Hello, dear readers! It's sectionals time! I've had the ideas for this chapter in my head since the beginning, so, I'm really excited to finally post it. This has a bit of everything: The Warblers, The ND, Mama Carole, hints of Klaine and Niff, fun surprises, and no Laurette or Vincent or Ms. Newton. The Sterling family makes an appearance, because apparently my subconscious decided they are going to play a bigger part in this story than I originally thought. I gave Niff their solos in competition, because they deserve it. Also, I'm not a big fan of Rachel, I love her the way I love an annoying sister or cousin, I would be sad if she was gone, but she's such a selfish jerk that drives me absolutely crazy. So, I may bash her a little in here.
Next chapter begins the Christmas season at Dalton; there will be some feels but no more abuse until they hit January. I can't bear to ruin Christmas for Kurt.
Disclaimer: I don't own anything but the story line.
The Warblers arrive back to the competition venue for sectionals in the afternoon. They've all taken naps and showers and are dressed in their nicest blazers. Kurt heads over to the concessions stand to grab a drink and some Redvines for Blaine. There he spots a familiar Blonde. "Hey Sam." He says.
Sam turns around. "Oh, hey… uh, Warbler guy. David? No! um…"
"Kurt." He supplies laughing.
"Right." Sam says awkwardly.
"So, how are the New Directions? Still trying to spy?" Kurt teases; also trying to subtly find out how his friends are doing.
"No! We stopped spying. I promise." Sam says quickly.
"Good. I'd hate to have to turn you in; I'm looking forward to seeing your performance." Kurt says.
"Yeah, thanks. You too. I know you guys are good, so me too." Sam says.
"SAM!" Rachel's voice cuts across the lobby. Kurt and Sam both snap up to look at her; only catching glimpses of her through the sea of people going into the auditorium. "Sam! Do they have Raisinettes?"
"I should go find my team." Kurt dismisses himself and gets out of there before Rachel has the chance to recognize him. That was close.
He returns to the green room to hide out. Blaine is waiting for him. "Did you bring me my candy? Where's my Redvines?" He begs.
"No. I almost ran into Rachel. I had to escape before she recognized me or our plan would be ruined." Kurt says.
Blaine frowns and nods in sad acceptance and lays against Kurt, sadly and without candy.
Kurt pulls out his phone and texts Mercedes. She's expecting him to be in here to cheer them on and is worried that she hasn't seen him come in yet. He texts back promising her he'll be in the audience to see her performance. Blaine reads the text conversation from Kurt's shoulder and laughs.
Wes calls them to order, they only have a few minutes before the performances start. In those few minutes the Warblers run through their harmonies and choreography. Wes is fanatical about every little detail, lecturing them about professionalism and showmanship and manners. His intensity is overwhelming to Kurt. The New Directions are nothing like this. They're chaotic and loose.
Case in point, Wes' tirade is interrupted by the New Directions screaming from down the hall. Kurt recognizes it as Rachel's voice; she's refusing to go onstage. More shouting breaks out from them. The Warblers, except Kurt, are all stunned into silence; Kurt bites his tongue to keep from laughing at the drama of his old friends. The argument down the hall are broken up by one loud yell of "Enough!" from Mr. Schue. "Listen to yourselves!" he continues to speak, though he softens his voice so the words become indistinct.
The Warblers break into shocked chuckles. "Okay then." Someone says.
Practice dissolves at that; time is up. They move to the auditorium and take their seats in the audience for the Hipsters' performance. Kurt lays low keeping Blaine in between him and the New Directions, not that they even look his way. While surveying the audience he spots Carole a few rows away. The Hipsters finish and the Warblers take the stage.
The first song they do is 'Hey Soul Sister'. Blaine is singing the lead for the entire song.
"He-ey, he-ey, he-ey
Tonight
Hey, (Hey) hey, (Hey) hey
Your lipstick stains
On the front lobe of my
Left-side brains
I knew I wouldn't forget you
And so I went and let you
Blow my mind
(Let you blow my mind)"
Blaine breaks from the formation to add a bit more dance and play to the performance. At 'blow my mind' he comes over to Kurt and gestures his hands to match the words. The attention Blaine gives him pulls the New Directions' attention to him as well. He's been watching them since he stepped out on stage and they didn't recognize him until now. Kurt watches Mercedes nudge Tina and soon all of them are pointing and gawking. He smiles cheekily at them and winks as he continues with his performance.
"Your sweet moonbeam
The smell of you in every
Single dream I dream
I knew when we collided
You're the one I have decided
Who's one of my kind
(You're one of my kind)
Hey soul sister
Ain't that mister mister
On the radio, stereo
The way you move ain't fair, you know
Hey soul sister
I don't wanna miss a single thing you do
Tonight
Hey, (Hey) hey, (Hey) hey
Just in time
I'm so glad you have a one-track mind like me
You gave my life direction
A game show love connection
We can't deny
('ny, 'ny)
I'm so obsessed
My heart is bound to beat
Right out my untrimmed chest
I believe in you
Like a virgin, you're Madonna
And I'm always gonna wanna blow your mind
Hey soul sister
Ain't that mister mister
On the radio, stereo
The way you move ain't fair, you know
Hey soul sister
I don't wanna miss a single thing you do
Tonight
The way you can cut a rug
Watching you is the only drug I need
So gangster, I'm so thug
You're the only one I'm dreaming of
You see, I can be myself now finally
In fact there's nothing I can't be
I want the world to see you'll be with me
Hey soul sister
Ain't that mister mister
On the radio, stereo
The way you move ain't fair, you know
Hey soul sister
I don't wanna miss a single thing you do tonight
Hey soul sister
I don't wanna miss a single thing you do
Tonight
Hey, (Hey) hey, (Hey) hey
Tonight
(Hey) hey, (Hey) hey, (Hey) hey
Tonight."
Kurt barley holds back his pleasure at the faces his friends are making at him from the audience. They're clapping and mouthing things at him. The Warblers launch into their next song. Nick and Jeff kill their parts. The Warblers exit the stage, bouncing back to their green room. The New Directions appear in the hall at the same time to prepare for their performance. "Kurt Elizabeth Hummel!" Mercedes yells and parts the boys in her way to get to Kurt. She pulls him into a fierce hug, then shakes him yelling, "You didn't tell me you were one of them now!"
The Warblers freeze in their celebrations to watch in wonder as Kurt is surrounded by the New Directions. The girls nearly smother him in hugs. All of them are shouting their disbelief and surprise at him.
"Oh my gosh, Kurt! I've missed to so much." Tina coos.
"Kurtie! Dolphin!" Brittany kisses his cheek.
"You're our competition!?" Rachel shrieks. "How could you do this to us? To me? I thought we were friends! How could you abandon us to our competition?"
Kurt rolls his eyes, cocks out his hip with one hand placed on it sassily and says. "Really, Rachel? Don't be such a selfish bitch. One, we've never really been friends and two, rather more important, you know I didn't have a choice to leave McKinley." He glares.
"Wait! You went to McKinley?" Wes demands, interrupting whatever rude and selfish retort Rachel was about to make.
"Yes." Kurt smirks. "Warblers meet the New Directions. New Directions meet the Warblers. And just to make things clear for everyone I used to be a member of the New Directions; now I'm a Warbler. Got it? Good."
"Why didn't you tell us? We could have got a leg up on them." James askes.
"As if he'd tell you anything. He's loyal to us. He would've helped us." Rachel argues with the blonde warbler.
"No, I wouldn't have. That's why I didn't." Kurt insists. "My loyalties are split between you because you are all my friends. I didn't say anything so that none of you would try to get me to cheat for either team." He explains. "And because Blaine thought it would be hilarious when you all found out."
"It is." Blaine remarks. "Their faces when they saw you onstage were as amusing as I imagined."
Rachel is indignant to that comment. The others take it better conceding that they probably looked as shocked as they were. Mercedes studies Blaine intently, drawing close to him. "So, you're the famous Blaine." She says.
"Famous? I don't know about that. But, yes, I'm Blaine. You must be Mercedes. I've heard a lot about you. Nice to finally meet you." He extends a hand.
She ignores the offer and pokes him in the chest. "I've heard a lot about you too. Kurt doesn't shut up about you. So, you better be good to him." She insists with an underlying threat. Then she switches to cheery when Kurt scolds her by name. "It's nice to meet you too." She finishes.
The other New Direction girls are all eyeing him too. Brittany jumps at him once Mercedes has backed off, wrapping her arms around him exclaiming. "You're the dolphin who gives good hugs. Kurtie told me about you. He likes you lots you know." She rambles.
He blushes and awkwardly hugs her back. "Yeah. I like him too."
A bell chimes overhead. Mr. Schue claps his hands. "We've got to get onstage." He guides his team to the backstage doors. "It's good to meet you Warblers. Always great to see you Kurt." He pats the boy on the shoulder.
"You too. Mr. Schuster." He says. The Warblers are all watching him as he turns back to them beaming. "What?"
Blaine smiles wide and slings his arm around Kurt. "C'mon. Let's get to our seats so we can watch them."
The Warblers return to the auditorium to watch the New Directions. Kurt is pleasantly surprised to see Rachel swaying in the background through Sam and Quinn's duet and Santana's solo. He cheers enthusiastically for Brittany and Mike as they tear up the floor with their dance moves. At the end of the performance he is the first to jump to his feet and applaud them.
While the judges decide on the winners everyone wanders through the lobby; bathroom breaks, buying more snacks, and parents finding their kids who had performed. Kurt wants to find Carole and Finn. Which should be easy considering Finn is so tall. He keeps his eye out around the lobby as he goes around with his Warbler friends.
Before he finds the Hudsons, their group is spotted by one of the Sterling kids. He is plowed into by Julie. Jeff gets tackled by his younger brothers. Mr. and Mrs. Sterling give their congratulations to all the boys, dishing out hugs and handshakes. All Jeff's siblings run about giving forceful hugs, especially to Nick and Kurt. Kurt winces as subtly as he can as they each aggravate and re-aggravate his injuries. Mrs. Sterling comes over and reprimands them, telling them not to be so rough, and she pulls Kurt into a very gentle hug. "How are you, Sweetie? Is everything alright?" She asks with a look that's more discerning than he expects.
He smiles honestly at her. "Yeah. Everything is great. How're you?" The knowing look in her eyes remains, but, is perhaps slightly quelled by his answer.
He is suddenly wrapped in another gentle hug from another pair of motherly arms from behind. "I wasn't expecting to see you onstage." Carole says as he turns in her arms to embrace her back.
"That's the point of a surprise." He giggles.
"Hey, Mom!" Finn's calls as he runs into their group. "Oh, you found Kurt."
The bigger boy steals Kurt out of his mother's arms and lifts him off the floor in a tight hug. "Ow, Finn! Put me down!" He complains both with humor and pain.
He does quickly with a "Sorry". Kurt laughs it off and introduces, "This is Carole and Finn. They're my…they're sort-of… my family."
"Finn? The boy you had a crush on and then he almost became your step-brother?" Wes asks.
Kurt blushes. "Shut-up Wes."
Everyone else laughs. "We don't talk about that anymore. It's in the past." Finn says.
Mrs. Sterling shakes Carole's hand. "I'm Stormie Sterling. I'm Jeff's mom."
"You're the family that had Kurt over for Thanksgiving. Thank you so much for that. I felt so bad that I couldn't take him with us to our family's party." Carole returns.
"It was our pleasure. He's an amazing boy." Stormie assures. "He can come over any time he wants."
The two women hug then, some deeper bond having already formed between them. Jeff shakes his head, "How do Moms do that?" He whispers.
Nick laughs and kisses his cheek whispering back. "One of the mysteries of women we will never understand."
David and Wes crack up. Finn gives them a weird look. "Hey, Kurt. The other New Directions want to see you, too." He says.
Kurt bids goodbye to the Sterlings and tells the other Warblers he'll see them on stage for the results. Carole and Stormie say fond goodbyes as well. Then Kurt, Finn, and Carole make their way over to where most of the New Directions are gathered.
"Hey, Lady-face." Santana greets.
"Hello Satan." Kurt responds. "You did awesome up there."
"Obviously." She smirks. "It was about time I got a solo."
"And that dancing was incredible. Britt, Mike, Great job." They both say thank you, Brittany bouncing around Arties wheelchair. Kurt continues to compliment Quinn and Sam as well. "I'd really like for my team to win but I think you guys have it in the bag." He confesses.
"Not likely." Rachel mutter bitterly. "It was okay, if this was amateur hour. We're going to lose because I didn't sing the solo parts."
"I think that was the best competition performance the New Directions has ever given." Kurt rolls his eyes at her. She sneers back at him, completely offended. But most of the others chuckle and agree.
Mr. Schue, Puck, and Lauren Zizes join the group. Kurt had seen Lauren up on stage with them and was surprised. She isn't the type of person who Kurt would have thought would join the glee club. So, he questions it of them.
"Mr. Schue sent me to find a twelfth member. I tried to get the football players to join up, but they locked me in a porta-potty. She rescued me and agreed to join as your replacement if I gave her seven minutes in heaven." Puck says.
His replacement? "Oh. That's nice." He says a bit upset. She wasn't replacing him, just filling his spot. A traitorous voice in his head told him that's what replacing meant. He told that voice to shut up.
"All teams to the stage for the judge's results." A voice announced over head.
"I got to go find the Warblers. See you later. And good luck." Kurt says.
"You too!" Mercedes and Tina call to his retreating back. He turns back to give them a wave and half smile.
Soon all the teams are gathered onstage. Kurt stands next to Blaine, front and center. They clap politely as the Hipsters take their third-place trophy and leave. The pause that the announcer takes, to build the tension, just before he announces the winner, gives Kurt's racing mind time to think. He really wants to win, which means he wants the Warblers to win. But he'd also really love to see the New Directions win; and he's sure that if they don't, Glee club will be over forever at McKinley, he really doesn't want that to happen. If only there was a way that all of his friends could win. "It's a tie." The judge onstage announces. "Congratulations, you're all moving on to the regionals." Well, that was lucky.
Both teams freeze up in confusion and surprise at the announcement. Puzzled looks are exchanged between friends and silent questions of "What?", "We tied?", and "Is that even possible?". Blaine is the first to snap out of it and offers his hand to Mr. Schuster to shake as they each accept a trophy from the judges.
The teams bounce off the stage celebrating their wins and already the Warblers are planning a victory party for that night. Mercedes snatches Kurt out of the flock and pulls him aside to beg, "I wanted to say goodbye. We're gonna head out." She says.
"Oh, okay. I was kinda hoping we'd get a little more time to hang out." He says.
"I know, me too. We're having a victory party for our team and the weekends half over, otherwise I'd invite you to stay the night; but maybe another time." She says.
Nick runs up then. "Kurt, we're loading the bus. C'mon it's time to PARTY!" he cheers.
"Well, looks like I got my own party to attend. Bye Mercedes!" Kurt calls back and waves as Nick drags him down the hall by his blazer.
She waves back. "Bye Kurt. See you at Regionals."
Kurt turns from her, continuing to run with Nick until they reach the bus outside and throw themselves into the arms of their favorite boys.
