So... I hope you guys liked that last chapter! :D For a while, my chapters have been really short... so here's a long one! Enjoy! And thanks so much for the great reviews! :)

Disclaimer- I do not own Glee, or it's characters.


Chapter 29- Regionals


Kurt stayed at Dalton for the weekend. He stayed with Blaine. They spent a lot of time just chatting in Blaine's dorm, talking about life and magazines. At one point, they went to the library to check out the Dalton yearbook to see past Warblers. Now they were walking down the hall, side by side, their hands brushing by each other.

Blaine laced his fingers through Kurt's.

"You know… I never thought this would happen. But… I'm so glad it did."

Kurt smiled. Just as he was about to answer, Wes came running up to them.

"THERE you two are! We're having an emergency Warbler practice to get our songs in shape. It's happening at twe—" he looked down at Blaine and Kurt's intertwined hands. "Holy shit. Are you guys…"

Kurt blushed and looked down at his shoes.

"I TOTALLY CALLED IT! I knew it! I knew it! I'm psychic!"

Blaine coughed. "What was that about the Warblers?"

"Right, yeah, we're having an emergency rehearsal at twelve. Everyone will be there, they're all getting rides back to Dalton early. See you there!"

He ran down the hall, laughing to himself.


So raise your glass if you are wrong,

In all the right ways,

All my underdo—

"Whoa, Blaine, stop. If you can't hit that note maybe you shouldn't be singing lead for this song." David said to Blaine, stopping the song in the middle of practice.

"What do you mean? I can hit the note perfectly! And may I remind you that the council chooses who solos… are you not on the council?"

David frowned. "It just sounds like you can't hit the note. Don't be ashamed if it's out of your range, I'm sure Jeff would love to take this solo—"

"Okay, David, what do you have against me? Lately you've been calling me out on everything! Literally! I can't do one thing to make you happy… what did I do to upset you?"

"Whoa, guys, calm down, please!" Thad yelled, walking between the two fighting boys. "Regionals is in two days and you guys are screaming at each other over something that cannot be changed!" He turned to Blaine. "Maybe you need to practice hitting that note on your own time."

"Thank you! I'm not the only one who noticed!" David threw his arms in the air.

"Don't you think you haven't done anything wrong. You've basically been making fun of Blaine all week. Stop it. It's so unprofessional. Now can we please just practice?"

The rest of the rehearsal went well. Blaine sang, and he was able to hit the note quite well. Well, he thought so. Who cared what Thad or David thought.


The Warblers piled off the bus and walked into the venue where the Regionals were held. The place was huge.

Kurt had brought a plastic bag stuffed with something, but refused to tell Blaine what it was. He said it was a surprise.

The Warbler's were up second. They were getting ready backstage. They could hear the announcer introducing the judges. Blaine listened carefully.

"And now, our judges for the 2011 Midwest Regionals Show Choir Competition: Local broadcasting legend and man-about-town, Rod Remington!"

Blaine looked at Kurt. Kurt shrugged.

"Recent tea party candidate and homeschooler, Tammy Jean Albertson!"

"I've never even heard of her!" Blaine said, still listening.

"And, former exotic dancer and current Carmelite nun, author of the upcoming Lima Press Memoir 'Habit to Habit', Sister Marie Constance!"

"A NUN?" Blaine heard Jeff yell in surprise.

"And now, from Westville High School, let's have a warm welcome for Aural Intensity!"

The audience erupted into cheers. Blaine watched as Aural Intensity filed onto stage. He saw Kurt watch them with nervous eyes.

Aural intensity started. They sang Jesus Is a Friend of Mine.

"Did someone tell them who the judges were or something?" Blaine whispered to Kurt. Kurt shrugged.

When they finished performing, Blaine saw Kurt had moved over to the entrance onto stage. His eyes were wide with fear and he was fiddling with his hands.

Blaine walked right up next to him and jumped up and down to warm up. He let out a huff.

"Has anyone ever… literally died on stage?" Kurt asked, eyes still wide.

Blaine looked over at him. "Are you nervous?" Blaine knew Kurt was scared, Blaine was a little scared too (for the judges), but now it was obvious Kurt was nervous. For performing.

Kurt smiled nervously. "Please don't judge me. This is the first time I've had a solo in front of a competition audience. I have this nightmare that I'm going to forget the lyrics, or I'm going to sing and nothing is going to come out."

Blaine moved to the other side of Kurt. He just stared at him and smiled.

"Okay you can judge me." Kurt gave out another nervous laugh.

"I think it's adorable. I think you're adorable. And…" he put his hands on Kurt's shoulders. "And the only people that are gonna be dying tonight are the people in that audience, because you and I are gonna kill this thing. Come one, let's go."

"And now," the announcer said. "From Westerville, Ohio, the Dalton Academy Warblers!"

The Warblers got into position.

The curtain rose.

The choir started in with the backgrounds.

The power lines went out, and I am all alone…

Blaine watched as Kurt started off the duet. He heard his cue.

All the games you played, the promises you made…

Blaine could see Kurt start to let loose. He really got into the song. It was turning out so well.

One day, you will wakeup…

They sang together, sometimes in harmony, sometimes in unison… and it sounded beautiful. Blaine could feel a rush in his bones. He knew they were going to win. They had to win.

The entire audience pulled out lighters, flashlights, candle ornaments… anything they had, and they started waving them in the air. It was magical.

But I think I'll be alright…

Blaine looked right into Kurt's eyes on those last few words. He felt really connected to Kurt. It all seemed too perfect.

The audience gave them a standing ovation. They cheered and cheered. Blaine walked over to Kurt and pulled him into the spotlight to bow. Kurt nervously stood there, then bowed awkwardly. Twice.

Blaine got into position for Raise Your Glass. When the cheering died down, he cued the Warblers and jumped right into the song.

Right, right, turn off the lights, we're gonna lose our minds tonight…

Blaine ran all around stage, dancing with the other Warblers to the choreography. They were having a ball.

Party crashers, penny snatchers…

They prepared for the chorus.

So raise your glass if you are wrong!

The audience jumped out of their seats. They were cheering and screaming and jumping around and dancing. Blaine couldn't help but have the biggest smile. His life was absolutely perfect.

So if you're too school for cool,

And you're treated like a fool…

Blaine could feel the energy from the audience rising into their performance. He knew the last chorus would make them insane.

He glanced over at Kurt. Kurt was dancing along and adding his own movements, making the whole thing more exciting.

So raise your…

So raise your glass if you are wrong, in all the right ways!

The audience erupted into dance and screams. They were going crazy.

Raise your glass, for me…

The song ended and the audience kept on cheering. The Warblers took their bow. Then they all gathered in a group and congratulated each other, and specifically Blaine and Kurt. Blaine gave Kurt a huge hug. They then made their way off stage.

"Blaine, we did it! You were amazing!"

"Kurt, no. You did it. I've done it a hundred times before… but you did it amazingly. And the very first time."

Kurt smiled. "I couldn't have done it without you though."

They made their way into the audience to grab seats for the last performance—New Directions. Kurt was nervous.

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

Only one person came on stage. It was Rachel.

Blaine wondered if there would be tension between him and Kurt while she sang. But Kurt just had the biggest smile on his face and didn't seem to care or really remember what had happened between Blaine and Rachel just a few weeks earlier.

The song started. Blaine didn't recognize it. He tried to place the tune, but really couldn't. He didn't think he'd ever heard the song before.

She sang beautifully. Part way through the song, two more girls from New Directions joined her on stage.

Kurt turned to Blaine. "Oh my God, they're doing original songs."

Well that explained it.

The song was really good. And Rachel sang it really well. Blaine wondered who in the club wrote it.

Then Rachel hit a big note. She belted it out. The audience stood up and cheered, and the rest of New Directions' girls piled on stage.

The song ended, and the audience cheered. "Ladies and gentlemen, we are the New Directions!" Rachel yelled into the microphone. She then handed it off to a backstage employee and joined the rest of her club at the back of the stage. The boys then came on stage to join them.

The next song they sang was super catchy. They were dancing around, and had great choreography.

Kurt reached down into his mystery bag and pulled out what he had been hiding.

It was a big, red foam #1 finger. He had enough for every Warbler. He handed them down the line, just in time for the chorus. Kurt stood up and cheered as lowed as he could. The rest of the Warblers got up after him and cheered with their big foam fingers.

You wanna be, you wanna be a loser like me!

The song was so catchy. Blaine loved it. He found himself dancing along.

Then they brought on this big prop of a slushy machine. Each of the ND members got a slushy cup, and at the end, they tossed what was in the cup at the audience: confetti. It was a great show.

The judges went backstage to make their decisions.


This was it.

Aural Intensity, the New Directions, and the Dalton Academy Warblers were lined up on the front of the stage to receive the results. Blaine could feel his heart beating in his chest.

He looked at Kurt and smiled.

"And now, to announce our winner, Lt. Governor Stephens' wife, Carla Turlington-Stephens!"

Carla made her way to the front of the stage as the audience cheered.

"My husband," she started to say. "Is verbally abusive, and I have been drinking since noon."

Blaine rolled his eyes.

"I'm bored, let's just see who won, huh?"

"Yes!" Kurt said under his breath.

She pulled the results out of the envelope. Blaine could feel his heart rate increase rapidly.

"The New Directions! You're going to Nationals in New York!"

Blaine's heart fell.

The New Directions cheered as they received their trophy.

They looked so happy.

The Warblers clapped sadly. Kurt looked over at Blaine. Blaine shrugged.

He honestly didn't expect to lose.

He watched as Sue Sylvester, coach of Aural Intensity, walked up to Carla. She then proceeded to slap her so hard she fell to the floor.

"Whoa! Whoa, you're going to have to leave." An employee said, grabbing Sue and pulling her out.

"Well…" Said Kurt. "I think now would be an appropriate time to leave." He smiled at his friends from McKinley and left the stage. The rest of the Warblers followed.


Blaine heard a knock at his dorm room door. It was 5:00 that evening.

He opened it to see Kurt, standing in his coat with Pavarotti's fancy casket in one hand and a shovel and a rose in the other.

"Will you help me bury him?" Kurt said, a sad look on his face.

"Of course, Kurt." Blaine grabbed his coat and walked out with Kurt. "Where did you want to bury him?"

"I was thinking… maybe in the park, near Warbler hall…"

"That's a perfect idea."

They walked over to the park, and Blaine dug a hole big enough for the casket. Kurt put Pavarotti in, and then placed a tombstone he had made just above the hole. A tear rolled down his cheek, and Blaine brushed it away. Kurt smiled and threw a small handful of dirt onto the casket. Blaine then shoveled the rest of the dirt on.

"Farewell, sweet prince." Kurt said.

"I'm so sorry, Kurt. I know this is really upsetting for you. Reminds you of your mom's funeral, doesn't it?"

Right as Blaine said it he knew he shouldn't have. That would bring back painful memories.

But Kurt just nodded.

"The casket was bigger. But yes. It's not just that though. Honestly, I'm upset that we lost at Regionals."

"Well the competition season's over, but we'll still get to perform. We do nursing home shows all the time. And do you know how many GAPs there are in Ohio? Tons!"

"Yeah, I just really… really wanted to win." Kurt threw the rose down onto the grave.

"You did win."

Kurt looked up, confused.

"So did I. We got each other out of all this. That beats a lousy trophy, don't you think?"

Kurt smiled.

Blaine held out his hand and Kurt took it. They walked back to the dorm together in silence.


To be continued...

Next chapter: Haters Gonna Hate