Just Friends Chapter 26: Just Regionals, a glee fanfic

I just want to say I truly love you all. You all mean so much to me. And you have all saved me. I used to be a mess but now I've changed. Thank you.

thefieryrose13 - I think Regionals would be cool if one of them got a solo, and was all nervous, and the other had to calm him down before he could go onstage. Because that would be totally them. And besides, they need solos.

Jeff could understand why his boyfriend was freaking out and hiding in the green room.

For one, he was performing a solo at Regionals.

But it didn't change the fact that they were on in about three minutes and if Nick didn't get his ass out of that room Jeff was pretty sure the Council would kill him. And a number of other Warblers would certainly help out.

"Come on," Jeff tried for the fifth time "We're on soon."

"Just give the damn thing to Blaine," Nick pleaded from the other side of the door "I don't want it."

Jeff rolled his eyes with a small smile, "That's not what you were saying yesterday."

"I can't do it, Jeff."

His voice was so quiet and sounded so afraid that Jeff paused for a moment. Then, with a determined sigh, he said, "Nick, can you at least open the door so we can talk about this face to face?"

There was a long (too long) pause before the door was unlocked and opened to a worried Nick. Jeff smiled at him and it was all the brunette needed to just collapse in his arms and bury his head in the other's shoulder. Jeff rubbed his back comfortingly, shaking his head at how worked up the brunette had become over the performance.

"I can't do it," Nick mumbled again "I can't."

Jeff pulled back to look him in the eyes with a small smile. "You can, Nick, you just don't believe it."

"I'm sorry." Nick sounded torn and hurt, looking into Jeff's eyes as he apologised "I'm letting you down, but Blaine should do it. I know he can. Hell, he can probably pull some random song out of his ass and do it better than I could."

Jeff frowned. "Don't you dare think like that. Just because Blaine's always got the solo doesn't mean he's better than you. You are just as good as Blaine and you're going to go out there and show everyone just that. I know you can."

"What if I screw up?" Nick blinked, staring at the ground "What if I ruin it? What if we lose Regionals because of me?"

Jeff grabbed his shoulders and shook him. "Hey, don't freak out on me now. You have no reason to be nervous. I'll be right there with you as well. And you've been practising this song for so long, I think you could sing it in your sleep – you won't mess it up."

Nick managed a small smile. "You think so?"

"I know," Jeff smiled, hugging him once more before pressing a soft kiss to the brunette's forehead "Now come on, we're about to go on."

His boyfriend paled visibly but he bit his lip and took the blonde's hand in a deathgrip, following him as they made their way to the others. Trent was the first one to catch sight of them and he smiled.

"You good to go?" he asked, patting Nick's shoulder.

The brunette swallowed and nodded, managing to prize a "Yeah" out from his constricted throat.

"We're on in about one minute guys," Thad's voice echoed, making Nick panic even more "Be ready."

Jeff turned to his boyfriend and forced him to make eye contact with him. "Hey, baby, come on, calm down. You're going to be fine, but not if you don't relax. We don't want you passing out onstage. Deep breath."

Nick did as he was told, taking a deep breath and sighing. He loosened his grip on Jeff's hand though he kept their fingers entwined, and he rested his head on the blonde's chest, continuing to breathe deeply.

"Better?" Jeff asked as he ran his fingers' through the brunette's hair. Nick lifted his head after a moment and nodded, pasting an attempt of not-panic on his face, a hesitant smile gracing him.

"We're on!" Thad called and the boys began to file onto the stage. The curtain was still down, leaving the Warblers to get into formation without an audience – and giving Jeff the chance to kiss Nick on the cheek quickly with a smile and whisper 'good luck' before ducking into his place.

"Please welcome, from Westerville, Ohio – The Dalton Academy Warblers!"

The curtain rose and Jeff knew his boyfriend's anxiety would be back when he saw the audience in front of them. He wasn't sure if it was a curse or a blessing that Kurt and Blaine's duet was up first – it gave Nick a chance to calm down, but also panic about his impending solo. Jeff sung the backing to Candles, watching Kurt and Blaine sing to each other perfectly and with small smiles. Not for the first time, Jeff wished it was himself and Nick that was out there right now singing that duet; that way, Nick wouldn't be so nervous and Jeff just couldn't think of anything better considering how they'd both been vying for a solo for so long. But he couldn't begrudge Kurt for finally getting the opportunity to shine onstage, knowing he'd never really had the recognition that he honestly should have gotten. And they looked so happy out there, singing to each other in front of everyone in that audience without the slightest care in the world.

Sooner than he'd thought the song was finished. There was applause and Jeff couldn't hold back a grin at the thought that this was Nick's shot. This was his turn to show everyone how talented he was. He could see from where he was standing that Nick was trembling slightly, but as Blaine and Kurt felt back into formation the latter patted him on the shoulder encouragingly, smiling to him. A moment later and Jeff was singing out the first lines to his boyfriend's solo (and he'd fought ridiculously hard to be the one to sing those lyrics), the Warblers backing him up with harmonies and echoes.

A-A-A-All I could ever need in love
(Ay!)
Oh yeah we got it, we got it, got it, g-got it shawty
Y-y-yeah we got it, we got it, got it, g-got it shawty

Nick stepped out from the group of Warblers and began to sing, flashing quick glance back to his boyfriend. Jeff smiled, encouraging him on.

Baby
Baby I'm so glad that I got ya
All of the things I love about ya
Too many to describe but I want you to know that I'll be here

(We got the thing)
We got the thing that everybody else wants, yeah
The way I look at you
I know you can't deny it
Oh baby
We got this thing on lock
Don't you worry they just jealous
'Cause they ain't got what we got

'Cause girl we, we got
Everything that I want in love
We, we got, all I could ever need in love

The Warblers had returned to their usual shuffle by now, Nick ahead of them and moving across the stage with a massive grin. The audience was clapping along, smiles on their faces as Nick fell into the routine and sang for his life. Jeff caught a glimpse of his face as he slipped in his own lines – the brunette was more than enjoying himself.

Oh yeah we got it, we got it, got it, g-got it shawty
Y-y-yeah we got it, we got it, got it, g-got it shawty
Oh-Oh yeah we got it, we got it, got it, g-got it shawty
(All I could ever need in love)

As Nick launched into his next verse he shot a look back to Jeff and winked. The blonde resisted the urge to laugh, settling instead for a grin as he watched the brunette own the stage better than Blaine ever had (not that he was biased in any way).

Baby you see they jealous
They say we don't know love
That's what they tell us
(That's what they tell us)
But baby you and I know
(You and I know)
(You and I know)
That baby this is real, oh

'Cause girl we, we got
Everything that I want in love
We, we got, all I could ever need in love

Jeff once again sang out, safe in the formation of Warblers, as Nick gathered up support from the people in the audience. The blonde knew he should be jealous with the way his boyfriend was fixing his gaze on certain girls and smiling in their direction, but he also knew it was all part of the act – and he'd get him back for it later anyway.

Oh yeah we got it, we got it, got it, g-got it shawty
Y-y-yeah we got it, we got it, got it, g-got it shawty
Oh-Oh yeah we got it, we got it, got it, g-got it shawty
(All I could ever need in love)

You know I
I don't care about money
I'd rather have nothing and still have your loving
'Cause I, I just can't get enough
'Cause we got it got it, we got this crazy thing called love, yeah

(Ay!)

As Nick belted out the long notes, Jeff couldn't be prouder of him. Of course, he wished he could be out there, singing his heart out, but to see the brunette effectively sealing the deal on their Regionals win was just as satisfying. Plus, the way he shook his hips just a little as he walked, a cocky swagger as he moved across the stage to continue singing, was perfectly interesting from where Jeff was standing.

(Ay!)

'Cause girl we, we got
Everything that I want in love
We, we got, all I could ever need in love

We, we got
Everything I want in love
We, we got, all I could ever need in love

Nick finished to a round of applause and he bowed once before ducking back into the safety of the Warblers. The group also bowed to the rousing applause and praise of the audience before the curtain fell and they were alone.

To say chaos hit was an understatement.

Instantly the boys transformed from perfect prep school students to excited, bouncy teenagers on a performance high. Blaine pulled Kurt into a hug and some of the boys congratulated them on their beautiful duet. Many of them tried to find Nick to give the same sentiments on a flawless first solo but he was nowhere to be found.

From backstage, the two boys chuckled in the dim light and Jeff hugged Nick tightly.

"You were amazing."

Nick escaped the hug to look him in the eye with a positively ecstatic expression on his face. "I can't believe I just did that. I cannot believe I just did that."

"Well, you did," Jeff grinned "And you rocked it. There's no way we could lose Regionals after that! You were perfect – just like I said, hey?"

Nick nodded but the blonde was pretty sure he wasn't listening. "I-I-I did that. I just did that. I sang, in front of all those people, and I didn't screw up. Pinch me. Seriously, pinch me. I so did not just do that."

Jeff chuckled softly. "I have a better idea." And he leaned in to gently kiss him. Nick smiled into the kiss, returning it before breaking away.

"Not very helpful. I could still be dreaming," he said with a mock pout. Jeff raised an eyebrow.

"I'm hoping it's a good dream."

"Mmm, perfect actually, now that you mention it," Nick smirked, kissing the corner of Jeff's mouth temptingly.

"Well, it wasn't so perfect for me. I had to watch you flirt with all those girls," Jeff shot back.

Nick chuckled, almost to himself, "It was hardly flirting. And anyway, maybe that was the idea."

"To make me jealous?"

"You are so much fun when you're jealous," Nick teased.

"There you are-" the boys glanced up at the sound of Kurt's voice. He paused when he saw them, rolling his eyes "And now I'm walking away. Oh, and the guys want to congratulate you Nick. Excellent job."

Once Kurt was gone, the two boys laughed and headed out to join their friends.

The second the announcement was made, Jeff knew his boyfriend needed him.

For the moment they were onstage, looking over at the celebrating New Directions and being happy for them – for Kurt, who looked a mixture of upset and incredibly proud. Jeff could see the downcast expression on Nick's face, the way he was fighting his emotions back. Being onstage, neither of them could do anything – Nick couldn't express anything but respect for the other team, Jeff couldn't comfort his boyfriend. He had to settle for a hand on his back, reminding him that he was there and they were going to be backstage in a moment where they could talk.

But as soon as they were backstage and Kurt had rushed off to talk to his former glee club, Nick disappeared. Jeff tried to follow him but lost him in the mass of New Directions and Aural Intensity members that were milling around and chatting, either congratulating each other or moaning over their loss. The blonde edged his way through the other teenagers in search of his boyfriend.

Finally he found him in the green room – kicking the crap out of the walls.

"Nick-"

"I told you," Nick swore, slamming his foot into the wall again violently, making Jeff flinch "I told you I wasn't good enough. I told you Blaine should have done the solo. And I just let everyoned own. We lost because of me."

Jeff grabbed his shoulders and forced him to sit down before he hurt himself. He knelt in front of him and took the brunette's hands, the boy looking away and biting his lip hard.

"Nick, you were amazing out there. Not even Blaine could have topped that performance."

"You have to say that, you're my boyfriend," Nick said sadly, his anger dissipating "If it were true, we would have won. We always won with Blaine as the soloist. When I sing, we lose."

Jeff shook his head. "Look at me."

It took him a moment, but finally Nick turned his head to look at Jeff with sadness and regret. The blonde continued once his boyfriend was focused on him. "You did your best, right?" A nod "Then it doesn't matter what happened, whether we won or not. You did your best and that's all that matters. New Directions just happened to catch the judges' eyes this time. Next year, we're going to win and we're going to go all the way to Nationals, okay?"

Nick smiled slightly and nodded again. Jeff pulled him to his feet and hugged him with a relieved smile of his own. Neither of them moved for a while – not until they heard their names being called down the hall. Then they broke apart and Nick reached up to kiss his boyfriend quickly before they went to calm down the Warblers that had sent out a search party for them in a panic.

As they made it back to the group with Mason and Liam in tow (who had been sent out to find them) the boys found the Warblers and New Directions chatting amiably enough with each other. Jeff was dragged off by Kurt to talk to one of his friends about dance moves, leaving Nick relatively alone – the Kingsley boys had wandered off to chat to a pair of blonde girls from New Directions. He was surprised when someone came up behind him and put both hands on his shoulders.

"Hey there prep boy," a voice breathed in his ear, the source twirling around him to stand in front of him with a smirk. Nick looked the Latina girl up and down before shaking his head.

"Don't shake me off that fast," she said before he could explain, moving in closer "There's a lot I could show a boy like you."

"A boy like me?" Nick couldn't help but play along for a moment, grinning as he wondered where she was going with this. The girl smirked again as she replied. "Dashing. Uptown. Sickeningly naïve and innocent. Cute."

At this Nick had to laugh, annoying the girl. She stepped back and glared at him. "What's the deal?"

"Let me correct you there," Nick smiled, catching Jeff's eye from where he was chatting with Kurt's friend. The blonde realised the situation quickly and raised an eyebrow before excusing himself and starting to walk over.

"Yeah?"

Nick continued, "if you're looking for dashing, try Thad. I think I'm more downtown than up. Sickening I can do, as well as cute – usually at the same time. I am anything but naïve and innocent. And you might want to add taken and gay to that list of yours."

At that moment Jeff reached him and wrapped an arm around his waist. The Latina stared at him for a moment thoughtfully and appreciatively before rolling her eyes and sighing in annoyance.

"Whatever. That is a waste of two fine men – if you ever change your mind, you two know where to find me."

With that, she sashayed off to try her luck with Liam. Jeff and Nick glanced at each other before laughing, the brunette reaching up and supporting his arms on Jeff's shoulders, hands clasped behind the other's head. They rested their foreheads together and the blonde smirked.

"Were you trying to make me jealous again?"

"Is it working?"

Jeff laughed, "You are so in for it when we get back."

"Can't wait," Nick returned with a mischievous grin.

Okay, so I couldn't resist some Santana in there. Sue me ;P

Song is All I Need by Stan Walker.

Reviews and requests are always welcome - I'm starting to run low on requests actually, so if you have anything you'd like to see, just mention it :)