Dear readers,
Okay, so this is the last update for at least two weeks because I'm going away, but hopefully it will bide you over until I update next, which will be the first part of the Valentine's Day arc (though Kurt's starts a little before Valentine's Day) and that arc is probably going to last about eight chapters as I've roughly divided it into four sections in my head, but there are still some grey areas so it might take me a while to update. Anyways, thanks for all the support of this story; it's wonderful!
Enjoy the chapter!
Sopphires.
"Some people don't understand the promises they're making when they make them," "Right, of course. But you keep the promise anyway. That's what love is. Love is keeping the promise anyway." ― John Green, The Fault in Our Stars
"Are you alright, Bas?" Blaine looked between David, whose head was tilted to the side and had a look of concern gracing his features, and Sebastian, who was slumped over his meal, and sat up in confused alarm, noting the lack of poise and togetherness from the boy that seemed to hold himself upright with perfect posture naturally and tended to never look anything less than immaculate. Trent, Nick and Jeff, who had been involved in an argument about privacy and Trent's right to not tell them that he was dating the Senior Class President of Crawford, all looked round too and noted the way that Sebastian had failed to acknowledge David because he was too busy yawning.
"Seb!" snapped Trent, poking him with his fork. Sebastian jerked, sitting upright and looking around, seemingly finally taking in his surroundings. Everyone watched him worriedly as a frown fell across his face.
"Where's Thad?" he demanded, and there was a moment of silence in which the other five boys made eye contact and silently questioned what the hell was going on before turning back to Sebastian with perturbed expressions.
"He's talking to Mrs Henderson, remember?" said David, slowly, looking even more concerned than before. Sebastian frowned a little more, rubbing his eyes and looking round the canteen for a moment before nodding.
"Right, yeah..." There was a moment of silence in which he stared at them in confusion, clearly asking why they were all looking at him, and they all arched their eyebrows in response. David heaved a sigh and set down his cutlery.
"What's going on? You look like you haven't slept in days. What's wrong?" Sebastian blinked once and then looked down at his plate. He reached for his fork, but David got there first, knocking the utensil to the floor. Blaine watched the interaction curiously as Sebastian glared at him, and David stared back impassively. "It's got something to do with Thad, I'm not stupid, and that's our business." There was a moment of silence before Sebastian's eyes flickered to Nick, Jeff and Trent. There was an awkward moment before Trent sighed and got up.
"Come on you two, did you actually do that Maths homework, or not?" With loud protests against Trent's mistrust, the couple got to their feet and trailed him to another table. Blaine, heart beating faster because this was about Eli and he already felt sick with fear, turned to Sebastian. Sebastian sighed, shaking his head.
"It's just a conversation I had with Thad...I can't get it out of my head; I don't know what to do..."
"Thad, what's wrong?" Sebastian sat up in bed, blankets pooled around his waist as he supported himself on his hands, looking at his friend who was sitting up and reading avidly from his book of Hans Christian Anderson fairy tales. Thad looked up from his page, frown creasing his brow for a second before he returned to the story. A heavy silence hung between them, both fully aware that there was something important being left unsaid, but it was Thad's, and he wasn't sharing. "Thad, I'm fucking serious, okay?" he snapped, breaking easily and pulling the book from Thad's hands, shutting it with a sharp crack and putting it on the bedside table before Thad could fully comprehend that it was gone.
"Bastian!" hissed Thad, eyes flashing dangerously in a manner that said he would deliver death unto Sebastian for stealing his book once more. Sebastian arched his eyebrows to silence him. Thad deflated a little bit and shook his head in a tired manner. "I don't wanna talk about it," he said, finitely. He shook his head again, but Sebastian shot him a flat look that said there would be no getting around this.
"Look, you're reading fairy tales," he said, bluntly. "instead of ploughing through your self-created, mile long reading list for uni… There's something on your mind, and it's eating you up, so we are having a friggin' heart to heart conversation until I have found out what the hell is up with you; you will not sleep or have a moment of peace until you do." Sebastian arched an eyebrow, and Thad stared back at him defiantly for a moment before turning away so that his back faced Sebastian.
"I really don't want to talk about it; you'll just think, and say, it's stupid...that I'm stupid." Sebastian took in a deep breath through his nose and shuffled closer to him, hands hovering in the air above Thad's shoulders, clearly unsure as to what his next move should be.
"Look, let's just throw that thought to hell, alright? I learnt my lessons about trivialising things that matter to you, and I care too much about you to do that again; we both know that's true." There was a silence before Thad let out a long sigh.
"It just hurts," he whispered, looking down at his hands with glistening eyes. "It just really hurts."
"What hurts?" pressed Sebastian, hands falling instinctively onto Thad's shoulders, squeezing and holding onto his friend as tightly as he could so that he didn't risk losing him again.
"Valentine's Day," he muttered. "I know what'll happen: Nick and Jeff'll be even more lovey-dovey, Trent'll be with this new girlfriend, David, you and Blaine will get loads of cards and gifts and shit, but me…" he trailed off, nostrils flaring and tears stinging in his eyes as he bit down on the inside of his lip to stop himself from crying. He shook his head. "No one has ever wanted me. Blaine didn't want me, you would have fucked anything that moved in that moment so you didn't want me…It really fucking hurts that the only person who will ever want me is Eli..." He choked up and broke off, tears beginning to slide down his face. Sebastian's hands dug into Thad's shoulders.
"Thad, look, Valentine's Day doesn't mean anything. It's just a stupid holiday, and it means nothing about anything, and as for Eli…well that son-of-a-bitch-" he broke off when Thad tugged himself from his grasp. He was crying more readily now, hunching over to shield himself from Sebastian, and when Sebastian reached forward to reaffirm his grip on his friend he jerked away once more.
"That's why I didn't want to tell you! You don't get it! You don't understand! It might mean nothing to you, but nothing means anything to you!" There was a heavy silence after that, Thad bending double so that he could press his forehead into his knees, shoulders shaking, and Sebastian tensed his jaw and balled his hands into tight fists.
The silence hung over them for much longer, Thad still crying and completely unwilling to turn back to face Sebastian. Sebastian unclenched his fists and let out a long breath, closing his eyes in an obvious effort to unwind and calm down so that he could deal with the situation effectively. Thad simply kept his forehead pressed into knees, hands fisting into his hair.
"Thad, look at me," said Sebastian, eventually, calm tone of voice slightly undermined by the choked quality to it that said that he was severely worried about the sudden, unexpected situation that had never occurred before when he'd stolen Thad's book. Thad's head shook from side to side.
"No, I don't want you to see me cry." Sebastian choked on his laughter at that. Thad tensed up even more.
"Thad, I have seen you cry so many times before; one more time isn't going to change my opinion on you, that was formed a long time ago." Thad shook his head once more.
"No, please. I can't have you judge me anymore." Sebastian would have snorted at that had it not been for the fact that his voice was tiny and choked and terrified.
"Thad, I think about you pretty much all of the time, but I don't judge you…I worry about you most of all, but I don't really care about that anymore because David was right – for once – as fear will keep me sharp, and if I'm sharp than I stand the best chance of keeping you alive. That's all I care about: nothing else matters." With that, he reached forward, winding an arm around Thad's middle, and pulled them down onto the bed so that they were lying on their sides, facing the room. He curled up around Thad, nestling the smaller boy safely inside of his arms, gently resting his chin against Thad's shoulder.
"Bastian…I- am- what if I end up on my own? Eli's the only person that's ever wanted me, and he- he barely…it- it still wasn't me."
"Thad," said Sebastian gently, pulling Thad even closer against him and curling up even more so that there was no gap between them anywhere. "look you need to stop thinking about Eli like that. He didn't want you, either, okay? And that might not seem like a good thing right now, but it really is. Now, he was just a selfish, son-of-a-bitch, and if you get it out of your head that he wanted you, then you are going to make life a good deal easier for yourself." He pulled the blankets up so that it was covering most of them. "And in the end, if you are still single at the end of the day, which I highly doubt you will be, then you've always got me." Thad snorted a little at that, and Sebastian managed one of his own, smile flickering across his face. "I just want you, alive and well, and, if needs be, right here in my arms next to me."
"Thanks," muttered Thad, once the statement had sunk in properly and Sebastian was beginning to wonder whether saying that was the right thing to say. "I'm sorry I-"
"Forget it," said Sebastian, sharply. "I don't care." He squeezed his arms around Thad's middle. "Feel that?"
"Mm-hmm."
"That means I've got you, alright? No matter what."
"Shit!" exclaimed David, running a hand over his head as Blaine stared at the table, feeling sick at the proof to what he'd thought – this whole situation affected Thad worse because he had never had a boyfriend; someone who loved him like that, and the thought that Eli might be the only person that had ever liked him was so sickening. He took a deep breath, and David's hand grasped his shoulder, squeezing tightly to try and comfort him. Sebastian nodded, grimly.
"We need to get him a boyfriend," said Blaine, swallowing to try and keep down his lunch. Sebastian shot him a dark look that said there was no way in hell that anyone was going to be dating Thad ever. David snorted a little at Sebastian's overprotective side but shook his head at Blaine. Blaine frowned between the two of them. "What? Why?"
"Well, firstly, they would probably go running for the hills at Sebastian, and secondly, I don't think we should set him up with anyone; it would make him feel awkward and uncomfortable. This has to be something that he does for himself." Blaine huffed, slumping against the table but agreeing that David was probably right. "I think, instead, we should do something a little...smaller. Something that we can actually do." There was a moment of silence before Blaine rolled his eyes, staring at Sebastian incredulously as a smile broke out across his face, confusing the other two.
"It's obvious!" he exclaimed. "We need to sing him a song on Valentine's day. I mean, it's not like we-" he looked directly at Sebastian. "-have plans, or anything, so we can sing to him and then just..." he shrugged. "just show him that there's nothing really too special about the day; that it's just another day that doesn't determine anything." There was a moment of silence before Sebastian face-palmed and David laughed.
"You should be ashamed, Sebastian!" Sebastian groaned and slammed his face into the table as Thad walked over, tired eyes lighting up in amusement at the sight of Sebastian banging his head into a table and muttering about the end of the world because Blaine was thinking logically.
"Where's Nick?" demanded Sebastian, looking around the hall with his hands on his hips, disapproving expression on his face. Blaine rolled his eyes, personally thinking that Sebastian was getting a little too stressed over the song for Thad, and Jeff held up his hands whilst David and Trent shared exasperated looks.
"I told him we were meeting up later," he said. "I needed to talk to you guys first." Blaine frowned, a concerned expression falling onto his face like it did with the others. Jeff sighed a little, rolling his eyes at their worries, and shook his head as they formed a tight circle on the stage. "It's nothing bad," he assured them. "It's just-" he broke off, shaking his head and reaching into his pocket. He pulled out a small ring box, and Blaine felt his eyes widen, heart skipping a beat and pushing away Kurt and the promise ring and everything and focusing, instead, on Trent and David's shocked faces and the way Sebastian pursed his lips, expression tightening. "What do you think?" he asked.
"Don't do it." Everyone looked at Sebastian in surprise. Blaine felt his eyebrows arch slightly, and he could tell that Sebastian had surprised himself by voicing his thoughts. "I mean," he said, straightening his spine and pulling out a blank expression. "that my parents got married when they were eighteen..." Blaine blinked, guessing that he couldn't fault Sebastian's advice because his parents were forever breaking up, divorcing, remarrying, cheating on each other and fighting. He saw Jeff look around at him and David for support.
"Wait..." he said slowly, the meaning of Sebastian's words finally clocking with him. "are you trying prolong my relationship with Nick?" Sebastian looked pointedly away. "Naww!" exclaimed Jeff, jumping at him and grabbing his cheeks. "You're so cute! You care about us!"
"Don't be ridiculous!" snapped Sebastian, throwing Jeff off as the others laughed. "I just don't want to become responsible for two more depressed people." Blaine felt his smile die a little at his words, but then David cut in.
"I think Sebastian's right," said David. "You could propose, or tell him that you want to marry him, but – for god's sake – don't actually get married!" Blaine nodded in agreement when Jeff's eyes swept to him.
"Seriously, Finn and Rachel nearly got married last year, and that didn't end well..." Jeff nodded, face falling a little, and Trent stepped forward to put a comforting hand on his roommate's shoulder.
"You guys have been together for a while, and your relationship is incredibly stable, but don't rush this, alright? Just wait until after college." Jeff nodded, looking down at the box in his hand. "Trust me, it'll all be fine."
"What's going to be fine?" They all jumped, and Jeff's hand flew into the pocket as they all spun around, only Sebastian looking casual and normal, to see Nick, frowning between them with a curious glint in his eyes.
"Nothing!" exclaimed Jeff, his voice going all high and squeaky. Nick arched an eyebrow, walking up to his boyfriend and noting the way that his hand was tucked into his trouser pocket with a blink, and pulled a face.
"Right..." he looked at them, and Blaine tried very hard to keep a straight face and not look like he was constipated at the same time. "you guys need lessons on lying...well, not you, Sebastian, but the rest..." Blaine laughed awkwardly, feeling the words hit him a little too close to home because he was already thinking of Kurt, and now he was reminded how he'd lied, so easily and so much, to him.
"We'll bare that in mind," commented Trent in a dry voice, letting go of Jeff's shoulder and taking a couple of steps away from him, all of them trying to look normal. "Now should we get down to business? It's not like we have-"
"So you're here!" Six pairs of eyes flew wide in shock, five people deciding that today was clearly not their day, and everybody spun round, unless you were Nick and David because they were facing the right way, to stare at Thad, who had just walked onto the stage and was looking very confused. It was in the second that everyone struggled to think of an excuse that Nick and David's eyes locked onto what had fallen onto the floor, the former's bugging open and the latter choking in shock, and Jeff processed that he was missing something in his pocket. "Wait, is that a-"
"Shit!" yelped Jeff, spinning round, and Blaine, confused, twisted back to see Nick picking up the ring box with very wide eyes, taking shallow breaths. Blaine swallowed, face screwing up in a wince as Nick slowly opened the box. Jeff had screwed his eyes shut, hands covering his face. Sebastian was filling Thad, who had just walked over to his side, in, and Trent was looking away. David, however, was staring intensely at Nick whilst Nick stared at the little diamond that poked out on the top of a white gold band, seemingly not breathing or blinking.
"Jeff..." he breathed, eventually. "it's beautiful!" he gasped, looking up at his terrified boyfriend with eyes that were still wide but were now also shining with tears. "It must be so expensive! Where did you get the money?" Jeff shifted.
"You know my dad gave me the money to buy a flashy, expensive, sports car? 'Cause, you know, sports cars make you straight." Nick nodded, slowly. "Well," Jeff swallowed, nodding at the ring. "I bought that instead." Nick looked at the ring, and Blaine bit down on his bottom lip, knowing he had to hold back a smile until Nick exploded in joy.
"We're so dead," muttered the dark haired boy. "How do you plan for us to make it to the altar?" Jeff grinned.
"Well, I'm gonna take these guys' advice and say we postpone it until after college. What say we graduate, get a place of our own and then tie the knot?" Nick's face burst into a grin, and he let out a squeal, throwing himself onto Jeff and kissing him full on. Trent stabilised the pair as they continued to kiss each other enthusiastically, running their hands through each other's hair and Nick knocking Jeff's head several times with the box. Blaine cheered, clapping and trying to keep his mind off Kurt, as David and Trent wolf-whistled, Sebastian rolled his eyes and Thad clapped.
"Ookaay," said Trent, pulling them apart when Jeff began to try and undo Nick's tie, deciding to stop either boy before they got a little too overexcited and did something very embarrassing. "I think that's enough...Please, don't come back to our room tonight, Jeff," he added, pulling a face, and everyone laughed, the two boys in question sharing knowing smirks.
"You know what this calls for?" said Jeff, looking around at the group of friends. They all rolled their eyes and nodded.
While everybody else is getting out of bed
I'm usually getting in it
I'm not in it to win it
And there's a thousand ways you can skin it...
Jeff began to sing, swaying from side to side on the spot with his widest, cheesiest, truest grin plastered across his face, taking the ring box from Nick and tucking it into his pocket before taking hold of his boyfriend's – fiancé's? – hands, who was grinning at him in an adoring manner that said there was no one else in the world that he ever wanted to look at but him, and Blaine felt torn because he was so happy for them whilst also feeling so sad and so alone.
I confess you are the best thing in my life
But I'm afraid when I hear stories about husband and wife
There's no happy endings, no Henry Lee
But you are the greatest thing about me
Jeff pulled Nick as close to him as he could, winding an arm around his waist and holding him to his body tightly, Nick's freed hand falling onto Jeff's chest, and sung straight into his face, their noses almost brushing but prevented from doing so by the height difference, with the utmost sincerity in his voice, eyes boring into Nick's and leaving no doubt in anybody's' mind that he meant every word that he was singing.
If it's love
And we decide that it's forever
No one else could do it better
Nick joined in with the song, voice fitting perfectly with his boyfriends – Blaine's mind really needed clarification on whether or not they were really fiancés because it was confusing his brain – and the two of them began to move, gently, around in a circle on the spot, smiling in a manner that said they believed the lyrics, and that they could last, fully.
If it's love
And we're two birds of a feather
Then the rest is just whenever
Blaine felt the grin on his face become realer and less soured by bitter thoughts of Kurt because if there were two people that he would describe as 'birds of a feather' it would probably be Nick and Jeff because they were just weirdly connected and on the same wavelength, not to mention their shared insanity, and that made them perfect for each other.
And if I'm addicted to loving you
And you're addicted to my love too
We can be them two birds of a feather
That flock together
They began to dance more exuberantly, spinning around faster and as far apart as their arms would let them, and then ducking under them and twirling as they sung with even more jubilation, and Blaine finally joined in with the harmony that had been started by the other boys a while before.
Love, love
Got to have something to keep us together
Love, love
That's enough for me...
Jeff hooked his arms around Nick's waist, the two of them coming to an almost stop, and Nick tenderly resting his hands against Jeff's cheeks, caressing them with soft touches, and Blaine could feel that stupid longing rearing its head inside of him because he wished so much that he could be certain that someone would love him like that after what had happened to him with Eli. He looked over at Thad, who was standing by Sebastian's side as per usual, and saw that exactly the same emotion was mapped across his own face. Blaine felt his understanding of what Thad had said to Sebastian deepen because at least Blaine could sink back into the rose-tinted, comforting memories of Kurt and remember that there had been something in him worth loving and that he had been wanted and needed, but the closest thing Thad had to that was Sebastian, and Sebastian was good to him – there was no questioning that – and the story further showed Sebastian's gentle, caring nature both verbally and, more importantly, physically, but it wasn't the same. Sebastian held onto Thad because he didn't want to lose him; because he wanted to keep him grounded; because he understood that Thad needed someone there; because he could; because he was bad with words, but he didn't do it because he wanted to. It was fundamentally, and very importantly, different.
Hold our cell phones up in the air
And just be glad that we made it here alive
On a spinning ball in the middle of space
The couple broke apart for the first time, and they threw themselves onto Thad. The boy blinked in shock, stumbling slightly though was supported by Sebastian, who was smiling a little more as he harmonised, and Blaine smiled at the way Nick and Jeff beamed at their friend, spinning him between them, telling him silently and just through those three gestures that this moment would not have been the same, or maybe even have existed, if he wasn't there.
I love you from your toes to your face...
The happy couple darted away, grinning all the way and making everyone else just smile more because they were ecstatic, bending at the knees and then jumping up, kissing each other in the lips in the split second they found between the verse and chorus.
If it's love...
Nick and Jeff began to dance again, and they shot the other five boys looks that said it was about time they joined in the dancing. There was an awkward moment in which David and Trent looked over at Sebastian, and then at each other, seemingly deciding simultaneously that it was probably a good idea to let Sebastian dance with the two boys he couldn't kill, and as the only two straight boys, they might as well dance together. David extended his hand to Trent, and Trent accepted it, putting his hand on David's shoulder as David put it on his waist. Blaine shuffled his feet, feeling a little bit like a third wheel for a moment because Thad and Sebastian had danced together before. However, Thad grabbed Sebastian's hand, dragging him over to Blaine with a grin that quickly spread onto Blaine's face as he snatched Sebastian's other hand, and the taller boy got one second to look alarmed before they turned in opposite directions and caused Sebastian to yelp as they pulled his arms as far apart as they'd stretch. The two boys delighted in tying Sebastian in knots, and just when he thought he knew which way they were going to move, they went the other way, laughing.
You can move in
I won't ask where you been
'Cause everybody has a past
Nick and Jeff broke apart again, and this time grabbed both Blaine and Thad, wrapping their arms around their shoulders, and Blaine was filled with the warmth that came from the reminder that they didn't care about the secret; they accepted it, even if they didn't like it, and they supported them regardless.
When we're older
We'll do it all over again
Then they beckoned for the others to join them, and they did, Sebastian even holding hands with David who was on one side, Thad being on the other naturally, and Blaine was sure that his smile simply got wider because he was with two people that firmly believe in friends forever and said they were never letting Blaine go again and meant it.
When everybody else is getting out of bed
I'm usually getting in it
I'm not in it to win it
I'm in it for you
Jeff took both Nick's hands and pulled him away from the others, smiling at him with that wonderfully, doting, adoring smile, left hand cupping Nick's cheek and stroking his jaw bone softly, and Blaine didn't think he'd ever seen that much of a flush tinge Nick's cheeks before as he was normally so unflappable and shameless.
If it's love
And we're two birds of a feather
Then the rest is just whenever...
Jeff had let go of Nick's hands, and at the end of the chorus, he got down on one knee, pulling out the ring and proposing, silently but properly. Blaine raised his hands to his face, covering his mouth that had curved up into a huge grin and suppressing the urge to squeal because he knew what Nick's answer would be, but that didn't mean he didn't feel like exploding in happiness of the sight of Nick nodding and Jeff putting the ring on his finger, and he really felt like he was going to burst in joy and jubilation because it was like true love and everything actually worked out for once, and why had he been so stupid and screwed it all up with Kurt? Why hadn't he just dealt with the loneliness? Then he was pulled back into the dancing by Sebastian and Thad – he was guessing that at least Sebastian knew where his thoughts were going – and he got to forget in the mess of dancing and laughing and singing.
Love, love
That's enough for me
The boys broke down into more laughter at the end, and Blaine found himself hugging all of his close friends, holding onto them and feeling loved and safe, and it took a couple of minutes before the sound of clapping that wasn't coming from them registered with their ears, and they looked out to the rest of the hall. There, standing by the front row of seats, clapping politely and smiling up at them, was someone that made Blaine's face light up in delight.
"Mr Schue!" he exclaimed in joy, bounding towards the edge of the stage, hopping off it and running over to him.
"Blaine!" said the music teacher, opening up his arms, and Blaine allowed himself to be hugged by the teacher. There was the sound of shuffling feet and mutters, and Blaine guessed that the others were leaving. "It's good to see you!"
"Good to see you too!" he said, stepping back and beaming at him. "What are you doing here?" he asked. Mr Schue smiled at him, patting him on the upper arm.
"I'm just here to see you! Well, and give you this!" he reached into his pocket and pulled out an envelope. Blaine took it with a curious frown on his face. He opened it up, shooting a look on his face, and quickly scanned the text, grinning.
"Awesome!" he enthused, looking up at his teacher again. "I'd sort of forgotten about this!" he apologised.
"It's fine," said Mr Schue, smiling at him. "you've had a lot on your mind." He fixed him with a serious expression on his face, and Blaine knew that look meant they were about to have a serious conversation. "So how are you? I know from Finn that you've been through some rough times; bad things have happened to you, and you got hit pretty hard and all. Are you alright? Are the boys here looking after you? Finn says there hasn't been any trouble – quite the opposite from what I've seen – but, really, how are you?" Blaine frowned once, looking at his feet, and then shrugged.
"Okay, I guess..." he sighed, shrugging again. "I mean, it's been hard and everything, but these guys have really looked after me, and, well, it's all a bit complicated, but I'm better for being here...I've needed them, and just sometimes, they've needed me." Mr Schue looked at him, carefully, and nodded eventually.
"Yes, your friend...How's he doing?" Blaine looked around, on instinct, at the empty stage and shrugged a little again.
"Better, a lot better. Still has bad down moments, but he's on the up on the whole." Mr Schue nodded with an approving smile on his face, and Blaine shifted a little bit, flipping the envelope and invite over in his hands nervously.
"Good...well, you all looked happy on the stage. I have to say Sebastian was almost unrecognisable." Blaine snorted a little, nodding in agreement. He clapped Blaine on the shoulder. "Oh, also, congratulations for becoming a NYADA a finalist," Blaine flushed a little, smiling up at him nervously. "you really deserve that, and if you need references or anything don't hesitate to ask."
"Thanks, but, um, I used the music teacher here 'cause I didn't want to bother you when you were away and everything." Mr Schue nodded in understanding.
"Okay, good...You really seem okay at the moment, Blaine, and that's excellent." Blaine smiled at him some more. "Well, I probably have to be going; lots to do and all, but don't hesitate to call if you need anything from us – we'll always be here to help you, Blaine." Blaine nodded, touched, and swallowing slightly. "So it's a plus one invite, Blaine, so, you know, bring your...well, you know, a date, and you'll be sharing a room at the hotel together, you know?" Blaine nodded. "Oh, and win Nationals, for us, won't you?" Blaine broke out into a smile. "It's still a win for us because you'll always be one of us." Blaine bit down on the inside of his cheek, nodding and feeling even more touched, and pursed his lips together tightly to stop himself from getting overwhelmed. "Bye Blaine!"
"Bye!" he said, raising a hand in farewell and waving his old teacher off, feeling torn somewhere between better and worse because Mr Schue seemed to hold nothing against him for moving, or what he did to Kurt, but Kurt would be at the wedding, and they were meant to invite dates, and Kurt had a boyfriend, and even if that was what Blaine wanted for him, he didn't want to sit there and watch Kurt with someone else whilst he was all on his own, feeling horrible and out of place and nothing short of worthless...still, there was nothing he could, or was there...?
Blaine darted from the hall, running through the corridors and heart hammering because it was actually a pretty decent plan, but the idea of seeing Kurt and trying to maintain the façade that said he was okay, and over him, filled him with dread. He knew that he had to do it because he couldn't avoid Mr Schue's wedding because, for one, he would be murdered by the rest of the New Directions, and it was Mr Schue's wedding! He had to do it, and he wanted to do it, and he didn't really have a choice, but he was still frightened and scared at the prospect, and his instinct was screaming at him to run away from the situation.
"Guys!" he exclaimed, bursting into his and David's room, glad that he had crashed into the right room. He was mildly surprised to see that Nick and Jeff were in there; Nick's head on Jeff's lap whilst Jeff ran a hand through his hair on Blaine's bed, but the actual people – person – that he was looking for were there.
"Hey," said David, raising a hand in greeting and looking up from his textbook. Trent, who had been working at David's desk, glanced up too, and Thad put down his book and raised himself up from Sebastian's shoulder. "everything alright? Is everything okay with your teacher and all?" Blaine nodded, flopping down onto the foot of his bed.
"Yeah. He just- just gave me the invite to his wedding..." he trailed off, running a hand through his hair. "It's on Valentine's Day, and the invite says plus one..." he sighed, looking over at Thad. "I wondered if you would like to come with me," he said, shrugging a little. "I mean, it would be something to do, and it'll be fun and all. I mean, we'd probably have to share a bed, but I reckon that's probably going to be okay with you?" Thad looked a little taken aback for a moment, shrugging a little.
"Um, that's really nice of you, Blaine, but I kind of have plans." Every eye in the room widened as they all gaped at him, demanding to know when the hell that had happened. Thad smiled sheepishly round at them all, avoiding Sebastian's gaze in particular. "It's not anything like that," he muttered. "I'm just babysitting David's siblings."
"You're what?" demanded David, eyebrows leaping up his forehead as everyone turned to him, having been under the impression that he was going to be taking care of his siblings on Valentine's Day whilst his parents were out.
"Well," said Thad, shrugging. "your mum only contacted me this lunch time, actually, which was why I was looking for all of you...well, apart from the fact that you'd all vanished. Anyway, she said you had had to change your plans, and they said they knew that I didn't have any, which apparently concerned you all, and so she suggested I do it because I love your siblings, and they love me," he shrugged, turning towards Blaine and pulling an apologetic face. "I'm sorry, but I kind of want to do it." Blaine held up his hands, saying that was fine before frowning over at David.
"Anything you want to tell us?" asked Nick, innocently, turning judging eyes towards David. David shifted a little on his bed, looking between all the other boys in the room with an expression that said he would rather not be having this conversation. Blaine smirked a little, like the others were.
"Look, Evie called me, and she wanted to see if we could work things out so I decided that it couldn't hurt because, well, I still like her and everything." He shrugged, trying to seem nonchalant. "I didn't want to tell you because I'm not sure we can actually sort out our relationship; I'm just looking for one last hurrah." There was a moment of silence before Blaine nodded in understanding agreement and flopped down onto the bed, throwing his arms over his head and groaning. Now what was he going to do about the wedding?
"Why do you have to bring a date?" asked Sebastian, probably arching an eyebrow at him in a confused, condescending manner. "Why is this such a big deal?" Blaine sighed, sitting up and dragging a hand down his face.
"Because Kurt has a boyfriend, and he'll be there, and I don't think that I can deal with that, and I just want to not feel like crap all the way through the event because I just can't be on my own, and you just wouldn't understand because this is something that you wouldn't get because it's a whole romantic thing, and you don't understand-" Blaine broke off, eyes widening as a very stupid thought struck him. Sebastian's eyes narrowed at him. "Sebastian, would you go to the wedding with me?" he asked before the others could work out what he was thinking and say anything. Nick, Jeff and David all snorted as one, Trent did a double take and Thad choked, looking at Blaine in a manner that questioned his sanity for suggesting that. Sebastian looked at him, eyebrow arching and looking a little alarmed.
"Um, no, why would I do that? I do not want to spend an entire day with the New Directions. I can handle them in small doses, but in such a large quantity I think I might-" Blaine narrowed his eyes to a glare, and Thad whacked him very hard on the arm. Sebastian broke off, shooting Thad an annoyed look before looking back at Blaine.
"But you're not doing anything," protested Blaine, pulling out his most hangdog expression and silently pleading with him. "please would you come? I'm not asking you to be nice or social or anything, I'm just asking you to be there for me, please?" There was a moment in which Blaine stared at him as pleadingly as he could and sort of knew that he had won as he could see Sebastian's resolve crumbling in his prolonged silence.
"This is a big mistake, but yes," he said, rolling his eyes. Blaine's face lit up with a grin and flung himself onto him.
"Thank you!" he exclaimed, being allowed to hug him once before being thrown off onto the floor. Blaine continued to smile at him despite that, even though he was pretty sure that he had just made a huge mistake that he would likely live to regret and would almost certainly result in Sebastian being involved in murder in some way.