If Blaine had been asked to write down his top five guesses for who Sebastian had been plotting to have show up here, he still would have been wrong. Actually, if Blaine had been asked to write down his five top choices, they would have all been Kurt, simply because it was the only person he simultaneously wanted to see more than anyone, and was terrified to think about talking to. He wouldn't have even put it past Sebastian to interfere and drag Kurt to his house, but Sebastian hadn't even known the extent of the problems between Kurt and Blaine.
It wasn't Kurt.
It was, however, two former Warblers.
Blaine watched in surprise as Jeff's eyes lit up, and he was off the bed and across the room hugging one of the boys before Blaine even fully had a chance to register what he was seeing. "Wes!" he exclaimed, glancing from Wes to Sebastian to Jeff and back again, before zeroing in on the other boy. "And David. How...Why...What are you doing here?" he asked, bewildered.
Sebastian had a self satisfied smirk on his face. "I invited them," he replied, at the same moment Wes replied, "Sebastian asked us to come." Blaine shook his head. "I didn't know you even knew each other," he said. "You were already graduated when Sebastian took over the Warbler's."
"Doesn't mean we didn't keep tabs on our legacy," Wes replied, smiling as Jeff released him to hug David. Blaine smiled back tentatively. "Sebastian and I have been talking ever since after the...issues last year with the Warbler's when you got hurt," Wes said, quieter. Sebastian winced. "Actually, he's telling it nicely. He called up my cell phone one day out of the blue, I don't even know how he got my number, and proceeded to threaten me with his gavel if I didn't shape up and stop bringing disrespect to the Warbler's. Or something to that effect. He was using too many big words in a very loud voice and I kind of tuned him out eventually."
Wesley shook his head. "Don't listen to him," he ordered. "I just offered my assistance. Said that I knew how tiring leading the group was for a committee of three, never mind one person all alone. Oh, Thad said to say hi, by the way," he told Nick, who had wandered back into the room behind the two former Council members. "He wanted to come, but had too many exams this week."
Blaine's brain was still trying to play catch up while Jeff bounced from David back to Wes, looking slightly like an overexcited puppy. "I can't believe you're here!" he exclaimed. "I thought you would be busy with classes too?"
David shrugged. "I'm local anyway, so I didn't have too far to go. I figured I would just take the weekend off and drive up with Wes once he flew in."
"Sebastian had called a couple weeks ago, looking for another brain to pick to figure out what to do after everything that's happened," Wes explained. "And I actually have a couple of slower weeks, and I figured now is as good a time as any for a short trip back to see the family and visit with old friends. Besides, I needed a break."
"College too much for you, Dr. Montgomery?" Sebastian teased lightly. It was confusing Blaine immensely to have the past and present crashing into each other like this and acting like they were old buddies. It made him realize how little he really knew about the day to day lives of the Warblers. He hadn't even known Sebastian and Wes had ever talked to each other.
Wes rolled his eyes. "College is going fine. But it's a lot of stress you know? And we're just starting to look into our actual specialties. It's...rewarding, but it's a lot to handle."
"What are you studying?" Blaine asked. "I always assumed you would end up going into law like your father?"
Wes laughed. "My parents assured me I could be anything I wanted, as long as it was a lawyer or a doctor," he replied wryly. "Which actually worked out, because I was already thinking medicine without their input. They were hoping for a neurosurgeon, I'm sure. I'm studying Pediatric Oncology."
"...Wow," Blaine replied quietly, unsure how to even respond to that. "That's amazing." And extremely stressful and heartbreaking, Blaine was sure. Cancer in children...he couldn't even imagine going into a field like that. Although thinking about Wesley's disposition...," You'll be an excellent Doctor," Blaine told him quietly. Wes turned to him, his smile wide and hopeful. "You think so?" he asked.
Blaine nodded. "You have the...firmness and professionalism necessary to deal with that kind of job and stay strong for the families, but you've always had a way of knowing what people need," Blaine said thoughtfully. "I think you're perfect for the job."
Wes looked pleased at that evaluation. David smacked him lightly on the arm. "Focus, Montgomery. We're here for a purpose."
"Right!" Wes replied, glancing back at Sebastian. "Want to gather everyone?"
Sebastian nodded, glancing back at Blaine briefly, as if trying to decide if their interrupted conversation could wait. Apparently he decided it could, because he nodded towards the doorway. "Come on, I'll gather the troops," he replied. "We'll have a brainstorming session."
Wes nodded, and he and David left the room with Sebastian, Jeff trailing beside, Wes talking to him in a voice low enough that Blaine couldn't catch what he was saying. He glanced back at the only other occupant in the room, who was grinning back at him. "Well, that was unexpected," he informed Nick.
Nick's smile widened. "Sebastian has had this in the works for a while," he replied. "He wanted to get the Council back. He knows the Warbler's have an automatic respect for them that no one else has ever been able to match. Even the Warbler's who started after they graduated know who they are and respect them. Once a Warbler, always a Warbler, you know?"
Blaine nodded. "So...he thinks they can help?"
Nick shrugged. "He figured they can't hurt. He really wanted Wes up here to talk to Jeff too. Wes was a huge help when Jeff started here as a freshman after all the...mess that happened before he transferred to Dalton. I mean, he can always talk to us, but we're his friends. He looks up to Wes because he's older, you know? Wes did a lot to bring him out of his shell."
Blaine could vaguely remember his first few months at Dalton. He hadn't realized it then, caught up in his own trauma from the Sadie Hawkins dance and overwhelmed by everything around him, but Jeff couldn't have started there very long before he did. And he had to admit Nick was right. Wes had been a huge help in making him feel at home. In encouraging him to try out for the Warbler's and always being there if any of the underclassmen needed someone to talk to. "You think he can keep Jeff from going back to cutting?" Blaine asked hopefully.
Nick exhaled slowly, looking weary suddenly. "I'm hoping Wes can talk some sense into him about asking for help when he needs it and hopefully helping Sebastian wrangle all the Warbler's into a supportive group for everyone. We're all so on edge. I'm hoping having a couple of outside eyes might help."
Blaine couldn't help but think that wasn't exactly the answer to the question he had asked. "You think Wes can keep him from starting to cut again though?" he asked quietly.
Nick had a strange look on his face. Like he was trying to figure out a problem that had too many variables. "Blaine...Jeff needs more help than one person can offer," he said carefully. "The Warbler's as a whole can help, Wes can help, I can help, the doctors could help, his therapist could help, getting rid of that idiot Coach would help the most," he muttered under his breath, "But Jeff is ultimately responsible for his own recovery. We can support Jeff, but only Jeff can stop himself from cutting again."
Blaine couldn't help but think Nick had phrased the response in a way that made it seem like Jeff was already in trouble, rather than headed for it. "Nick...are you saying Jeff has cut?" Blaine asked cautiously.
Nick looked like he wanted to deny it, but the guilty expression on his face gave him away. "He has, hasn't he?" Blaine asked, horrified. "Nick, does the school know?"
"Shh!" Nick ordered hastily, striding to the doorway to Sebastian's room and shutting it, before turning back to Blaine. "Jeff hasn't even admitted it to me," he replied. "He isn't ready yet. And I guarantee you, if anyone confronts him on it, they'll just make things ten times worse. You need to let him be the one to bring it up, Blaine. Please. Don't say anything."
Blaine was more confused than ever. "Nick...is that a good idea?" he demanded. "You all keep telling me how it's bad to keep all this in, but you're letting him cut and say nothing?"
"I'm reasonably sure he's only done it once," Nick replied quietly. "And this isn't our first experience with this. Yes, ultimately, he needs to admit to it. And if it continues without him saying anything, we'll have to change tactics. But right now, he's teetering on the edge, and if I push the wrong way, he'll fall headfirst back into it, instead of what I'm hoping happens, which is he realizes it was a bad mistake, and admits it and doesn't do it again."
Blaine still wasn't convinced. But he could hardly go tell on Jeff when he had sworn them all to secrecy on his own problems. "Does Sebastian know?"
Nick shook his head. "No. And I want it to stay that way. Sebastian will panic. Sebastian doesn't fully understand it, or why Jeff does it. He'll push Jeff too far, and have the best intentions while doing it, but it still will end in a disaster. Don't tell Sebastian."
Blaine was beginning to hate all these secrets. "How do you know?" he asked suddenly. "When no one else does, how do you know?"
"Because he's my best friend," Nick replied. "Because I was there the first time. Because he's been my roommate since day one. And because he has tells that no one else realizes, and he doesn't even know he has. Things he does. Which I'm not about to tell him, because then he would stop doing them."
Blaine nodded slowly. "Like what?"
Nick opened his mouth to speak, but was interrupted by Sebastian bursting through the door. "What are you two doing?" he asked, phone in one hand and his other hand resting impatiently on the doorknob. "We need to get downstairs. Everyone is ready. And it just got worse!" he added emphatically, waving his phone in the air.
Blaine stifled a groan. How could it possibly get worse?
Nick echoed his thoughts. "Worse? Sebastian, how could it possibly be worse?"
Sebastian slipped his phone in his pocket and pressed his fingers against his temples. "I just got a phone call from the Dean," he replied. "Who was terribly sorry to disturb me on the weekend, but wanted me to be prepared, because it looks like all the doubles at Dalton are filled, and he wanted to know if I would be all right with the current circumstances, or did I want to request a room transfer."
Blaine still hadn't caught onto what the drama was all about, but Nick had. "No," he said flatly. "Sebastian, tell me you're joking."
Blaine's gaze swiveled from Nick back to Sebastian, whose expression had a strange combination of frustration, defeat, anxiety, and something Blaine would have almost sworn was a reluctant sort of hope there.
"I'm not," Sebastian replied bluntly. "Hunter will be back on Monday."
