A/N: Thanks for reviewing/following/supporting this and sorry for not updating for so long (life got in the way!). But I'm back and Klaine's not going anywhere ;) In this story, Santana never went to William McKinley High so she never met Brittany in high school but they did meet later on as adults in New York (this mystery will be revealed soon!).
Chapter 14:: In His Darkest Hour
"So MountCrest Publishing is holding this grand dinner event slash tribute to your boyfriend's contributions to the literary world and his books on Saturday night and you're officially inviting us to come?!" Rachel cried out. "Wait, when you say grand 'dinner event slash tribute', can I assume that this is a formal night?"
Kurt raised a cheeky eyebrow. "Well, it's only a semi-formal event so you don't have to go all out necessarily. I even invited Puck, Quinn and two of Blaine's close friends but I had to pull the phone away from my ear cuz Quinn was going hysterical about having to find a dress—"
As Rachel tried to take it all in, he turned to the woman next to her, Brittany Pierce. Ever since Kurt moved out temporarily to stay and work with Blaine, Rachel accidentally came across Brittany at a restaurant while she was dining with Quinn and Beth where Brittany was working as a waitress. She was struggling financially and after anxiously applying to a local dance studio to work as a dance teacher, she was still waiting for a response which could come any day now.
It's been years since Kurt and Rachel have seen Brittany until recently and when Rachel called to tell him that she allowed the blonde to move in (at least until she's back on her feet), he'd been excited to meet her and when he did, it was like old times.
"So...that means we have 48 hours to find a dress for this night?" She questioned, her eyebrows raised in surprise.
"Yeah, sorry I couldn't tell you earlier. Blaine had just decided to go for it so—"
"Kurt, you're free today, right?" Rachel butted in, sipping her hot cocoa to calm herself down. "How about we three ladies go shopping...and you, mister, need a suit as well."
"I already have one back at Blaine's penthouse," Kurt nonchalantly responded. "Quinn already has her dress and she's taking Puck shopping today, something I'm sure he's not exactly excited about—"
"Speaking of Blaine, I'm guessing that we'll get to meet that dashing, handsome and blind man for the first time then?" Rachel smirked, Brittany nodding.
Oh. It was only then that Kurt realized that his close friends were meeting Blaine for the first time and goodness, he wouldn't know what Rachel, Brittany, Quinn and Puck would do when they come down for the tribute event on Saturday.
"I-I guess you're right," he bit his lip. It's gonna be an interesting night...
The sun descended slowly into the city's horizon when evening crept over Manhattan, the blind man cursing that Saturday had already arrived. Too freaking quickly, he might add.
Tonight was one of those rare nights when Kurt was out with his friends once again and due to the heavy traffic, he called Blaine to tell him that he would meet him and Santana at the front lobby of the MountCrest Publishing building instead. The tribute event was scheduled to take place in the banquet hall on the first floor there in half an hour and Blaine was experiencing his monsters again.
Doubt, fear and anxiety attacked him as he knew that this would be the first time he'll ever appear publicly ever since the accident eight months ago and he was beyond terrified...of the press, the probable lack of attendance and worst: the people he'd been horrible to prior.
He nervously fidgeted with his hands as he sat in his bedroom; footsteps filled his hypersensitive ears and he peered up blindly. "Kurt?" he hopelessly called out.
"It's me," Santana replied, solemnly noting how Blaine needed his lover now. "He'll meet us down there later, remember?"
"Ye-yeah," he blushed, humiliated for calling out Kurt's name like a lost child. "We should go soon—"
"Are you sure you're okay?" She cut in, sitting by his bedside. "I promise, everything will be fine tonight—"
"This whole time I thought I've become a better person but...people still think of me as an asshole who deserves to be blind." She looked at him with a concerned frown. "And the worst part is...I don't blame them."
"Oh c'mon, I've seen you change from the person you were before the accident to how you are right now. It doesn't matter what those people think; what matters is that you believe that you've changed—"
"But it's true!" He cried out, "Every time I feel like I'm moving forward, someone reminds me that...I'm still the monster...with a terrible attitude and a cold heart."
"You're not that person anymore. These past few months, I've seen you grow and mature into the man I see now. You've tried to move on and change and I'm proud of you for that—"
"Well, yeah but what if everyone will forever reject me because of how I was? What am I supposed to do?"
"Oh, Blaine, you gotta stop." She shook her head slowly, sighing when a tear welled up in his eyes. "Somehow, you got it in your head that everyone hates you...but you got to let that go. It's time for a whole new chapter in your life. I'm here for you, Graham's here for you—hell, even Nick and Jeff are here for you—but you need to realize that even though you can't see, you found the one man who saw behind your exterior and broke down your walls. And that man is out there right now and he believes in you. Why care about everyone else when you've got your friends and Kurt behind you? And the sooner you see that, the sooner you'll understand what I'm trying to say now...and I swear to God, you'll feel so much better."
A sigh left Blaine's parted lips and a hint of smile appeared, "You know, when I first met you in college, I never knew you'd have a deep side underneath all those walls of yours." He swallowed, "Thanks, Santana."
"You're welcome, hobbit." She stood and helped Blaine up, chuckling when Blaine rolled his eyes. "Kurt really knows what he's saying, you do look very dashing tonight, Mr. Anderson." She surveyed how Blaine was already dressed up for the semi-formal night: beige suit, grey sleek tie, matching pocket square and black loafers as Kurt envisioned. She couldn't help but admire how she'd helped gel and style his hair and made him look devastatingly handsome tonight. While his stubble still hinted at his laid-back style, the blind man looked ready to make anyone swoon.
"I'm sure you look gorgeous as well, Ms. Lopez." He cheekily teased, their arms hooking as they walked out and ready to their Lincoln Towncar below.
The traffic had finally cleared up, something Kurt was relieved about, and after riding the subway to get back to MountCrest, he promised Blaine that he'll meet him in the front lobby there. Graham said that attendees will be seated at the building's theatre first for the tribute ceremony and the dinner reception will be at the banquet hall next door afterwards.
Rachel, Brittany, Puck, Quinn, Nick and Jeff had already gone in and a minute later, Kurt heard footsteps and he turned to see his boyfriend and Santana.
"Sorry I couldn't make it home, the traffic and subway were so packed—" He halted when Blaine felt-reached out for his hand and he immediately recognized the familiar warmth of love radiating from it.
"It's ok, I'm just glad you're here now. I'm glad you guys have always been here for me." The blind man muttered with a smile. While Kurt's heart fluttered at this confession, his mind shut down when he saw just how handsome Blaine looked in the suit he'd picked out.
Fuck, I'm too crazy about this man.
"Wanna head inside now?" Santana asked, observing how these two were adorable together.
"If you are," Kurt answered, looking at a sighing Blaine.
"O-okay, let's do this." He exhaled once more, his grip on Kurt's hand now stronger than ever.
The trio trekked over to the theatre-bound doors and Kurt felt Blaine tremble slightly, "I'm always here for you."
The sentiment made Blaine's eyebrows rise and he smiled when he felt Kurt kiss his hand.
The doorman noticed them and after asking if they were ready, he opened the doors and Blaine felt his heart stop—
"Ladies and gentlemen, the one and only, Mr. Blaine Devon Anderson." The voice of Graham Woods over the microphone was followed by the sudden thunderous applause, cheers and whistles that dominated the atmosphere and Kurt and Santana stopped, stunned, to watch the shockingly fully-packed theatre get on their feet. Graham was standing onstage behind the podium, applauding as well.
Kurt and Santana each broke into a nervous/surprised chuckle and they looked at the blind man between them. "The theatre's packed, Blaine!" He told him.
Before long, they helped lead him down the aisle, watching in awe as the crowd continued cheering on and Blaine remained captivated by the massive amount of positivity thrown his way. This...this was all too much.
"KURT!" The said man turned to see Rachel, Puck, Quinn, Brittany, Nick and Jeff holler at them from where they were in the second row and he grinned at how Nick and Jeff swarmed in to shake hands and hug him amidst laughter and smiles.
"Nick? Jeff? You came here tonight?" Blaine's smile grew from ear to ear, recognizing their voices and the two briefly embraced him once more before letting him go. But Both Blaine and Kurt missed how Brittany fell silent upon seeing the trio.
It's her, the blonde woman thought in disbelief. Santana?
Santana also froze upon seeing her but she had to move on down the aisle to help Blaine up onstage via some stairs.
"Easy now," Kurt cooed as he and Santana led him up to the podium where Blaine received a small hug from Graham. They helped the sight-impaired man with the microphone over the podium and they stood back to leave Blaine alone there.
The cheering from the audience grew louder when he muttered, "Oh wow. I-I didn't expect this. Thank you so much!"
Everyone got back to their seats afterwards and Blaine, nervous as ever, cleared his throat—his pitch black vision certainly didn't help much.
"I wasn't expecting such a huge crowd tonight...um, I really don't know what to say." The crowd laughed and when silence returned, Blaine hesitated, wishing Kurt was right beside him. "W-well, many of you probably don't know this...but I started to become interested in becoming an author when I was only thirteen. I've always wanted to tell stories that would touch people and because we live in a complicated, sometimes tiring society, being able to entertain and draw people away from their stresses through my books was my number one priority."
"Thanks, you guys." Graham whispered to Kurt and Santana as the three stood aside. "I never thought Blaine would agree to this." As Kurt smiled and watched Blaine proudly, Santana couldn't help but peer down at the audience...at Brittany.
It's been eight months since I last saw you, she thought. Why are you here tonight?
"But as you know, I was involved in an incident eight months ago that left me blind. It traumatically affected me and I thought I couldn't continue with my love affair for writing. But my good friends here have been behind me every step of the way and I managed to complete my next novel thanks to them. I know that this ceremony is meant to pay tribute to me but I'd like to personally thank three certain people. Graham, you know I'm so grateful that you didn't give up on me and I'm just glad that we've remained close to this day."
The crowd clapped for him and Graham smiled humbly in return.
"And then, there's Santana Lopez who's my long-time closest friend who chose to give up everything just to take care and tend to me after the horrible accident. Santana, words aren't enough to express how grateful I am for your friendship."
Another round of applause and Santana peered down, ignoring them as she was too afraid, knowing Brittany was there too.
"And lastly, there's Kurt Hummel." Rachel and Quinn's personal cheers then made him chuckle. "We met when he came over to personally help me finish my novel...but something happened during our time together." Kurt noticed how silent the crowd was now and he stared at Blaine who ducked with a bit lip. "We became more than colleagues...we became more than friends. Despite being in my darkest hour, we fell in love."
The public confession made Kurt freeze and he looked up at his boyfriend and not at the crowd. A few 'awws' and gasps rang out but he didn't care.
"I may not be able to see but I know for a fact that I'm in love and..." Blaine's voice cracked. "If it wasn't for his support, I wouldn't be here tonight. So Kurt, wherever you are," he self-deprecatingly chuckled. "Thank you. And I'm not ashamed to say that I love you...so much."
The audience slowly grew into a loud applause this time and Blaine concluded his speech, "So thank you to coming here tonight. I'm so honoured and I'll just hand it over to Graham here to continue the event."
After Graham returned with a speech about Blaine's literary achievements, when the audience got up and left for the dinner reception next door, Kurt quickly advanced towards Blaine to pull him aside.
"I'm not complaining but you do realize you just publicly announced our relationsh—mmph!"
He was blissfully interrupted by his intoxicating lips. "I don't care," he husks lowly before exhaling. "I love you."
"I-I love you too," Kurt's heart died. Whoa, when did Blaine suddenly not care about other people's opinions? "You're really not afraid to say you love me in public like in your speech?"
"Never," he cradled the back of his neck before pulling him for another kiss.
Kurt cleared his throat nervously as Rachel, Quinn and Puck stood before him and Blaine. "Guys, this is Blaine Anderson, my boyfriend—"
Rachel was awestruck at how Kurt snagged his man in the beginning, "I-It's really nice to finally m-meet you, Mr. Anderson. I'm Rachel Berry and—"
Quinn stepped forward, "Wow, it's an honour to finally meet you, Blaine Anderson. I'm Quinn and I've been a longtime fan of your books and when Kurt told me that you two were working together on your next novel, I almost died and—"
Kurt had to halt Quinn's excited ramblings with a chuckle and Blaine simply blushed, he always loved meeting his fans. "It's nice to meet you too, Ms. Fabray. Kurt told me all about you," his charming exterior inadvertently made Kurt melt but he had to laugh when Quinn flashed him a now-I-know-why-you-fell-for-this-man look.
"Could you sign this for me? My daughter at home also loves your books," she presented him with one of Blaine's past novels and Kurt helped Blaine with a pen to sign it, watching on proudly as his boyfriend was clearly regaining his long-lost confidence.
"Dude, how do you dress up so fancy and not see a damn thing?" Puck randomly blurted out and Kurt intervened, shooing them off while Blaine shook with laughter.
With the formal ceremony now over, the more entertainment-centred and celebratory half began in the crowded banquet hall. Kurt'd asked Graham why so many people have come and he simply replied that New York has just so many literary enthusiasts who professionally admire Blaine's work.
Live music was provided on a small stage by a local jazz band and with some floor reserved for dancing, there were round tables, a huge cocktail bar and a buffet to cater to the evening's festivities.
As Kurt watched Santana mysteriously converse with Brittany at a distant table while his friends were off dancing, he turned to see Blaine, slumped in his seat, running a tired hand through his gelled hair, his curls momentarily gaining freedom.
"What's with the face?" He scooted towards him, "Many fans asked for your autograph; so many people came out just to honour you tonight so why do you still look solemn—"
"No, it's just...I didn't expect this at all," Blaine pinched his nose, sighing. "The past eight months, I was so afraid to come out of my shell."
"Well, you've come so far to go back to those dark days." He took his hand, "Now you see what happens when you just have a little more faith and...you can be surprised by what follows."
Blaine teased, "Hate to burst your bubble but I can't exactly see—"
"Shut up and kiss me."
"With pleasure," he felt-reached out for Kurt's cheek and heeds his demand, breathing heavily once they part, the countertenor taking the time to be enthralled by Blaine's devilishly handsome features and pale blue eyes. The DJ unexpectedly changed the soundtrack and the new song playing now made Blaine's eyebrows rise.
"Do you want to dance? They're playing that annoying Katy Perry song I know you're obsessed with now," Kurt suggested, heart-warmingly observing how Nick and Jeff slow-danced in the distance. It suddenly dawned on him that he hadn't heard Blaine sing or even dance—especially since he was the leader of the Warblers back in the day.
"I-uh, I-I haven't danced in a long time, Kurt." He ducked, a bit lip.
"You know I never heard you sing or dance to this day."
The novelist frowned, "Uh-oh, you have that I'm-gonna-help-you-get-back-on-your-feet voice."
"Just found what my new project is. I'm gonna help you swing back into your singing and dancing days. I remember you told me about the 'Gap Attack'—"
"Oh, so helping me regain my confidence these past few months is like a project, huh?"
A fond roll of his eyes, "One day, I'm gonna help you regain your love for singing. And you'll thank me for that—"
"But for now, can we just stay here? I'm not comfortable getting up because the music's so loud and there's so many people—"
"Hey, I'm not forcing you into anything." He threaded his fingers with his, "Speaking of stay, I've been thinking...how would you feel about staying over...at my place tonight?"
"Y-your apartment?" Images of them spending the night, Kurt showing him his place and doing something together flashed in his dark vision. "Tonight?"
"Yeah. I mean, I can cook or we can take out, I've got tons of DVDs or we can just hang out and—"
"Kurt, the answer's yes." He stopped his rambling.
"Really?" He smiled.
"But on one condition: you have to help me learn how to dance again because I want to make up for not dancing with you here tonight—"
"That, I can do. So, tonight, it is?"
"Tonight," he repeated, caressing his hand, beaming. Suddenly, he realized he was spending the night at Kurt's...sharing his old bed...getting a beginner's dance lesson...experiencing Kurt's apartment life before meeting him...sleeping over...fuck, why do I feel like tonight isn't gonna be the same as peacefully sleeping with Kurt back at my place?
A/N: More New-Directions/Niff interaction with Blaine, little Brittana and Klaine spending the night at Kurt's up next ;) Hmmm... Tell me what you think about this!