"What are you doing tomorrow?" Cooper asked Blaine from the other side of the couch. They were watching TV at Cooper's apartment, since Blaine had stopped by to visit.
"Um… I'm going to Dalton in the afternoon, and then I'm not sure. I think maybe I will go to Kurt's house or something... Why?"
"Mom invited me over for dinner and I was wondering if maybe you wanted to do anything after that. Why are you going to Dalton anyway?" Cooper asked, confused, but Blaine just rolled his eyes.
"I told you like two weeks ago… The guys are putting something together for Jeff's brother's engagement party and they invited me to sing with them."
"You told me? When?" Cooper was completely clueless.
"Yes I did." Blaine said; a bit annoyed. "When we were getting dinner with mom and dad after regionals."
"Oh… Sorry." Cooper had been so distracted when Blaine told them about Sebastian being in the hospital that he hadn't paid attention to anything else Blaine had said after that.
"So, does that mean you have no plans for Friday night then? That's a first!" Blaine teased and Cooper just smiled.
"Yeah... I'll just go home and relax I guess."
"Well… I'm free Saturday, Kurt is going away with his family for the weekend, we could do something if you want."
Cooper nodded and smiled, but he knew Saturday wasn't an option for him, because that was his and Sebastian's day, and Cooper didn't like making plans of any kind unless they involved Sebastian. Especially now that they were "officially together." The past couple of weeks with Sebastian still recovering from his injuries there hadn't been much he and Cooper could do. Sebastian's dad had gone out of town, the fucking coward, and Sebastian's mother was smothering him, barely letting him out except to go to school. Cooper wished he could visit Sebastian at home, but he knew that was impossible.
Sebastian's injuries had all healed for the most part, but he had a broken rib, which was going to take a long time to heal. Sebastian was prescribed pain medication, but all he could really do was wait it out. The doctor said it could be up to two months until the pain completely disappeared, and Sebastian had to be careful and not strain himself and risk making it worse.
It definitely had been an adjustment for the both of them, because their relationship had always been very physical; but sex was completely out of the question now when it was hard for Sebastian to do basic things like walking or lying down without being extremely uncomfortable or in pain. Sebastian couldn't even breathe properly without it hurting so even their light make out sessions had to be cut short sometimes when they were starting to get a little 'too excited'.
It was incredibly frustrating for the both of them at first, but it also opened an opportunity for them to spend more quality time together. They talked more now, got to know each other better and spent entire afternoons just cuddling and holding each other. It was intimate and romantic in a way that their relationship hadn't been before, and it was a nice change once they got used to it. Cooper still ached to be able to touch Sebastian and get him naked, but he knew he had to control himself.
Part of that control was realizing that he couldn't spend as much time as he wanted with Sebastian because they had to worry about appeasing Sebastian's mom and work around the permissions he could get to go out while he still wasn't fully recovered from his injuries.
So Sebastian and him wouldn't be able to see each other on Friday, but Cooper knew on Saturday they definitely would. He would just have to figure out what to tell Blaine so he could go out with him some other time, after all, that is what Cooper had been doing for a few months now. Lying and tiptoeing around his family for the sake of seeing Sebastian.
...
"Blaine! So glad you could make it!" Nick greeted him once Blaine came through the doors of Dalton's Senior Commons on Friday afternoon.
"Of course! Wouldn't miss this for the world." Blaine said, smiling widely as he was greeted by his old friends. After saying hi to everyone he noticed someone was missing.
"Where's Sebastian?" Blaine asked.
"Oh, he's not coming." Jeff said, and Blaine frowned.
"Why not? Are you guys mad at him again or something?"
"Oh no... That's not it!" Jeff explained, "We're cool... It's just, Seb can't really do anything right now because of his broken rib. He's still pretty roughed up."
"Yeah... It's gonna take a long time to heal. " Trent added.
"Oh... Wow." Blaine had no idea Sebastian was that badly injured. He remembered how much he had been hurt when the guys at his old school beat him up and immediately felt sympathetic towards Sebastian.
"He can't really move around much or even sit down without wincing." Jeff said. "So singing and dancing are completely out of the question."
"That's gotta suck... He missed regionals because he was in the hospital, and now he'll miss this too." Blaine said, feeling bad for Sebastian.
"Well... Don't think he's too sad about it, especially now that he's keeping himself otherwise occupied." Trent said, snickering.
The rest of the guys smiled knowingly and Blaine suddenly felt out of the loop. Noticing his confused expression, Nick quickly explained.
"Oh... you don't know? Sebastian's got himself a hot new boyfriend!"
"W-what? Really?" Blaine was a bit surprised and even impressed. "I never took Sebastian for the boyfriend type. Who is the guy? Does he go to Dalton too?"
"No, he's not from school." Nick replied.
"We actually don't know who he is... Sebastian won't even tell us his name!" Jeff huffed. "It's ridiculous."
"Really? Why not?" Blaine asked.
"Well I have a theory..." Trent said, smiling mischievously. "I think he is an older guy... He must be like, in his thirties or something, and that's why Sebastian won't tell us anything about him."
They all remained quiet for a couple of seconds, thinking about Trent's words until Thad broke the silence.
"Oh my god... What if they guy's married?" He said, horrified.
"Whoa dude, don't say that!" Jeff reprimanded him, but Thad just shrugged.
"I'm just saying, if he was just a regular guy then why the all the secrecy and mystery? We all know Sebastian is seeing someone... All he does lately is stare at his phone and smile like a love sick puppy."
"Aw, are you jealous Thad, is that it?" Trent accused, to which Thad reacted looking offended by rolling his eyes and shoving him playfully.
"Definitely not!"
Everyone burst into laughter, and after their giggles started to die out, Jeff called their attention back to the real reason they had gotten together in the first place. He started talking about their ideas for what song they could sing, listing a couple of his brother's favorites while the group listened attentively. Blaine was trying his best to pay attention but he couldn't help but feel a bit conflicted inside. It was great that Sebastian had a boyfriend; Blaine just hoped it wasn't really some old, married dude. After all, Sebastian always had a way of getting himself in trouble.
...
The truth was, Sebastian had no interest in performing with the Warblers for Jeff's brother's engagement party. He was still feeling guilty about them losing at regionals, even though it hadn't really been his fault. But Sebastian knew it was because of his sudden absence that The Warblers had lost to the New Directions. Not that the Warblers would ever let him take it upon himself, they had all been extremely supportive throughout his recovery, but Sebastian couldn't help feeling like they were only making a big deal out of this engagement party thing because they had nothing better do for the remainder of the school year. With no trip to Nationals to focus on, the Warblers pretty much had no real purpose, at least that was how Sebastian felt about the whole thing.
The Warblers didn't care, and still wanted to make Sebastian feel like a part of the group, but that only made Sebastian feel worse. He was having a hard time learning how to handle himself without being in pain, so singing was completely out of his reach right now. He also had to quit Lacrosse, because it was going to take him a long time to recover from his broken rib, and he couldn't risk getting hurt again during practice.
Everything sucked, but at least Sebastian could take comfort in knowing he had Cooper. Sure, he would love to be able to sing and dance with the Warblers, but nothing compared to how much he enjoyed being in Cooper's company.
On Saturday, Sebastian was able to get out of the house once his mother went out to the country club to her biweekly book club meeting. Sebastian was glad he could get away from her, since he had barely seen Cooper all week. He was fine now, but his mother seemed to be set on never letting him out of her sight.
"God, I missed you so much." Cooper whispered into Sebastian's hair once he got to his apartment.
"You saw me on Wednesday." Sebastian teased, nibbling a bit con Cooper's ear as they hugged. "But I missed you too."
They kissed softly on the lips before going inside. Cooper was making lunch and the apartment smelled absolutely delicious.
"What are you making?" Sebastian asked, walking towards the kitchen.
"Greek chicken… You like artichoke hearts, don't you?"
"Um… I don't think I've ever tried them."
"That's completely unacceptable!" Cooper replied, feigning shock. "What are they even feeding you in that house of yours?"
Sebastian just shrugged, "Apparently everything except artichoke hearts. But, um… They look kinda gross."
"They're delicious!" Cooper said defensively once he saw the face Sebastian made, "You haven't even tried them, don't be a child."
"Fine… I'll give them the benefit of the doubt, just because whatever you're making there smells delicious."
"I told you… It's Greek Chicken!"
"Yeah okay, whatever you say babe." Sebastian laughed, leaning to kiss Cooper on the cheek as he kept stirring the food on the stove. Cooper felt a warm feeling bloom inside him as he felt Sebastian's lips against his skin.
When they finally sat down to eat, Sebastian actually loved the artichoke hearts, which made Cooper ridiculously proud of his cooking skills. They ate until they were completely stuffed and then moved to the bedroom so they could lie down and relax.
Time flew by as Sebastian and Cooper just stayed in bed, watching TV and kissing every now and then. Sebastian felt better while being at Cooper's apartment than at his own house, he just wished time would go by slower when he was there, but alas, the afternoon flew by and soon it was already dark. Sebastian knew it wouldn't be long before his mother started calling him on the phone.
They were watching a movie when Sebastian's phone started buzzing in the night table, where he'd left it. Sebastian just ignored it, letting it buzz until it stopped.
"Aren't you gonna get that?" Cooper asked when it started buzzing a second time.
"No… It's probably my mom." Sebastian groaned. "If I pick up she will want me to tell her where I am or tell me to go home and I don't want to do either of those things."
The phone stopped buzzing and Cooper sat up so he could reach for it.
"It was your mom."
"Told you."
The phone started buzzing a third time while Cooper was holding it and he just stared at Sebastian, holding the phone out for him and wondering if he was going to get it or not, but Sebastian just grabbed the phone from Cooper's hand and tossed it aside. Sebastian then grabbed Cooper by the collar of his shirt and pulled him down so he could kiss him instead.
Needless to say, Cooper and Sebastian completely forgot about that phone for a long time after that. It was almost one hour later when Sebastian finally decided to call his mother. He wasn't going to, but he got a text from her and it was clearly obvious she was getting upset cause she was threatening to locate his car's GPS again. Sebastian figured a simple text reply wouldn't be enough to calm her down.
"Sebastian... Where are you? I've been calling you for ages!"
"Sorry... I didn't have my phone with me. We were playing video games." Sebastian lied. He'd told his mom he would be going over to Trent's. It was a safe lie, since he was the only one of the Warblers who didn't live with his parents. Trent lived with his grandfather, and Sebastian knew his mother had no way of being aquatinted to him whatsoever.
"Well, it's getting late... You should come home now."
"Um, actually..." Sebastian said, faking concern, "I... I'm staying for dinner. Trent's grandfather invited me and I already said yes, it would be rude for me to leave now."
Sebastian heard his mother sigh on the other side of the line. "Fine... But please come home right after you're done. Okay?"
"Okay. Bye mom."
"Are you hungry?" Cooper asked once Sebastian hung up.
"Hmmm... No. I'm still feeling quite stuffed from lunch. I just don't want to leave yet."
Sebastian hated to sound so needy, but it was true, he didn't want to go back to his house.
"Then don't leave." Cooper whispered against Sebastian's lips before kissing him again. Sebastian reached up to trail his hands up from Cooper's neck and down his back as they kissed slowly and languidly. After a couple of minutes of steady kissing, Sebastian could feel himself starting to get hard. He could tell Cooper was hard too, and that made it even more frustrating when they had to stop. Sebastian tried to resist as much as he could, but it wasn't long before his rib started hurting from staying in the same position for too long.
Cooper knew when to stop… He had learned to read into Sebastian's small breaths to know when it was becoming too much. He gently broke the kiss and looked into Sebastian's eyes as he shifted so they both could sit up a little.
"Does it hurt?" Cooper asked, concerned.
"No, it's just bothering me a little... Sorry."
They both sat up, getting a few pillows so they could rest against the headboard. Sebastian smiled sadly and Cooper grabbed his hand, pulling it up to his lips so he could kiss it.
"Are you okay babe?"
"Yeah, I'm fine, just... Thinking about my mom and stuff at home." Sebastian shrugged.
"When's your dad coming back?"
"My dad? I don't really know. My guess is Probably next week, but I have no idea when."
Cooper remained thoughtful for a while, and Sebastian could tell there was something bothering him.
"What is it?" Sebastian asked but Cooper just shook his head, smiling sadly.
"Nothing... I just don't want you to be around him babe, that's all."
"I don't want to be around him either." Sebastian admitted with a wry smile. "But it's okay... I'll just stay out of the house as much as I can, that will keep me out of his way for the most part."
Cooper didn't seem convinced at all. "I don't know… You know how I feel about all this. I think you should have told the police about what happened." He said, kissing Sebastian's forehead.
"Coop... We've talked about this." Sebastian said with a long sigh.
"I know... I'm sorry. I just can't even think about him hurting you again."
"He won't."
"You can't know that."
"Neither can you… so stop worrying, please."
Sebastian knew he was being stubborn, but he just didn't want Cooper worrying or feeling sorry for him.
"I just can't believe your mom didn't say anything either." Cooper said, and Sebastian knew he wouldn't be able to change the subject even if he wanted to. "She seems to be worried about you, I'm sure she cares about you so why didn't she tell the police?"
"She would never go against dad…" Sebastian sighed, "You know she actually suggested that I should board at Dalton for the remainder of the school year? You know, for the few months before I have to go to college?"
"What? Why?"
"Yeah... Cause she knows once dad comes back things will be tense around the house. So she would rather send me away than deal with it."
"You're joking."
"I'm really not… She has brought it up a couple of times this week, actually. I think that means dad must be coming home soon. She just won't tell me when."
Cooper remained thoughtful for a while. "Hmm… That would probably keep you safer though." He admitted.
"It would also keep me away from you." Sebastian reminded him, "Dalton's curfew sucks… They're really strict about it, so I wouldn't really be able to see you, except for the weekends maybe."
"Oh... That wouldn't be good."
"Exactly. So there's no way I'm doing that."
Sebastian cupped Cooper's face and brought their lips back together gently. There was no more talking after that, just lots of slow and steady kisses. It was torture to have to leave Cooper and go back home, but Sebastian knew that is the way things had to be for now.
They saw each other again on Sunday, managing to go out and get a cup of coffee together in the afternoon. After that, they headed back to Cooper's apartment and hung out for a little while before Sebastian had to go back home.
Sebastian's father returned home on Tuesday the next week, and when Sebastian told Cooper about it, he immediately turned very protective. Cooper made Sebastian promise him that he would go to his apartment every day after school. The idea was to spend as much time together as they possibly could so Sebastian would stay out of his own house as much as possible.
Things at Sebastian's house were awkward and tense, to say the least. His father was never home, and neither was Sebastian. His mother had changed her attitude towards Sebastian in a way, leaning more towards appeasing her husband and keeping Sebastian at a safe distance from him; but Sebastian wasn't sure if that was a good thing or not.
Sebastian had told her was that he would go to the police and tell them the truth if his dad ever touched him again, so she was playing referee, trying to keep them both out of each other's way as best as she could.
Every time she brought up the subject of boarding at Dalton, Sebastian flat out told her to change the subject or he just walked away.
At school, Sebastian tried his best to just apply himself and do what he needed to. It had been awkward the first couple of weeks after he got out of the hospital. People wanted to know the story of what happened to him, and would always ask him questions about the police investigation and whether they had any clues about who the people who'd beat him up were. It was actually exhausting for Sebastian to have to talk about it so much, so he kept avoiding the subject with the excuse that it brought him bad memories.
It was too bad Sebastian didn't want to pursue a career as an actor, because with all that had been happening in his life, he was getting really good at pretending. At least things with Cooper were going fine. Sebastian could finally be honest with him and was deeply in love in a way that he had never experienced before. That alone definitely helped Sebastian get through the most difficult days.
What his dad did had taken a toll on Sebastian and not just physically. He thought he could be okay with being under the same roof as his father, but he soon found himself feeling skittish and jumpy all the time, choosing to lock himself in his room and avoiding the rest of the house as much as he could. Just looking at his father made Sebastian's stomach clench and his blood boil. It was awful, but having the support of his boyfriend made Sebastian feel stronger.
So every day after school, Sebastian would stay a while longer in the library, waiting until it was time for Cooper to get out of work so he could go to his apartment and spend the afternoon there. It was a routine that they slowly got into, and it worked fine most days. Except for the times when Cooper got caught up at the office and got out a little late. Sebastian waited inside his car or in the hallway but it wasn't really comfortable, so without hesitation Cooper decided to give Sebastian a key to his apartment.
"Wow… a key. Are you sure about this?" Sebastian asked, not being able to hide his smile.
"Of course. You should have one. I keep leaving it under the rug for emergencies anyway so it's better if you have it. I want you to be able to come here whenever you want."
"Is that so?" Sebastian smirked and Cooper kissed him softly on the lips.
"Of course…. Besides, I feel guilty that you had to wait outside for so long today. I just got stuck in a meeting and couldn't get out until now, I'm really sorry."
"It's okay… You're here now, that's all that matters."
"Oh… What an amazing and understanding boyfriend I have!" Cooper said, smiling against Sebastian's lips. "I'm so lucky."
"You're lucky that I love you…" Sebastian replied, crossing his hands behind Cooper's neck. "Otherwise I'd be long gone."
"Oh is that so?" Cooper teased, spanking Sebastian's butt through his Dalton slacks and causing them both to burst into giggles.
Sebastian had always made fun of people being in love, all the talk about butterflies and puppy eyes used to make him gag, but now he couldn't deny that he was one of those people. He loved Cooper, and Cooper loved him. It was completely amazing in a way that Sebastian ever imagined, and it made him happier than anything else in his life at the moment.
Every day after school, Sebastian went to Cooper's place. Sometimes, when he'd get there before Cooper was home, he'd just go inside using his key and did his homework while he waited for Cooper to get there. They did that almost every day with the exception of a weeknight or two when Cooper had to unavoidably visit his parents. On those nights Cooper made up an excuse about a late meeting or business dinner, and Sebastian never made a big deal about it. In fact, Sebastian was actually afraid Cooper would soon get bored of him, or that they were seeing each other too much, but Cooper never seemed to care. He was always attentive, engaging and all around perfect… almost too good to be true.
There was a nagging feeling inside of Sebastian, and he couldn't quite put a finger on it. He guessed part of it was just the knowledge that soon they would have to part ways and it was going to be a really difficult thing to do with how much Sebastian loved Cooper. Breaking up when Sebastian had to finally leave for college would be really hard. They had only spoken about it that day in the parking lot of the coffee shop, when Cooper had refused to let Sebastian break up with him. Cooper said that just because that moment would be inevitable it didn't mean that they couldn't enjoy what they had while it lasted. So they had agreed to make the most of the time they had left together before Sebastian had to go to college, but that didn't mean Sebastian was completely fine with it.
However, every time Sebastian tried to breach the subject with Cooper, he would get the same response.
"I love you babe, but I don't want you to choose your future education just because of us. Do what you really want to do, and we'll figure something out."
Sebastian had actually applied to Brown, Yale and Stanford; but he had yet to hear back from them. He didn't know if he would get into any of them, though he knew his chances were good or at least that's what he hoped. He had always wanted to keep his options open, and that's why he applied to the three of them. Still, Sebastian secretly wished to just be able to go to California for college so he could be close to where Cooper was going to be whenever had to go back to LA. Stanford wasn't exactly close to LA but it was better than being in the other side of the country.
Sebastian was deep in thought as he and Cooper were lying in bed together, watching TV. Sebastian had his head rested in Cooper's chest, and Cooper had his arm around Sebastian's shoulder, absentmindedly tracing small circles in his hair. The position was starting to bother Sebastian, and he hated that he had to move, but his rib wouldn't let him stay much time in the same position.
"Are you okay?" Cooper asked, concerned when he saw the face Sebastian made as he untangled himself from Cooper's side.
"Yeah... I think I'm just gonna lie on my back for a while."
Cooper turned to his side so he could face Sebastian, and they stared at each other for a few seconds before Cooper leaned down and kissed Sebastian softly on the lips.
"Does it hurt?" Cooper asked, putting his hand over Sebastian's side, where the broken rib was.
"Not much… it just bothers me sometimes." Sebastian replied with a soft smile. He was telling the truth, it had been a month now, and Sebastian felt a little better with every day that passed. Sometimes he thought the pain was gone for good, but then he would move a certain way or stay too long in a same position and that is when it would start hurting again. It was a silent reminder that told him he was not quite recovered yet, and it sucked.
Cooper kissed Sebastian, first in his forehead and then on his nose before pressing their lips together. Sebastian slowly relaxed into the kiss, melting into Cooper as he slowly unbuttoned his shirt, sliding his palm over Sebastian's chest and making his breath hitch.
Cooper stopped when he felt Sebastian's breath hitch. "You okay?" He asked again, and Sebastian just nodded, closing his eyes as he focused on the feeling of Cooper's hands on him. The touch wasn't sexual, but it was intimate in a way that was making Sebastian feel lightheaded.
Cooper tried his best to be careful with Sebastian nowadays because he knew they couldn't get carried away. Still, he unbuttoned his shirt and exposed his chest, tracing his palms over it slowly and almost reverently. Cooper smiled sadly, thinking about the previous times he had unbuttoned Sebastian's shirt only to find scrapes and bruises all over his freckled skin.
Cooper wanted nothing more than to love and care for Sebastian, and show him just how amazing he was in every way that he could. There was something Cooper couldn't quite explain blooming inside him, it felt stronger than love. He knew that he loved Sebastian, but he also felt very protective of him. The truth was that all this time they had been spending together had shown him a whole new side of Sebastian that Cooper never imagined. Sebastian always seemed to be so confident and easygoing, but on the inside he was also a very vulnerable and lonely person. Now that Cooper had gotten to know him better, Cooper realized he was one of the only people that Sebastian ever was truly himself with, and that was something he cherished a lot.
It wasn't easy though, because the more Cooper thought about it, the worse he felt about the fact that he was still lying to him. But Cooper didn't want to tell Sebastian the truth because he didn't want to hurt him. No, Cooper was just going to love him as best as he could, so that when Sebastian went away to College, he would have nothing but good memories of their time together.
Cooper figured people grew apart all the time, and so would he and Sebastian once he moved away to another state. Cooper knew it wouldn't be hard for Sebastian to make new friends and meet someone new when he started college. It was bittersweet to think about, but Cooper really thought it was the best way to go about things. At this point, Cooper loved Sebastian too much to hurt him with the truth. He was being a coward, and selfish too, but Cooper didn't know what else to do.
Weeks passed by and Cooper and Sebastian did the best they could do with the time they spent together. They went out on dinner and coffee dates sometimes too; but always to places both of them knew they wouldn't risk running into people they knew. They also spent a lot of time just kissing and cuddling, watching TV and cooking at Cooper's apartment.
One time, they fell asleep after watching a movie, and completely lost track of time. When Cooper woke up, he realized it was already 10:30 and Sebastian was still there.
"Seb… Babe, wake up."
"Uh… What?" Sebastian groaned.
"It's late, you have to go home or your mom will kill you."
"Oh crap, it's true. Damn." Sebastian scrambled up the bed, quickly running to get his things so he could leave. Cooper walked with him downstairs to his car.
"Will I see you tomorrow?" Sebastian asked as Cooper kissed him goodbye.
"I can't tomorrow…" Cooper said apologetically, "I have a business dinner thing. You can still come if you want, you know you can stay at my place even if I'm not here." Cooper insisted, but Sebastian just shook his head, smiling.
"I'll be fine, don't worry."
"I'll see you on Thursday then?" Cooper asked but now it was Sebastian's turn to say no.
"I can't… I'm going to the doctor with my mom. It's my last follow up appointment, remember?"
Cooper smiled at that. "Oh… Right, I forgot."
"You forgot, really?" Sebastian said, an eyebrow raised incredulously.
"I've just had a lot of things on my mind lately."
"Well, hopefully the x-ray will come out fine…" Sebastian teased, tracing his fingers down Cooper's chest until they were hooked around his belt. "So maybe I'll finally be able to give you something else to think about."
"God… I hope so." Cooper sighed and Sebastian just winked playfully before getting into his car. Cooper laughed knowingly, because he and Sebastian had been talking about that the past couple of days. Sebastian had been feeling pretty good lately, but Cooper still wanted to wait until that last doctor's appointment before they risked having sex again.
When Cooper returned to his apartment, he realized Sebastian left his blazer on the couch. He walked over and picked it up, bringing it up to his face so he could smell the scent of Sebastian's cologne. Cooper just sighed and smiled, realizing he was head over heels for this guy.
...
On Friday afternoon, Blaine arrived at Dalton feeling happy and excited. Today was their last rehearsal before the big party on Saturday and Jeff's brother had promised to stop by and watch them perform. Originally, the idea was for it to be a surprise but Jeff said his brother and his fiancée were just too excited and wanted to see them perform before the party. Needless to say, Blaine was feeling very excited about it all.
As he walked towards the main gate, he ran into Sebastian, who almost tripped over him cause he was staring at his phone as he walked.
"Blaine, hey… Sorry I didn't see you."
"It's okay… How have you been?" Blaine asked, surprised to see Sebastian when every other time he'd been to Dalton Sebastian had never been there.
"Good… All good, just you know, studying and keeping myself busy." Sebastian replied, shrugging. "Are you here for the rehearsal? The guys told me today was their last, right?"
"Yeah… It is, Jeff's brother is coming over to watch so, it's really exciting." Blaine said enthusiastically, and felt a little bad when he saw Sebastian smile awkwardly.
"It really sucks that you couldn't sing with us…" Blaine said apologetically, "It would have been nice to perform together, you know, one last time. How are you feeling?"
"Oh… Don't even worry about it. I'm fine, actually… I had my last check up with the doctor yesterday and he gave me the green light, finally."
"Really? That's great."
"Yeah, having a broken rib is a real pain in the ass." Sebastian admitted and they both laughed.
Blaine's phone started buzzing and he realized he got a text from Jeff, asking where he was.
"Um… I should probably go inside, the guys are waiting for me."
"Of course, don't let me keep you. It was nice seeing you Blaine, take care."
"Thanks, you too."
Blaine couldn't help but stare at Sebastian as he walked towards his car. Whatever Sebastian was reading on his phone was making him smile really wide and Blaine wondered if maybe Sebastian was texting his boyfriend. It was nice to see Sebastian so happy, so Blaine didn't think much of it.
Blaine walked into the building and headed straight of the Senior Commons, where he could already hear the voices and laughter of the Warblers. Once he got there he was greeted by Jeff, who was quick to introduce Blaine to his brother.
"Blaine! So glad you're here!" Jeff said excitedly, bringing Blaine up to where the lovely couple was standing in the middle of the group. "This is my brother Rick, and his fiancée, Melanie."
"Oh you're the infamous Blaine!" Rick said, shaking Blaine's hand and giving him a friendly pat on the back, "Jeff has told us so much about you!"
"It's really nice to meet you Blaine." The woman said with a bright smile, but Blaine was having a really hard time trying to smile back when he felt like the ground had completely sunk under his feet.
Standing in front of him, holding hands with Jeff's brother and acting like everything was fine, was Melanie Smith. Years had passed since the last time Blaine had seen her, but he was certain that it was her. Melanie Smith, the red-haired girl who had briefly dated Cooper in his high school years. The same Melanie Blaine knew had been going out with Cooper ever since he came back from LA.
Blaine felt like he was going to be sick. Jeff's brother looked so happy with her, and they looked so in love as they talked to the group excitedly about the upcoming engagement party. But Blaine knew for a fact that she was cheating on him. This couldn't be happening. It just seemed like a horrible and tasteless joke. Blaine wanted to scream, but he knew he couldn't say a word.
Blaine put up his best pokerface to be able to sing and dance with the group for Rick and Melanie to see. They loved the performance, and even offered to take them all out for a celebratory dinner as a way to thank them for doing this for them, but Blaine didn't want to go. He excused himself with a vague explanation and left as fast as he could. He needed to talk to Cooper immediately.
…
Cooper had been feeling excited and felt giddy all day long. Today was a special day for him and Sebastian, they had plans for the night and Cooper was really looking forward to it. It had been so long since they'd done anything physical that his body was already buzzing with anticipation. Just thinking about how he was finally going to be able to touch and kiss and fuck Sebastian like he loved to had Cooper struggling to concentrate throughout the day.
The doctor had finally given Sebastian the green light. He hadn't had any pain in days so they had made plans to get together and have a fun night. Sebastian wanted to go dancing, so they were going to go to a new bar in Columbus. Quite frankly, Cooper didn't care about clubbing at all. Cooper was way more interested in what he was finally going to get to do to Sebastian once the evening was over and they would go back to his apartment.
Yeah, this was going to be the best day ever. Knowing he would see Sebastian after work was a great incentive for Cooper to work really hard and be done with everthing right on time to leave at 5pm sharp. When it was finally time to leave, Cooper rushed to the door and went straight to his car.
It was liberating to finally leave work. Cooper was glad to finally be out. Sebastian had been texting him all day long, with teasing and dirty text messages that had made Cooper swear to him he was going to make him pay. Cooper really couldn't wait to see Sebastian and get him naked.
As Cooper was on his way to his apartment, he felt his phone buzzing inside his pocket. He thought it might be another flirty text from Sebastian but was surprised to see it was actually a call from Blaine.
"Cooper, where are you?" Came Blaine's stern voice over the phone. "We need to talk."
"Sure squirt, tell me what's up?" Cooper tried, noticing Blaine's nervous tone.
"No… We need to talk, but in person… Where are you?" Blaine sounded weird; his tone was obviously tense and demanding. Cooper had no idea what was bothering him, but his timing was awful. Tonight was his and Sebastian's day, Cooper couldn't just meet with Blaine on a whim.
"Look... now is really not a good time, I just got out of the office and have some-"
"Plans? Oh I'm sure you have some plans… don't you? Well, guess what? You're gonna have to cancel them!"
Cooper was startled, not quite understanding why Blaine sounded so hostile. He sighed, running a hand through his face as he drove. "Blaine, what's going on? Why are you so upset?"
Cooper just heard Blaine huff and his next words made a cold chill run through him.
"I know about Melanie, Coop… Okay? I know about Melanie."
Cooper felt his stomach doing backflips as he tried his best to remain calm. "W-what about Melanie… What are you talking about?"
"Don't play dumb with me!" Blaine yelled on the other side of the line, which startled Cooper. "You can't brush me off… We need to talk about this!"
Cooper had no idea what Blaine thought he knew about Melanie, but something was for certain, his brother was extremely upset and Cooper knew Blaine well enough to be able to tell just by the tone of his voice that he was on the verge of tears. This was bad, really bad. Cooper looked at his watch and realized he was in trouble. He needed to go to his apartment and get ready for his special night with Sebastian. But how was he going to manage that with a very angry Blaine demanding to see him?
"Blaine, listen… I just left the office, let me just go down to my place to get changed and I'll meet you at home, okay?"
"No." Blaine deadpanned.
"Look… I'll be there soon, I promise."
"No… Coop, I'm already here."
"Here? Where?"
"I'm outside your building… So hurry up." Blaine said bluntly before hanging up, and Cooper just slammed his fists against the steering wheel in frustration. What the hell was Blaine doing outside his apartment building? What the hell was going on? Cooper didn't know what was going to happen, but he knew whatever it was couldn't be good. He should have known better than to lie to Blaine about Melanie… His cover was blown now, wasn't it? Blaine must have found out somehow that Cooper was lying about dating her, but how? Cooper felt dread pooling up inside him to the point that his hands started slightly shaking. What did Blaine know? Did he know about Sebastian? No, he couldn't… Otherwise he would have mentioned him, but Blaine only seemed to be upset about Melanie.
Cooper knew this day would come… And he knew that he had been an idiot for dragging that lie out for so long. Maybe Blaine had run into Melanie somewhere and recognized her. Maybe they'd talked and Blaine mentioned Cooper to her. They hadn't seen each other in years. Oh god, Cooper felt like such a fucking idiot. Now things were bound to be a goddamn mess and he was going to have to clean it up and fast.
This wasn't how his day was supposed to go. He was looking forward to spending some quality time with Sebastian; Cooper was supposed to pick him up later. But now he had a big mess to take care of. Cooper parked in front of his building and spotted Blaine's car immediately. Cooper braced himself before getting out of the car and walked up to his apartment, trying to remain as calm as possible.
When he finally was standing in front of his younger brother, Cooper didn't find anger or hatred like he thought he would… Blaine just looked sad and confused. Before Cooper could even say hello, or anything to Blaine, he got straight to the point.
"Did you know?" Blaine asked, voice small and eyes searching Cooper's for an honest answer. "Did you know, Coop? Please tell me you didn't know."
Cooper was completely puzzled, "I… I don't… A-about what, squirt?"
"About the engagement!" Blaine yelled, and Cooper completely froze.
"E-engagement?"
"Yes, Cooper… The engagement! Melanie is engaged… She is going to marry Jeff's brother!"
Cooper felt a horrible wave of dread wash over him. This is why Blaine was upset, he didn't know about Sebastian… but this was bad too.
"Did you know? Be honest, Cooper!"
"I… Blaine-" Cooper tried, but was at a complete loss of what to say when he knew admitting to the truth would not make things any better. Blaine saw Cooper struggling for words and that made him snap.
"Oh my god… You knew, didn't you? That's why you barely talked about her… That's why you never took her home no matter how many times mom asked you to. You've been seeing her for months now… months, Cooper!" Blaine was raising his voice now.
"Blaine… I can explain, let's just please go inside." Cooper pleaded, reaching out to put his hand on Blaine's shoulder, but he just flinched away.
"You knew she had a boyfriend, and you didn't care? You've been seeing each other behind Rick's back! Do you have any idea how awful that is? God, Cooper… They're engaged! What are you doing?"
"This… it's just not what you think it is." Cooper said, reaching to open his apartment door and holding it open for Blaine to come inside. Blaine was livid, and furiously strode past Cooper into the living room.
"Do you have any idea how awful it was to have to see her today? Rick and her stopped by to see our rehearsal today... He proudly introduced her to the guys and she didn't even bat an eye when she saw me… She didn't even flinch. She was just smiling like everything was fine while I was wishing the earth would just swallow me alive because I knew she was cheating on her fiancé with my own brother and-"
"Blaine stop, okay? Stop!" Cooper cut him off, raising his voice now. "I'm not seeing Melanie! Okay? I never was… I swear to god I'm not seeing her! I just… I lied. Okay, I lied!"
Blaine was completely thrown off by Cooper's sudden confession. "You lied?"
"Yes… I lied, and I'm sorry." Cooper admitted defeatedly.
"But… Why would you lie about that? That doesn't make any sense."
The look of utter confusion and disappointment in Blaine's eyes was killing Cooper, and the worse part was that Blaine didn't even know half of the lies Cooper had been telling him. Cooper knew once he told Blaine everything it would be a million times worse, but he had to do it. Cooper had to be honest with his brother, it was long overdue.
"I lied because I was…" Cooper hesitated, "Because I am seeing someone else."
"You're seeing someone else? But who? And why would you need to lie about-" Blaine suddenly stopped talking as his eyes landed on the couch right behind Cooper. Blaine visibly paled, eyes wide and horrified. When Cooper turned around he realized what Blaine was looking at… It was Sebastian's Dalton blazer.
Cooper could do nothing but stare at Blaine, and he could tell Blaine was connecting the dots inside his head, because he didn't say anything for a long time. Blaine just stared at the blazer and then at Cooper with his mouth hanging open.
"Oh my god… Please tell me that is not what I think it is."
Cooper said nothing, just pressed his lips in a tight line, and that was enough admission for Blaine to realize who that Blazer belonged to.
"It's Sebastian… Isn't it? You've been seeing Sebastian!" Blaine accused, putting his hands over his face and pacing back and forth. "Of course it's Sebastian… You're the guy he's been seeing! That's the reason he won't tell anyone your name… Cause then people would know you're my brother!"
Cooper didn't know what Blaine was talking about, but he knew Sebastian wasn't hiding things, it was only him.
"No, Blaine… That's not how things are… I can explain, please."
"Explain? What is there to explain?" Blaine yelled at him, "It all makes sense now! You've been using Melanie as cover up for the fact that you've been seeing Sebastian, haven't you? Answer me!"
"Blaine…" Cooper tried getting closer to him but Blaine just stepped back and started yelling louder.
"You lied… You lied to me all this time! God, it's been months! You've been sleeping with Sebastian all this time? Cooper, what the hell is wrong with you? Do you have any idea how wrong this is? Jesus christ Cooper, are you even gay? How could you-"
"It was a mistake! Okay?" Cooper yelled, but that only made Blaine even angrier.
"A mistake? A mistake happens once, Cooper! You've been seeing Sebastian for how long now? Don't think I'm stupid, stop lying to me! Just stop lying for a second! Can you do that… Huh? Just tell me the truth for once in your life!"
"The truth is that I did it for you!" Cooper cried, his voice cracking as he desperately tried to explain himself to his brother.
"W-what?" Blaine was dumbfounded, and Cooper collapsed in the couch, realizing he couldn't do anything but confess to the truth right then and there.
"Remember when I first came back from LA? That night we talked and you told me all those things about Sebastian, about how you used to trust him and about how bad he hurt you?" Blaine just nodded warily and Cooper took a deep breath, trying to ignore the painful lump forming in his throat before continuing.
"I saw how bad Sebastian had hurt you, Blaine. He hurt you physically with that slushy. He landed you in the hospital, but he also betrayed you… Blaine, you looked so broken and lost that I… I just wanted to do something… Anything! I just couldn't stand to see you like that. I was angry and frustrated and I wanted to hurt Sebastian somehow. I just wanted him to pay for what he did to you."
Cooper felt like he was going to be sick with every word that came out of his mouth, but he knew he had to do it. He had to tell the whole truth. Blaine was silent, mouth open and brows furrowed as Cooper kept talking.
"I saw him on your Facebook, and tracked him down at a club… That's how we met. I went after him with this whole plan inside my head. I just wanted to get Sebastian to think I was interested in him… I started flirting with him, just because I wanted him to fall for me, just so I could…" Humiliate him, Cooper's mind supplied, but he couldn't dare to say it out loud. "I had planned it all out in my head just like any other acting job, you know? It was just a game to me. I know it sounds stupid and vile but that is the truth."
Blaine narrowed his eyes and shook his head in complete disbelief, and Cooper felt his heart twisting inside him. "An acting job? Cooper you can't do something like that just because you're an actor… That is not how the real world works! You can't just play with people like that... What were you thinking?"
"I know… It was just a game, Blaine. I started it all as a stupid game. So don't ask me what I was thinking because the truth is that I don't even know. I wasn't thinking straight. I was stupid and selfish… And I know you probably think that I'm a horrible person, but things changed now… Things are different." Cooper breathed in, gathering the courage to tell Blaine everything. He needed to be honest about his feelings for Sebastian but before he could continue, Blaine interrupted him.
"Does he know?" Blaine asked in a small voice. "Does Sebastian know about this?"
"I do now."
Cooper's world shattered to pieces as he heard Sebastian's voice. He turned around and saw Sebastian standing by the door of the master bedroom. Sebastian was there, he had been there all along! Sebastian was standing there, lips pressed tightly and eyes glassy with unshed tears. For a moment, neither Blaine, Cooper or Sebastian said anything, they just stared at each other in silence. Sebastian must have been in the apartment before Cooper and Blaine got there, and Cooper started to panic as he realized that meant Sebastian had heard absolutely everything.
Cooper couldn't talk, couldn't think, and he felt like he couldn't breathe. Cooper felt like the room was spinning around him, the silence was overwhelming and suffocating, but he was unable to speak as he just took in the look of complete betrayal that Sebastian had as he looked straight into his eyes from where he was standing.
"S-sebastian… I can explain." Cooper managed to say, with pleading eyes, but at the sound of Cooper's voice Sebastian's expression hardened.
"Don't bother." Sebastian replied, giving Cooper a dismissive look from head to toe before turning to look at Blaine instead.
"I'm sorry, Blaine. I just… I'll just go now."
Blaine looked horrified, his eyes wide and panicked as he stared at Cooper and then at Sebastian. Both brothers were completely unable to even move as Sebastian walked past them, reaching to grab his blazer on his way out. Cooper reached out to grab Sebastian's arm to try to stop him, but Sebastian flinched away as if Cooper's touch had burned him.
"Don't touch me!" Sebastian hissed before storming out of the apartment.
Cooper just stood there, frozen for a few seconds; his mind was reeling but he knew he couldn't let Sebastian walk out without talking to him. "Stay here." He told Blaine before rushing out the door, going after Sebastian. He glanced down the hallway and saw the elevator doors closing up, so he knew had to hurry if he wanted to catch him. Cooper ran as fast as he could, almost tripping down the stairs but he didn't care. He had to reach Sebastian before he exited the building.
"Sebastian… Wait!" Cooper yelled frantically but Sebastian only walked faster, pushing the doors open and practically sprinting towards the parking lot.
Cooper kept calling after Sebastian like a mad man, not caring what the neighbors or any bystanders would think of him, but Sebastian did not stop or turn around. Sebastian just kept walking straight up to his car and started fumbling with his keys, trying desperately to open the door.
"Sebastian... Please don't leave! I can explain… Please just listen to me!" Cooper begged, but Sebastian just shook his head with his back still turned to him. Sebastian didn't even want to look at him, he just opened the door to his car to get in, and in that moment Cooper desperately grabbed him by the arm to try to stop him.
"Let go of me!" Sebastian yelled, pushing Cooper away from him. Sebastian pushed him so hard that Cooper almost lost his balance, and when Cooper looked into his eyes it was like a stab to the heart, because he realized that Sebastian was crying. His eyes were rimmed red and there were tears staining his face, but he didn't only look sad, Sebastian looked angry as well.
This was his fault, Sebastian was crying and Cooper realized he was to blame… and it killed him. "Sebastian, please… I am so sorry, just please let me explain." Cooper pleaded, trying to get close to Sebastian again.
"No! Don't you ever fucking touch me again!" Sebastian yelled, pushing Cooper one more time. The quick motion must have hurt his ribs because Sebastian winced in pain and grabbed his side with one arm as he wiped the tears off his face with his other hand.
Sebastian kneeled down on the floor, trying to catch his breath. Cooper wanted nothing more than to hold him and help him, but he knew if he tried to touch him again Sebastian would push him again and risk hurting himself even more.
"Are you okay?" Cooper asked, but Sebastian just huffed.
"I'm fine… I don't need your help!" Sebastian hissed, slowly getting up on his feet. "You've done enough."
Sebastian stared intently at Cooper. His gaze was full of sadness and betrayal, and Cooper searched desperately for what to say to make things right, but he knew there weren't enough words in the world to express how much he regretted what he'd done.
"I'm so sorry."
"Are you? Cause for what I heard, I think your plan worked just the way you wanted it to!" Sebastian replied bitterly. "You wanted to hurt me? To humiliate me? Well congrats, you did a great job!"
Cooper knew what he had been doing to Sebastian was wrong, but hearing him saying it out loud made Cooper feel even worse.
"You tricked me into believing you actually cared about me, and screwed me over… Literally. Did you enjoy yourself?" Sebastian asked bitterly, "God, I'm such an idiot. I should have seen it right from the start. That night at the club when we first met... I bet you paid that guy to jump me in the restroom just so you could barge in and be a hero, didn't you?"
"No! I would never do that! Sebastian..." Cooper tried but Sebastian didn't let him speak.
"Oh really… Why? Is that too far below your moral compass? Cause I thought you didn't have one!" Sebastian hissed, but his eyes were welling up with tears again. "It's funny, you know? How bad I felt for lying to you about my age, when all along you were lying about everything and you didn't even care!"
"I do care… Believe me, I do. Sebastian, all those things you heard me tell Blaine are true, but that was before… I have no excuse for what I did, I was an idiot and an asshole, but that was before I actually got to know you. You have to believe me, please… All that time we spent together, all the things we shared were special to me. The truth is that as I got to know you, I started to fall in love with you, and that love is real… It's real Sebastian!"
"Love... Right." Sebastian said sarcastically, wiping the tears from his eyes. "I bet you love me as much as you love what I did to Blaine."
"I'm not lying... I love you, I really do!"
"Stop saying that! Just stop it… Please!" Sebastian begged. The tears were now fully streaming down his face, and he looked utterly broken. "You don't love me! You never did! So just stop... Just shut up!"
It was in that moment that Cooper realized the severity of what he had done. He'd broken Sebastian's heart, and no amount of apologizing would ever take it back. All the horrible lies Cooper had built their relationship upon had come crashing down in the worst possible way and there was nothing he could do to take it back.
"I wish that I could turn back time, and do things right. I never meant to hurt you. I love you... Please forgive me." Cooper pleaded, almost whispering. He meant every word, he did love Sebastian and he was truly sorry. Cooper was desperately hoping Sebastian would believe him, but in front of him Sebastian just shook his head slowly.
Sebastian stared at him for the longest time, his expression was broken and raw in a way Cooper was sure he would never forget. Sebastian wiped the tears away from his face one last time, taking a deep breath. Cooper could tell Sebastian was struggling inside as he looked down to the floor and then up at the sky, and he couldn't help the tiny glimpse of hope that fluttered inside him as he waited for Sebastian to say something… to say anything. Every silent second felt like torture to Cooper, but he knew he'd had his chance to speak and now the ball was in Sebastian's court. Cooper didn't want to say anything, hoping Sebastian would accept his apology and give him a chance to make things right, but when Sebastian finally looked at Cooper again he just sighed and said: "Every word you say sounds like bullshit to me."
Sebastian's words felt like ice water dropping over Cooper's head. Sebastian wanted nothing to do with Cooper anymore, and he deserved it. Cooper knew he deserved this, but that didn't make it any easier to watch Sebastian turn around and walk away from him.
"I'm sorry." Was all Cooper could gasp out, swallowing against the lump in his throat… It felt like he'd already said it a million times, but it didn't matter. No amount of apologies would ever be enough to fix this.
Sebastian didn't even spare another glance towards Cooper as he got into his car and drove away. They were done, it was over. Sebastian was gone and Cooper had never felt his heart ache so bad before. It was a painful and suffocating feeling of helplessness and regret that overwhelmed him to the point where he couldn't even stand on his feet anymore. Cooper could do nothing but fall to his knees as the tears he'd been fighting all along finally streamed down his face.
"I'm sorry… I'm so sorry." He kept repeating, even though Sebastian wasn't there to hear him anymore.