Worlds Apart Chapter 14: Bringing The House Down, a glee fanfic

So here I am! And here's Worlds Apart, with a brilliant new update (if I do say so myself ;P)!

I've said it a hundred times before, but I love each and every one of you who reads this fic, you mean so much to me. And you reviewers are just amazing. Every time I get the email saying I have a new review, I can't help but think it's something bad. But then you go and make me smile and I love you all for it!

Shout outs to TanyaUchiha (Welcome back! I missed you!), Ittlebitz, The Songbirds Are Singing (for a review that made me laugh like a maniac), When-I-Die, and Jennyanydots (I wish I could reply to your review, it was absolutely beautiful and all kinds of brilliant and I loved it!). And a massively huge thank you to Verdandil for the amazing work of translating Kurt's French - seriously guys, go shower this wonderful person in all your love.

And now, without further ado, I bring you a (much-anticipated, I believe) chapter of Worlds Apart!

Bringing The House Down

Regionals is upon the glee clubs and while the Warblers a ready to rock it, New Directions still seems to be having some issues. But when you're a family (and New York is on the line), you do what you have to and this year's Regionals will certainly be unforgettable. Featuring ND bitching, sensible Tina, some well-deserved and much needed solos for a certain two Warblers, some Quick angst and a sweet surprise that's been a long time coming.

This was possibly the most important day New Directions would ever have to face. But Will was sure that they would rise to the challenge and sweep through Regionals to take the trophy.

He knew they'd been having some trouble lately amongst themselves. Since the Valentine's Day drama, Rachel and Quinn were still locked in their own little competitive world for Finn, and he'd heard all about that party where Blaine had kissed Rachel and lost the respect of the entire group. With all the whispers and the pointed ignoring of the poor kid and the massive fight that had exploded in the choir room one practice when Finn had blamed Blaine for his predicament at home, it was hard not to notice what was going on with the kids.

And then there was the song writing, which hadn't gone to plan for quite a while until Rachel came in one day saying she had the perfect song, and the group had managed to come up with what Will thought was a damn good anthem. So at least that was under control. A little last minute, but under control.

He hoped that, since today was so important to all of them, they would all be able to overcome whatever difficulties they still had with each other in order to win Regionals. They needed to. If they didn't, they wouldn't be going to New York and who knew what Figgins would do to the glee club? There was a lot riding on this performance.

But the atmosphere in the bus on the way to the competition wasn't exactly reassuring.

"Kurt, come and sit with me," Santana offered, shooting the boy beside him the subtlest of glares. Blaine either didn't see it or just ignored it, sighing and resting his head against the window. Kurt shook his head firmly and said, "Je veux m'asseoir avec Blaine."

I want to sit with Blaine.

"Kurt," Mercedes tried. It was Will's turn to sigh now. Despite the obvious fact that Kurt and Blaine had made up after that unfortunate incident he'd heard about, the rest of the group weren't letting the former Warbler off too easily. But Will needed them to focus on the competition now else they wouldn't be going anywhere. Rachel should understand that. But the diva was being miserable up the back of the bus near Artie. There was so much tension and resentment in the air that it made Will want to just tell them all to get over it – their futures in glee club were at stake and he didn't want to watch it all crumble away because they couldn't work together.

"No!" Kurt yelled suddenly, surprising everyone. Will's gaze was drawn to the boy who was now standing (not exactly the safest thing to do on a moving bus), gripping the back of the seat to keep himself steady, and glaring at all of his friends individually. Some averted their eyes when he looked at them; others stared back with intrigue and slight confusion. When Kurt spoke, it was in a low tone that carried across his anger and frustration in a way his words couldn't.

"Arrête de me dire quoi faire! J'ai pardonné Blaine et tu devrais respecter ça! Tu n'as pas besoin de l'aimer, mais tu peux au moins avoir la décence de me laisser faire mes propres decisions!"

Stop telling me what to do! I hate it! I forgave Blaine and you should just respect that! You don't have to like him but you can at least have the decency to let me make my own decisions!

At the end of his rant, Kurt sat back down next to his boyfriend and took his hand. Blaine smiled tiredly at him and squeezed it reassuringly. The rest of the group was either stunned speechless or just didn't want to say anything.

Will turned back in his seat, hoping that for the most part, the issues between the glee members were over.

If they were going to win, they had to be.

By the time they'd reached their destination, absolutely no progress had been made.

Will had had to check the glee club in while they bickered and glared and ignored each other, separating into little groups depending on whose side they were on. It had been beyond embarrassing as he'd walked them down the hall with the teenagers muttering in the background, other contestants and guests glancing at the curiously. The Warblers had been sighted and just as Will had waved an obligatory but friendly greeting, half of the New Directions had sent them the darkest looks ever seen. The Warblers had lost their smiles and frowned in confusion as the group passed them by.

Upon reaching the green room, Will had reached the limit of his patience. Once everyone was inside, he fixed them all with a piercing, annoyed stare – that most ignored.
"I have had enough of this," he said shortly "As of this minute, you are all going to be locked in this room. I expect you to have sorted out whatever difficulties you're having with each other and be ready to perform by the time we are required to be in the audience for Aural Intensity and the Warblers. If you haven't worked things out, there is no doubt that we will lose Regionals and our chance at New York, as well as put this glee club in serious jeopardy. You all need to be working together as a group, and the family that I know you've become, if you want to make it past this stage – so sort this out!"

Will nodded in satisfaction at the stunned looks on the teenagers' faces before walking out the door and locking it behind him. His tactics might be a little unorthodox and potentially eyebrow-raising, but he didn't have a choice.

He wasn't going to let them throw everything away when they were so close to attaining their dreams.

As the clicking of the lock echoed in the deathly silence, Finn looked around at his friends and sighed.

"Well that sucks."

"Well it's your fault," Santana snapped, glaring at him "If you and Blaine hadn't been such idiots at that party, we wouldn't be in this mess."

Finn's face screwed up in confusion as Quinn jumped to defend her new boyfriend. "It wasn't his fault. It's Rachel's fault for kissing Blaine. She should have known it would have consequences and backed off."

"Blaine and Finn were supposed to stay sober!" Rachel shot back angrily, hands on her hips "It's hardly my fault if they got drunk! I was simply playing the game."

"Guys…" Tina tried, but failed under the loud, booming voice of Puck.

"Yeah, Blaine was stupid, but Kurt's totally forgiven him so I don't get why you're all still arguing about it!" Finn agreed with his friend, nodding his head fervently. Meanwhile, chaos erupted over whose fault it was that the two boys had gotten drunk, and if Rachel was to blame (the club was evenly split on that one), and whether Blaine should be allowed around Kurt, and then the conversation turned into a 'let's all watch Quinn and Rachel scream at each other for no particular reason'. Blaine and Kurt stayed silent, the former not wanting to get into any more trouble and the latter too busy fuming at his friends' treatment of his boyfriend to be able to speak.

"HEY!"

Everyone fell silent at Mike's loud shout. The boy cleared his throat and said in a quieter voice when all was quiet, "Tina has been trying to say something."

The Asian girl blushed but spoke up now that she had the chance. "You all need to stop. This is why Will locked us in here. We can't just sit here and argue all night. We have to work this out if we want to get out on that stage and win."

"Well, conflict will help me sing my song," Rachel said, tossing her head defiantly "And I don't have any issues with anyone. You all have issues with me."

"See, Rachel, that's just it. You're so condescending and bossy," Tina said before Quinn could tear into her again "You need to lose the attitude. Sure, you can write songs…"

Finn sniggered.

"…and you have a solo tonight, but this is about all of us. And how dare you all argue about Blaine and Kurt like they're not even here!" Tina gestured to the pair she was talking about, turning to them and addressing them directly "Guys, I think that if you're okay – which Kurt, you've clearly said you are – then that should be the end of it. Blaine, you're not perfect and we know that. But you – and Kurt – are better than the rest of us because at least you've sorted your problems out."

Tina looked back to her friends, linking hands with her own boyfriend. "We want to get to New York, right? So let's put all this drama behind us."

They had been arguing over whether to go knock on the green room door or not for ten minutes now, and it was annoying the hell out of Jeff. Couldn't they just make a decision already?

"But remember Blaine said they were still mad with us for that party," David said.

Cameron snorted, "Well, that was hardly our fault."

Thad just rolled his eyes at him. "Look, Blaine got hurt. And so did Kurt, who's our friend too. I don't care what the rest of his 'friends' think, I want to find out how they're going."

Then Mason spoke up to add to Jeff's frustration. "Did you see the way they looked at us when they walked past before? They wanted to kill us!"

"And Blaine looked utterly miserable!"

"Oh my god!" Jeff sighed loudly and stalked towards the green room door, marked with the name of their opponent for the upcoming competition. He knocked twice and waited, hearing the rest of the group join him. There was the sound of muffled conversation and then a call for them to – unlock the door? Jeff frowned and flicked the lock on the doorknob before opening it cautiously.

Inside, the New Directions were in various states of annoyance, anger, boredom or they were just plain upset. Jeff instantly sought out his friend and Blaine smiled when he saw his former group in the doorway.

"Mind if we borrow Blaine for a while?" he asked "And Kurt, of course."

Blaine didn't even bother waiting for anyone to speak – he was out of his seat and running for the door with Kurt in seconds. The Warblers parted to let them through and Jeff nodded and smiled to the remainder of the group in the room before closing the door. None of them seemed to mind.

As soon as the door was shut, Blaine was crushed in a massive Warbler hug, the entire team engulfing him and laughing. They did their best not to crowd Kurt too much, knowing how it might affect him, but only let Blaine up when he objected, saying he couldn't breathe.

"It's only been like, a week or two guys," Blaine grinned, too happy to really care "You're acting like you haven't seen me for months."

"We miss you!" Mason and Liam chorused with a laugh.

"How are you?" Thad asked, switching his gaze between Blaine and Kurt "I mean, you told us what happened after Cameron's…"

The former Warbler sighed, rubbing a hand across his face. Kurt took his free hand and smiled slightly at him, encouraging him to tell them what was going on.

"It's been crazy. Half the group still blames me for what happened – I blame myself as well – and I'm still staying at Puck's for the moment. But Mr Schue just locked us all in there to get us to sort out our problems before we sing. There's so much going on at the moment I think we're all a little stressed and taking it out on each other."

Blaine went on to explain briefly, with a little help from his boyfriend, the circumstances surrounding the different issues with each of the New Directions members. Jeff was lost by the time he got to Finn and Rachel and Quinn and just gave up. And when the Warblers were thoroughly confused by their opponent's twisted and convoluted relationship and friendship difficulties, Blaine just laughed and asked them what they were performing for the competition.

"Ah, we can't tell you," Wes smirked "You'll find out soon enough."

"Well, we can't tell you what we're singing either," Blaine shot back.

The boys laughed, a few who were fluent in French asking Kurt how he was coping and what being Blaine's boyfriend was like. Kurt just chuckled and replied, "C'est difficile, mais c'est ça l'amour. Et je l'aime."

It's difficult, but that's love. And I love him.

There were gagging noises and 'awws' all around once the translation had reached each of the Warbler boys. Kurt just grinned and Blaine wrapped an arm around his boyfriend's waist, pulling him close.

"Blaine, Kurt. What's going on?"

The Warblers parted for the owner of the familiar voice. Will had returned to find out how his strategy had worked out and was raising an eyebrow at the fact two of his group had made it past the locked door.

"Just talking with my friends," Blaine reassured him "The others are sorting things out pretty well actually. We might be able to pull Regionals off after all."

"Don't count on it," Jeff said confidently "You'd be surprised at what we managed to pull out after you left."

"Well, we have fifteen minutes until we have to be out there to watch Aural Intensity. You boys," Will said, directing his last comment to the Dalton glee club kindly "Might want to get going."

The Warblers quickly said their goodbyes to get to their seats, and sooner than perhaps they would have liked, the New Directions were changed, make up on, hair done, and on their way to watch Aural Intensity perform. There was still tension amongst the group but no one was screaming at each other and there was no hair pulling or throats being ripped out. It seemed to be a success so far.

Aural Intensity's performance was okay in Blaine's opinion, but there was no way they were going to win. Not with the New Directions pulling out original songs. But up next were the Warblers and now that they didn't have their lead soloist (he smiled to himself) there was no telling what they might come up with. He settled back in his seat, glancing at Kurt as the group was announced to the stage.

"I wonder what they're going to sing."

"Peu importe ce que c'est, ça va être brillant."

Whatever it is, it'll be brilliant.

The pair smiled and looked back to the stage where the Warblers were assembled. There was no indication of who was singing or what song it was just yet, but when the harmonies burst out from the background singers, Blaine grinned and whispered to Kurt, "Why am I not surprised that it's Train again?"

His grin widened when Jeff stepped out of formation and began to sing.

Now that she's back in the atmosphere
With drops of Jupiter in her hair, hey, hey
She acts like summer and walks like rain
Reminds me that there's time to change, hey, hey
Since the return from her stay on the moon
She listens like spring and she talks like June, hey, hey, hey, hey

It was about time that Jeff got his chance to sing. Blaine knew that so many of the boys had been fighting for solos while he'd been their soloist, and he'd always felt bad for taking away their chances. Some had even stopped auditioning, knowing that they wouldn't get it no matter what they did. But now here was their chance and it seemed Jeff had jumped at the opportunity.

Tell me did you sail across the sun
Did you make it to the Milky Way to see the lights all faded
And that heaven is overrated

Tell me, did you fall for a shooting star
One without a permanent scar
And did you miss me while you were looking for yourself out there

Jeff stood out in front of the rest of his teammates, singing beautifully and with a wide smile on his face. Blaine caught his eye and gave him a thumbs-up – which made his smile grow and pride spread across the blonde's face.

Now that she's back from that soul vacation
Tracing her way through the constellation, hey, hey, mmm
She checks out Mozart while she does tae-bo
Reminds me that there's room to grow, hey, hey

Now that she's back in the atmosphere
I'm afraid that she might think of me as plain ol' Jane
Told a story about a man who was too afraid to fly so he never did land

The Warblers were doing so well, the harmonies flowing smoothly behind Jeff and the blonde commandeered the stage for his own, the audience thoroughly enjoying the performance. Blaine had the sneaking suspicion that they had something else they were going to show off – something to surprise them all – and he was sure it was going to be amazing.

It was the Warblers. How could it not be amazing?

Tell me did the wind sweep you off your feet
Did you finally get the chance to dance along the light of day
And head back to the Milky Way
And tell me, did Venus blow your mind
Was it everything you wanted to find
And did you miss me while you were looking for yourself out there

Can you imagine no love, pride, deep-fried chicken
Your best friend always sticking up for you even when I know you're wrong
Can you imagine no first dance, freeze dried romance, five-hour phone conversation
The best soy latte that you ever had . . . and me

"He's good," he heard someone - Quinn? - mutter under their breath. Blaine nodded to himself with a smile. He'd always known there'd been some remarkable talent in the group that just hadn't had the chance to shine – until now. And Jeff's talent was undeniable. He had the crowd watching his every small move, hanging on every drawn out note and lyric, and he'd put so much familiarity and warmth into the song that it felt like the song was directed to every single individual in the hall, that it was a song about everyone and for everyone.

Tell me did the wind sweep you off your feet
Did you finally get the chance to dance along the light of day
And head back toward the Milky Way

Tell me did you sail across the sun
Did you make it to the Milky Way to see the lights all faded
And that heaven is overrated

Tell me, did you fall for a shooting star
One without a permanent scar
And did you miss me while you were looking for yourself out there

The group ended the song there, fading out nicely to a round of applause. Jeff bowed and grinned, ducking back into his position in the Warbler ranks. No one was more impressed than Blaine, getting to his feet and clapping hardest of all.

As Nick stepped forward and the boys on stage broke out into a new but instantly familiar set of tones, Blaine laughed and settled back in his seat. He'd been right – the Warblers did have something up their sleeve after all.

Right, right, turn off the lights
We gonna lose our minds tonight
What's the deal, yo?
I love when it's all too much
5 a.m. turn the radio up
Where's the rock 'n roll?

Party crasher, panty snatcher
Call me up if you are gangsta
Don't be fancy, just get dancy
Why so serious?

The entire audience was on their feet by this point, clapping to the beat and calling out praise and encouragement, loving the song. Nick was owning it, sliding across the stage like he was born to be up there, smirking and singing and dancing his heart out. The other Warblers were right behind him as well, each and every one of them absolutely perfect. As they danced their way into the chorus, Blaine and half of New Directions was singing along with them – to his surprise.

So raise your glass if you are wrong
In all the right ways, all my underdogs
We will never be, never be anything but loud
And nitty gritty
Dirty little freaks
Won't you come on and come on and
Raise your glass!
Just come on and come on and
Raise your glass!

Nick was so smooth as he got the audience into the performance, his feet moving so fast Blaine could barely see. The Warblers that could also dance and had some sort of training were tossing off moves in the background. Jeff was one of them, drawing a lot of the attention alongside his boyfriend and David as they took up the front of the stage and danced together.

Slam, slam, oh hot damn
What part of a party don't you understand?
Wish you'd just freak out
Can't stop, coming in hot
I should be locked up right on the spot
It's so on right now

Party crasher, panty snatcher
Call me up if you're a gangsta
Don't be fancy, just get dancy
Why so serious?

Now all of New Directions were on their feet and singing along, joining most of the crowd watching the Warblers. Blaine laughed as he looked around at his friends enjoying themselves, not caring that this was their opponent, that they were supposed to be angry at each other, that they had issues and problems to deal with. This was what music was about and Blaine was so glad that the Warblers had managed to show the McKinley kids how unity and team spirit worked. Otherwise they would never be making it to the stage for their own performance.

Not only was Nick good at the singing and the dancing, he was excellent at the comedy side of performing. He acted his way through the bridge, eliciting laughs and giggles from the audience – particularly whatever teenage girls happened to be watching.

Uh, damn, my glass is empty
That sucks!

So if you're too school for cool
And you're treated like a fool
You could choose to let it go
We can always, we can always party on our own

This was possibly one of the best competition performances Blaine had ever seen from the Warblers – including the ones he'd been a part of. There was something different about this one. The energy wasn't the same, or the feelings of excitement being soaked up by the crowd. There was so much more determination to succeed but laced with a desire to just have fun. Someone must have got the stick out of Wes's ass.

So raise your
So raise your glass if you are wrong
In all the right ways, all my underdogs
We will never be, never be anything but loud
And nitty gritty
Dirty little freaks

So raise your glass if you are wrong
In all the right ways, all my underdogs
We will never be, never be anything but loud
And nitty gritty
Dirty little freaks
Won't you come on and come on and
Raise your glass!
Just come on and come on and
Raise your glass!
Won't you come on and come on and
Raise your glass for me!
Just come on and come on and
Raise your glass for me!

The walls were probably shaking with the amount of applause the boys on stage were receiving – none more enthusiastic than Blaine. He was so proud of his friends. They'd proved they were more than a soloist with backing. They were so good, with so much talent hidden within its ranks. They could pull dance moves out of thin air and work them into a routine. Kurt was just as passionate with his applause for the boys who had started to become another set of friends to him. And the rest of the New Directions were cheering for the Warblers as well. As Blaine looked around, he knew that even though they had their own original songs, it was going to be tough to beat a performance that had a reception like that.

"Hey Blaine, can we talk to you?" Mercedes asked quietly.

The boy in question turned, hand still in Kurt's as the glee club made their way backstage. They were due to perform any minute now and really, they didn't have the time to be talking, but the tone of Mercedes's voice told him that he both needed to hear this and she needed to say it.

"We want to apologise," she continued, gesturing to most of their friends behind her "And to you, Kurt. We didn't trust your judgement when you said you'd forgiven Blaine and we should have. And Blaine, even though you hurt Kurt and there's no way any of us are going to forget that, we should have been there for you when Burt kicked you out, and we shouldn't have acted the way we did, especially after Kurt told us the two of you were okay."

"Yeah, I totally shouldn't have yelled at you the other day," Finn said, referencing the fight in which he'd blamed Blaine for his grounding "It wasn't your fault. I was just frustrated."

Blaine smiled. "Thanks guys, but really, you had every right to be mad at me. I made a promise to you and Kurt and I broke that. It's certainly no fun having all of you angry with me, but I kind of deserved it."

"Hey, we're apologising," Santana snapped "I don't do this every day, so just accept it so we can move on."

With a chuckle from most of the group, Blaine held up his hands in mock surrender and said, "Okay! Thank you. It's good we got this sorted."

"Exactly," Rachel piped up "Because I'm due on stage now and New York is on the line!"

The girl marched off, the rest of the glee club following her to get into position. As Puck moved to go, Blaine grabbed his arm to keep him back a moment.

"I know I've already said it, but thank you for letting me stay at your place. I have no idea where I'd be if you hadn't."

Puck just shrugged, replying, "Whatever dude. I would have kicked you out if you weren't back with Kurt. And Burt's totally gonna let you back eventually, so it's not like it's permanent or anything."

Blaine smiled and the three headed towards their places for the performance – they were being announced on stage at that moment. Blaine glanced over at his boyfriend and Kurt grinned, excited. And they had all the reason in the world to be so. This was Regionals, their chance for New York and Nationals. They were singing their own original songs, their own anthem that showed the world what it was like to be them, but that they didn't care how bad it got – it would get better. While Rachel had written her solo performance – which she was singing now, a sad, heartbreaking song she'd called Get It Right – the whole group had contributed on the second song, meaning there were a lot more solo opportunities. It was their song.

So I throw up my fist, throw a punch in the air
And accept the truth that sometimes life isn't fair
Yeah I'll send out a wish, yeah I'll send up a prayer
And finally someone will see how much I care

"I love you," Blaine said quietly, distracting Kurt from the song long enough for him to glance over, smile and give him a quick hug. "Je t'aime aussi."

"You're so good, you know that?" Blaine continued "I mean, you didn't have to take me back."

Kurt raised one eyebrow slowly at him. "Je n'ai jamais eu l'idée que tu étais parti."

I never thought you'd left.

The former Warbler grinned at that and chuckled lightly. "Fair enough. Come on, let's rock this, hey?"

As Rachel faded out and applause rang throughout the performance hall, Blaine took Kurt's hand and they walked out onto the stage along with the rest of the New Directions. Rachel was bowing slightly and as she excitedly introduced her friends to the audience, the new music for their anthem began to play and quickly she burst into the first lyrics.

Yeah, you may think that I'm a zero
But hey, everyone you wanna be
Probably started off like me
You may say that I'm a freak show
(I don't care)
But, hey, give it just a little time
I bet you're gonna change your mind

The crowd was already up on their feet by this point as Santana strutted out and sang her lines with pride and the perfect amount of bitchy sassiness. The group danced behind her, each and every one of them having forgotten the arguments of just a few minutes ago and instead just bringing their best to the song.

All of the dirt you've been throwin' my way
It ain't so hard to take, that's right
'Cause I know one day you'll be screamin' my name
And I'll just look away, that's right

All of New Directions belted out the chorus and Blaine just looked around at all of them as he sang with them, smiling at how focused they were and how much they were enjoying themselves. How united they were in the face of defeat. They had their difficulties with each other but they were proving that every member could come together and fight if they needed to.

Just go ahead and hate on me and run your mouth
So everyone can hear
Hit me with the worst you got and knock me down
Baby, I don't care
Keep it up and soon enough you'll figure out
You wanna be
You wanna be
A loser like me
A loser like me

Finn sang now and the audience was cheering him along. He wasn't as coordinated as the rest of the group when it came to the choreography but he was doing his best to keep up. He certainly had the watching judges and other people in the palm of his hand, shouting encouragement and some – Blaine saw some of the Warblers joining in on this – pumping their fists in the air.

Push me up against the locker
And hey, all I do is shake it off
I'll get you back when I'm your boss

Blaine strode to the front of the stage with Sam and pointed out into the audience as he sang alongside his friend, grinning at the cheers and calls he got from the Warblers. He knew if he was still with them and at Dalton he would have gotten an entire solo for Regionals, but as much as he missed them he wouldn't change anything for the world.

I'm not thinkin' 'bout you haters
'Cause hey, I could be a superstar
I'll see you when you wash my car

Blaine stepped back and let Mike, Puck and Artie take over the next verse, voices fitting together perfectly as they always did. There wasn't enough praise for the three boys, half the people watching singing along now that they knew the words.

All of the dirt you've been throwin' my way
It ain't so hard to take, that's right
'Cause I know one day you'll be screamin' my name
And I'll just look away, that's right

Blaine had to hold back a laugh mid-lyric as he and the rest of the glee club danced their way into the hearts of every single person in the hall. Even the judges were smiling – albeit barely noticeable. New Directions had this prize in the bag and everyone knew it. But the best was still to come – in Blaine's opinion.

The girls – Tina, Quinn, Brittany and Mercedes – formed a line and left the others behind them. In the middle of their line was Kurt, and his voice rang out as the girls backed him up. They all held out their hands, fingers in the shape of L's, and Blaine knew Kurt was loving this more than he would ever admit.

Hey, you, over there
Keep the L up-up in the air
Hey, you, over there
Keep the L up, 'cause I don't care
You can throw your sticks, and you can throw your stones
Like a rocket, just watch me go
Yeah, L-O-S-E-R
I can only be who I are

Reforming, the New Directions were one unit, one group, one family as they finished their original song. Mercedes was clear in the background, Rachel strong, Finn beneath both of them, Blaine and Kurt side by side and dancing, the audience shouting back every word of the song, Aural Intensity and the Warblers not caring that they were more than sure to lose.

There was nothing better than this.

At this point, Mike had dashed off stage and was coming back with a fake slushy machine, red confetti churning away inside. As he passed each of the singers they grabbed a cup of confetti from him and smirked at each other. Blaine, with his free arm, grabbed Kurt around the waist and held his cup high, the others copying the latter action as they told the world just what they'd always wanted to say.

A wave of shining red confetti rained down over the first few rows of the audience as the group threw their 'slushies' and the music cut, signalling the end of their emotion-packed performance. The crowd was still cheering for them while they bowed and some of the girls blew kisses. Eventually they made their way off the stage and the moment they were away from prying eyes, they all pulled each other into a group hug.

"Guys," Finn grinned, looking around at all of them "I think we just won Regionals."

There were shouts all round interspersed with hugs and kisses on the cheek or lips. Santana grabbed Brittany around the waist and was laughing, Sam and Mercedes celebrated with a chaste forehead kiss, Artie and Mike high fived each other, Rachel reluctantly bumped fists with Puck – this was the New Directions that they had lost for a little while amongst the petty arguments and fights. This was the slightly twisted family Blaine knew they were.

He turned to Kurt, preparing to hug him or congratulate him on a brilliant almost-solo. But he was taken completely by surprise when Kurt lunged at him, still smiling, wrapped his arms around his neck, and crashed their lips together.

In the split-second that Blaine didn't know what was going on, he shoved Kurt away out of shock. He hadn't expected that whatsoever and it had stunned him into just reacting. When his brain finally caught up with what was going on – Kurt just kissed me – he realised that had been entirely the wrong thing to do. Not only did it say he didn't want to kiss Kurt (which he most certainly did), it had scared him and now the pale brunette just stood there, trembling, hand to his mouth. Blaine – and the rest of New Directions – stared as Kurt choked out "I'm sorry!" before stumbling back and running.

"Can someone explain to me what just happened?" Tina said, one hand on her hip, blinking in confusion and staring at Blaine; as were the others, all just as surprised as she was. Blaine swallowed and almost tripped as he scrambled to follow his boyfriend, tossing an "I'll be back" over his shoulder as some sort of explanation.

He left his friends behind and raced down the corridors that constituted backstage to find Kurt. He was having a hard time locating him – none of the staff had seen him and after a few minutes Blaine was beginning to get desperate. How many places could there be to hide? And then a sudden thought occurred to him – Kurt had been scared. Where else would he go but somewhere he thought was safe? He backtracked and made his way towards their allocated green room, hoping he was right. As he neared the room he heard the sounds of familiar crying and his heart dropped.

Skidding to a stop outside the door, he tried the handle. It was unlocked and he pushed it open, looking inside to find his boyfriend. Kurt was curled up on one of the couches, knees to his chest and hands to his face. He was still shaking but Blaine knew this was nothing like his panic attacks. This was just plain shock and horror.

"Kurt?" He didn't want to scare him. Regardless, the boy jumped and lifted his head, staring at the other in terror. Before Blaine could say anything though, Kurt got to his feet and ran to him, slamming into his boyfriend and holding him tightly like he was afraid he was going to disappear if he let go.

"Sorry, sorry, sorry, sorry," Kurt kept repeating, mumbling and crying into his boyfriend's shoulder. Blaine couldn't move – Kurt was holding onto him too tight for that and he was frozen with confusion. None of this made any sense. He managed to lift his arms a little to wrap around the brunette's waist, quietly reassuring him, "It's okay, you don't have to be sorry, you didn't do anything wrong."

Kurt looked up, tears streaking his face and eyes red from crying. He sounded confused when he said, "Je t'ai embrassé quand tu ne voulais pas que je le fasse; ce n'est pas correct. J-je pensais que tu le voulais, mais..."

I kissed you when you didn't want me to; it's not alright. I-I thought you wanted to, but…

Blaine finally succeeded in prying the other's arms loose enough for him to move. He put his hands on Kurt's shoulders and looked him in the eye so there was no doubting what he was about to say. "Kurt, I do want to kiss you. You just caught me off guard and I reacted without thinking about what I was doing. I didn't mean to push you. I'm the one who should be sorry, and I am."

When his boyfriend just blinked like it hadn't sunk in, Blaine gently steered him towards the couch and sat them down. Kurt nestled into his side while the other wrapped an arm around his shoulder and spoke quietly to him. "Are you okay? Did I hurt you?"

Kurt nodded, pulling himself closer and Blaine understood that to be 'I'm fine'. Taking a breath, he asked the second question on his mind. "Why did you kiss me? I mean… why now? Was it about the party? About what I said, that I thought Rachel was you and I wanted to kiss you?"

"En quelque sorte." Sort of. Kurt sighed and looked up at his boyfriend, seemingly hesitant. "Je savais que tu voulais m'embrasser. Depuis toujours, probablement. Mais j'avais trop peur...

I knew you wanted to kiss me. Since forever, probably. But I was too scared…

"That's okay, Kurt. You're allowed to say no if you don't want to do something."

The brunette flinched at that and Blaine made the mental note to ask about it later. But Kurt was still talking and so he listened carefully to the explanation being given.

"Après la chanson... Je veux dire, j'étais si content et excité. Et je t'ai juste regardé et... j'ai voulu le faire. Mais je t'ai blessé."

After the song… I mean, I was so happy, and excited. And I just looked at you, and… I just wanted to do it. But then I hurt you…

While he was getting a warm, fuzzy feeling in his tummy at the thought that Kurt had decided to be so brave and that he'd done it because he'd wanted to instead of thinking he had to, Blaine heard the pain and the fear in the boy's voice and his choice of words made him curious. He hugged Kurt and pressed a soft, quick, barely-there kiss into his hair.

"You didn't hurt me, you just surprised me."

Kurt looked at him, puzzled. "Mais... vraiment? Je veux dire... Il..."

But… really? I mean… he…

"Kurt?" Blaine asked, shaking him gently "What are you talking about? Who's 'he'?"

His boyfriend shook his head firmly, clearly ending the discussion. Blaine was still curious to know what he meant but didn't push. Kurt would tell him eventually, when he was ready. Besides, they had more important things to talk about.

"Do you still want to kiss me?" he asked so quietly he may as well not have said it.

Kurt hesitated for only a second before nodding, a small, traitorous smile of hope crossing his face before he supressed it. Blaine smiled, cupping the other's cheek in his hand gently and whispering, "Then go ahead."

With wide eyes, the brunette stared at him for such a long while that Blaine thought he'd changed his mind about the whole thing. And he didn't want to just jump in and kiss him himself (well, he did, but that wasn't the point). He wanted this to be on Kurt's terms. It was only fair. But finally, just as Blaine was about to ask if everything was okay, Kurt hesitantly leaned forward and their lips met.

In his mind, he would always remember that surprise kiss, but this would be the one he would call his first kiss with Kurt. It was very slow and careful, testing and letting all the feelings settle in them. Kurt was unsure and unpractised but Blaine didn't mind in the slightest – especially when the brunette slid into his lap and draped his arms around his neck. When they finally broke apart they stared at each other with matching dazed smiles. Kurt let out a small giggle escape him before biting his lip, still grinning.

"C'était..." That was…

Blaine laughed breathlessly, "Perfect?"

Kurt nodded, darting in quickly and kissing his boyfriend's nose before cuddling up against his chest. Blaine just smiled and held him close, feeling as if he could live in this moment forever.

They were interrupted by calls from down the hallway; from the sound of it, it was some of the boys searching for them. The former Warbler lifted Kurt to his feet and followed him to the door, both still in some sort of happy haze as they made their way into the corridor and almost ran into Artie, Mike and Sam.

"There you are! Come on, they're about to announce the winners. And Blaine, your other friends were looking for you. We didn't tell them what was going on with you and Kurt… wait, what is going on now?" Sam asked, looking between the two of them.

"We're okay. Just a misunderstanding." Blaine blinked and grinned, pulling his boyfriend closer. The pair slipped around the boys that had come to look for him and headed towards the area where the glee clubs would be gathering to go on stage and hear the announcement. Sam, Mike and Artie watched them go, frowning.

"What just happened?" Artie asked. Mike just rolled his eyes and pulled out his phone to text the others and tell them the boys were found.

"You're all idiots," he said as they followed the two "It's obvious. Kurt's finally at the stage where he's okay with kissing Blaine. You saw them before."

"That's my boy," Artie laughed.

"And this year's winners of Regionals, who will be going on to Nationals in New York, are… the New Directions!"

It didn't really come as a surprise, Puck thought as they screamed and jumped around on stage, celebrating their win and taking the trophy to hold up high in victory. He joined them of course – it was a pretty awesome win if he did say so himself. He even spared a glance at the Warblers in second place. They looked gutted but putting on smiles for their friend going on to Nationals. And then the party was moved backstage where the groups could get together – and while Aural Intensity stalked off in defeat, the Dalton boys were mixing with the winners as soon as they were off the stage.

Puck stepped back a little and watched the scene unfold. The Warblers surrounded Blaine and Kurt – who hadn't let go of each other since that awkward kiss earlier. He'd seen that himself and it had not been pretty. But at least they seemed to have worked everything out, if the dopey grins and the lovestruck looks in their eyes were anything to go by. (Really, it was kind of annoying how cute they looked, but Puck would never say that out loud. And besides, Kurt deserved to be happy, right? Especially after everything that had happened to him. And if keeping Kurt happy meant watching him be cute enough to make him want to puke, then Puck would suffer through it. Not that he, you know, cared that much. Honestly). The boys congratulated the other members of New Directions as well, but their encouragement and praise was mostly focused on Blaine. And when Klaine (you know, because everyone was calling them that now) kissed in front of all of them, the Dalton boys went crazy. It was obvious they understood how important that was and they now had something else to congratulate the pair for.

"Come on, Puck!" Finn shouted, gesturing for him to join the fray and celebrate their win (they were going to freaking New York!). Allowing himself to smile, Puck walked back to the group and was immediately almost suffocated under a mass of hysteria and pressing bodies. When he was able to breathe, he laughed. A couple of hours ago they'd been fighting and barely able to look each other in the eye. Now they were back to that freakish, weird family thing they had going.

"What are you laughing about?" Quinn chuckled from beside him. Puck slid an arm around her and grinned, spinning the blonde to face him. Yeah, so maybe he missed her a little. But she was Finn's girl and after the last time he'd stolen Finn's girl (like, twice or something, he wasn't keeping track really) he didn't really want to risk that friendship anymore. So he just grinned and spun her, totally not admiring how bright her eyes were under the lights.

"No reason."

"We won. That's a pretty good reason," Quinn replied "And Kurt and Blaine."

"They're all good reasons."

He released her and stood up straight, looking down at her. She really was pretty. He opened his mouth to say something (what that was, he wasn't sure) but was interrupted by one of the Warbler boys shrieking about how it wasn't fair that he hadn't seen this kiss thing coming, was he just stupid, was he a terrible friend? Puck looked up as another voice replied that no, he wasn't a terrible friend but yes, fairly dumb with relationships – hence why he couldn't keep a girlfriend. There was laughter all round and when Puck looked back Quinn had gone, disappeared into the mass of New Directions and Warblers. He sighed.

There were always other girls.

The songs are: Drops of Jupiter by Train, Raise Your Glass by Pink, and Get It Right and Loser Like Me from Glee.

I hope you enjoyed the chapter!

Next: Blaine is always trying to protect Kurt from the evils of the ignorant strangers, but sometimes the poison is much closer to home.