hall and to the living room.
"What's wrong, bud?" he asked as his favorite recliner creaked under him. Kurt could almost imagine he was back home in Columbus.
"I just needed to talk to you," he murmured weakly.
"Kurt," Burt said astutely. He could hear the distress in his son's voice.
"I think Blaine is still cheating on me," Kurt finally admitted. He had been harboring this secret for months. Ever since Blaine had pounced on his phone just a little too quickly when Kurt and he had been out for dinner on one of Kurt's rare vacations to New York to visit him. Unbeknownst to Blaine, Kurt had paid for their meal and followed him out in time to catch the end of a hushed conversation. He had caught the words 'fiancé', 'your place', 'next week', and 'can't wait'. The wrenching in his gut had helped him piece together the rest of the conversation.
He heard Burt breathe deeply before saying, "How do you know?"
"It's just a feeling."
Miles away in Columbus, Burt moved the phone away from his head for a moment and pinched the bridge of his nose. He knew that Kurt didn't need him angry right now. He needed calm support and a shoulder to cry on, even if it wasn't a physical one. He blew out a breath again and raised the phone to his ear.
"So what are you going to do about it?" he asked slowly.
"I don't know," Kurt whimpered, sounding like the little boy Burt had raised.
"You have to confront him about this, Kurt. I know it's hard and it's scary, but you're unhappy. And you deserve better than this. He shouldn't have to settle for only one part of Blaine," Burt pressed. Kurt sighed.
"I know," he mumbled. The maturity was starting to leak back into his voice and Burt almost lamented the loss of his little boy.
"Do you want me to confront him?" Burt asked, knowing the answer but feeling helpless.
"No. I need to fight my own battles, Dad," Kurt said. Burt could hear the frown in his voice.
"Why did you call so late?" Burt asked after a pause. Kurt sighed again.
"I just felt really beaten down. Finn gave me a hard dose of the truth and I know I needed to hear it, but it still was hard," he explained. Burt gave a hum of understanding.
"Still speaking without thinking when he's mad, huh?" Burt asked. Kurt nodded, then remembered his father wasn't there with him.
"Yeah," he affirmed. Keys jingled in the lock and Kurt heard Sebastian swear outside the door. He must have dropped his keys in the dark hall.
"Look, Daddy, I have to go," Kurt said quickly, hearing the lock click.
"Alright, bud. But you promise you'll confront him," Burt sighed out.
"I promise," Kurt said quickly. Sebastian pushed open the door, noticing Kurt was on the phone.
"Okay. I love you, Kurt."
"I love you, too, Dad." Kurt hung up as Sebastian made for the bedroom.
"Isn't it super late in Ohio?" he asked suspiciously.
"My dad picks up no matter what time it is," Kurt replied. Sebastian's face darkened.
"That sounds nice," he whispered so quietly Kurt nearly missed it. He shut the doors to the bedroom behind him. Kurt raised an eyebrow. He wasn't the only one with secrets.