Disclaimer: you know the routine. Blah blah not mine, blah blah amazing beta GLee68, etc etc. :)

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Chapter 28

"Yo Hummel! Anderson! Get on the bus! You can eat each other's faces off later!" yelled Puck.

Kurt and Blaine stepped onto the bus. "Forgive me for sharing a private moment with my boyfriend, Puckerman," said Kurt sarcastically. "We haven't seen each other outside of school for a week." He turned to speak to Blaine. "And by the way, you're still in trouble for missing dinner last night."

"I SAID I was sorry, I fell asleep!" Blaine said exasperatedly. He was sick of being chastised for being tired. He stomped down the aisle of the bus and flopped into a seat in the back.

Kurt cringed, a big "oops" look on his face. "Guess I pushed him too far," he mumbled to no one in particular. He went to the seat where Blaine was pouting and sat down to apologize.

"Who knew that they'd be bigger drama queens than Rachel Berry?" said Lauren.

"I HEARD THAT!" Blaine, Kurt, and Rachel said in unison.

"They'll be fine. You all know that they never fight for more than a few minutes." Mercedes assured the group. Turning to look at Blaine and Kurt, she saw that they were already kissing and making up. "See?" She gestured at them. "No worries."

"ATTENTION EVERYONE!" called Mr. Schuester. "We have some free time on the bus trip ahead of us, so I'd like to do a run-through of our set list, or at least the two big numbers. Unless you'd like the chance to rehearse too, Blaine?"

Blaine shook his head. "Unless you think I need the practice, Mr. Schue, I think I'd be best off saving my voice. The song's short but intense."

"Nope, you're fine. You've been singing it flawlessly every time we've gone over it, so I will trust that you will do amazingly again. Okay, everyone. Finn, Puck, from the top!"

Sectionals was being held at Carmel High's auditorium. Vocal Adrenaline wasn't performing that day, but their auditorium was the biggest and the best in the area and was usually used for most major exhibitions and competitions by lots of different musical groups. The McKinley High kids arrived at Carmel High just as the Warblers' caravan pulled up. Both groups greeted each other as friends but shook hands as competition. While they were here, it was strictly business.

After stopping momentarily at the check in desk to sign in and learn the performance order, the groups parted ways to warm up more and change into their costumes. The boys wore deep purple shirts with silver ties, and the girls wore silver dresses with purple trim and sashes. In the past, all the dresses had been the same style, but to mix things up, all the girls chose their own style of dress to fit their body types best. Kurt had insisted that as long as everyone had the same colors in the same spots, the length and sleeve style wouldn't matter much, and he was right. The girls actually looked better wearing different styles than they would have had they all been the same because their comfort and confidence levels were much higher in clothing that flattered them.

The New Directions would follow the West High School Ensemble from Columbus in performance slot number two, and The Warblers would sing last. Rachel stressed over the fact that they were right in the middle; she thought that they would be forgotten quickly. Mr. Schuester attempted to remind her that their talent would make them memorable no matter when they performed, but once Rachel got into one of her snits, her mind could not be changed. It was best to just let her be.

The West High School Ensemble performed three numbers that were more church choir than show choir and did absolutely nothing to wow the audience or the judges. Their songs were nearly flawless, but they came out wearing choir robes and had no choreography whatsoever. Kurt turned to Blaine and said, "I think they accidentally showed up for the wrong competition." Blaine nodded absently. He was already thinking of his solo in his head, praying he wouldn't mess up the lyrics. He had been singing them correctly in rehearsal, but who knows what nerves would do to him.

Kurt gently cupped Blaine's cheek. "I know what you're doing. Stop it. You're amazing. They're going to love you."

"And now from McKinley High School in Lima Ohio, the New Directions!"

"Fuck," Blaine whispered.

"Go get 'em, baby," Kurt encouraged.

The opening bars began to play, and Blaine made his way to the mic at center stage. All too quickly, his entrance was right there in front of him, and he dove right in. He had never been this nervous before.

Mercedes stepped up next to Kurt in the wings. "Aww, he's so nervous, but he's doing wonderfully."

Kurt looked up at her with pride and tears in his eyes. "He really is, isn't he?"

A couple of measures before the choral part began, the group carefully stepped out onto the risers behind Blaine.

Finally, he took a deep breath and sang the last line.

My land's only borders lie around my heart

The word heart was a long note, and the longer he held it, the more people in the audience began to stand and applaud him. Blaine was actually singing the last line with his eyes closed, so he had no idea that the whole auditorium was on its feet. He cut off the note and slowly opened his eyes, startled at the sight. Kurt came down from the risers and held his arm out, encouraging the audience to continue applauding Blaine until Puck and Finn came down to begin the next number. Kurt grabbed Blaine's hand and pulled them back to the risers. He gave Blaine's hand an encouraging squeeze and mouthed, "See? AMAZING!" to him before they took their respective places for the next number.

Puck, Finn, Santana, Mercedes, and Artie rocked their way through the middle number, and while the girls and Sam were excellent, Kurt's Valjean was the star of the finale. He was able to use a different part of his vocal register that people rarely heard due to his tendency to sing songs mostly done by women, and even the New Directions kids were impressed. They had heard it in rehearsal, of course, but Kurt seemed to shine in competition now that he had one previous solo under his belt.

The New Directions took their final bows and danced off stage.

"That was AWESOME!" Finn shouted.

"We've got this in the bag!" exclaimed Artie.

Puck added, "The Garglers better be prepared to go home with no better than second place."

"WARBLERS!" everyone corrected him.

"You rang?" said Wes from behind Blaine. "You guys were excellent. We have our work cut out for us, but I think if anyone can beat you guys, it'll be us."

"Good luck, guys," Blaine offered.

"For our last performance of the day, from Westerville Ohio, The Dalton Academy Warblers!"

The Warblers trotted enthusiastically on stage and began a set list that included Accidentally in Love with Nick singing the lead, I Don't Wanna Miss a Thing with Trent on the solo, and River of Dreams with Jeff finally breaking his seven audition losing streak and singing the solo on that one. The McKinley kids, knowing the whole story about all of Jeff's auditions, broke out into applause when they saw him take the mic. He gave them a thumbs up and launched into the song. Listening to him sing, they all realized that the only reason he never got a solo was because Blaine was around. He was REALLY good.

After another standing ovation led by the New Directions, the Warblers left the stage, and now that the competition was done, both groups gathered together as friends again in the green room to await the judges' decision.

After chatting amongst themselves for about thirty minutes, the lights flashed and they were called to the stage. The emcee made a little speech thanking everyone for coming to the competition and began announcing the rankings.

"In third place, the West High School Ensemble from Columbus Ohio!" The audience clapped politely as they accepted their trophy and left the stage.

"In second place, and believe me, there was a very tiny margin in between first and second place, the Dalton Academy Warblers, which means that in first place and advancing to the Regionals competition is the McKinley High New Directions! Congratulations everyone, you all did a wonderful job."

Both teams accepted their trophies. Wes stood in front of Blaine with his hand out. "Congratulations to all of you. If anyone had to beat the Warblers, I'm glad it was the team that got you."

Blaine grabbed Wes' hand and instead of shaking it, he pulled him into a man hug. "You guys really stepped up your game. And it was nice to hear the other guys. I'm not sure I've ever even heard Trent sing by himself. They were all very, very, good."

Kurt bounced over to Blaine and Wes. "Hi Blaine! Hi Wes! Good show, Wes. You guys were incredible. Blaine, honey, the rest of the team is requesting your presence – Puck was muttering something about hoisting the hobbit on his shoulders. I'm not sure if that means you should join us or if you should run and call a cab home, but either way, you should figure it out and we should get moving. Wes, call us – we need another New Directions and Warblers gathering soon!"

"Bye Wes," Blaine called as Kurt dragged him away.

Kurt pulled Blaine off into a deep dark corner backstage.

"You were amazing," kiss "extraordinary," kiss "incredible," kiss "exquisite," kiss "unbelievable –"

"Kurt, baby, enough. I love getting kissed by you, but you said the group was looking for me? Won't they find us soon?"

"No, I made all that up. I needed you alone for a moment. But seriously, it was wonderful, sweetie. I am SO proud of you. All of us, really, but especially you."

"And all that stuff you said about me goes double for you, Kurt."

Kurt and Blaine leaned into a kiss and were really getting into it when…

"I KNEW IT! Guys, can you not keep your hands off each other for one minute anymore?"

Kurt sighed. "Mercedes, come on. We've been over this. You've seen him. You've heard him. You know why I can't keep my hands off him."

"Yeah, yeah, I know. But come on. Mr. Schue's going to have a coronary if you guys don't get your cute little butts on that bus right now. He wants to get moving."

Blaine put his arm around Kurt's waist, and Kurt put his around Mercedes, and the three of them walked arm in arm in arm to the bus together, ready for the ride home.

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"Ugh, FINALLY. I don't know why teachers insist on actually trying to teach on the last day of school before winter break. Nothing ever gets done," Blaine complained.

"I know. And Mr. Jones was so engrossed in his lesson on World War II that he didn't even notice half the boys were re-enacting one of the battles right behind his back. How he continued to talk right through all those faux grenade explosions, I'll never know," added Kurt.

"Well, we're out now. What do you want to do first?"

"Did you get your Christmas shopping done yet, Blaine? We could go to the mall if you haven't." Kurt hinted.

"Oh, you just want an excuse to try to figure out what I've gotten you, don't you? Well, it won't do you any good. I've had yours taken care of for weeks now."

"I'm impressed! I thought you'd be a last minute shopper. I know Finn is. He's been bugging me daily about what to get for Rachel. He refuses to believe that she probably won't be completely happy with anything he gets her just because she's Rachel and nothing's ever good enough for her."

"How do you know I'm not a last minute shopper? I just said that I had YOU covered. I do need your help with gifts for everyone else, though," Blaine admitted.

"Okay, let's go!" Kurt said happily. He was always glad for an excuse to go shopping.

With Kurt's help, Blaine got Burt an Ohio State Buckeyes baseball cap, a fancy set of drumsticks for Finn, and a mother's charm necklace for Carole with Finn, Kurt, and even Blaine's birthstones all represented.

"I don't know, Kurt, are you sure she's going to like it?"

"For the millionth time, she is going to love it. And she's going to be especially touched that it came from you rather than from Finn or me."

Kurt had already taken care of his Christmas shopping weeks ago, but he never missed an opportunity to walk through Macy's to see if there was anything he had to add to his wardrobe. Each boy found a brand new scarf for their extensive collections, and after a quick snack in the food court, they were ready to go home.

"I know you have to work at the garage all day tomorrow, but will you come over right away in the morning on the 24th so we can spend the whole day together?" Kurt asked.

"Of course. I was planning on showing up early anyway. I'm going to need your help getting these gifts wrapped." He grinned at Kurt.

"You're lucky you're cute, Mister. I can't always be doing all the work for you."

"Face it, Kurt. If I did the wrapping by myself, you'd be wanting to rip it all off and do it again your way, so we're saving time and paper by just you doing it yourself the first time."

"This is true."

Kurt dropped Blaine off at his door. "So, I'll see you day after tomorrow?"

"Wouldn't miss it for the world."

They embraced and shared a long, sweet kiss. Neither was in a hurry to leave the other, but eventually they broke it off and Kurt headed home. He was getting so excited for Christmas. He knew it was going to be one he would never forget.

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A/N: I despise writing music competitions. I really do. So that's why this chapter sucks. Not to mention that, according to last chapter reviews, this chapter probably doesn't cover what y'all are hoping it will. I'm sorry about that, but to quote the New Directions, o/~ You can't always get what you want... o/~I will be posting some great YouTubes on my profile page of the songs the Warblers sang in this chapter - I found some awesome a cappella arrangements - so make sure you check it out. I promise you chapter 29 is pretty awesome IMO. I less than 3 it very much.

Those of you who have me on author alert will notice I posted a new one shot today called Making it Through. I really love it - it has some tender moments between Kurt and Blaine. It's the story of Blaine's first day at McKinley. Please show me some love, check it out, and tell me what you think!