Chapter 10: One Way or Another

SEBASTIAN

Sebastian knew that he was excited to be paired with Spencer for Mr. Schue's duet competition, but what he didn't know, was just how well it would work out for him.

Sure, Sebastian found Spencer to be very physically attractive. Very. He had these dreamy blue eyes, and massive biceps, and his thousand-watt smile. Oh, God, his smile. He also had a thing for athletes. And maybe that was superficial of him, to only focus on Spencer's outer appearance and extracurriculars, but that was just how Sebastian rolled. He always had. He was just about as boy crazy as a thirteen-year-old girl. He had his flavor-of-the-week- a fleeting crush that he would agonize over for a short period of time- before moving on to whatever was next. "Hook-up culture" was his friend. It was easy to just have fun for a night, with no feelings involved, and never think about it again.

It wasn't anything he thought of as being particularly strange until Spencer came around.

With Spencer, things were different. Sebastian found himself getting flustered at just the thought of him. His hands would get clammy and a swarm of butterflies would invade his stomach whenever the other boy was near. It was truly a feeling that Sebastian had never experienced before, and it scared him a little bit, but it intrigued him all the same.

It didn't take them long to decide on a song to perform, opting for Michael Jackson's "Billie Jean". Sebastian and Spencer had hung out a few times during the week to practice their duet for the competition, and something as simple as a brush of their hands as they both reached for the same piece of sheet music could have Sebastian going crazy inside. When they were together, Sebastian used his most successful flirting techniques, and, though he couldn't be sure, it seemed like Spencer was flirting back. He had no idea if Spencer felt the sparks between them too, but as unfamiliar as this debilitating crush was, Sebastian wasn't deterred by it. It just made him want to be around Spencer even more.

That's why, on Wednesday, when Mr. Schue had announced the two of them as the winners of the duet competition, Sebastian was determined to make a move and turn what had the potential to be a casual dinner between friends into something more.

"Hey. Breadstix tonight, you and me. Dress nice. I'll pick you up at seven," Sebastian had said smoothly, holding up the gift certificate to the restaurant in between his index and middle fingers, somewhat seductively.

Not minding the fact that he didn't seem to have the option to decline the offer, a grin spread across Spencer's face. He nodded before slinging his backpack over his shoulder and exiting the choir room, glancing back at Sebastian on his way out.

No matter that he had absolutely no idea where the other guy lived. That was a problem for later. His only obligation as of now was to go home and figure out what to wear on his first date with Spencer Porter.

…

After hearing about how swiftly his brother had scored a date for that evening, an impressed Artie had insisted on helping Sebastian choose his outfit. The clothing possibilities were endless- that was the beauty of Breadstix; you could dress in your pajamas or like you were attending a black-tie event and nobody would even glance twice at you. After tearing apart his closet, Sebastian had settled on a crisp white Oxford button-down shirt (leaving the top few buttons undone, of course), navy chinos, and loafers. While it wouldn't have been his first choice, Artie gave the outfit his blessing, despite the pants being much too fitted for his liking.

"So you said that this is your first year as a member of the New Directions, too?" Spencer asked a few hours later, as Sebastian found himself seated across from the blonde at a booth in the middle of the restaurant. Their waitress, Sandy, had just taken their orders.

Sebastian nodded. "I just transferred here at the beginning of this year," he explained. "I went to Dalton Academy in Westerville before that, where I was a member of their acapella show choir group, The Warblers, who we'll be facing at Sectionals."

Spencer nodded as he appeared to be taking in the information. He still looked a little out of his element with all of the talk about Glee Club, but he didn't seem to be bothered by it.

"What made you transfer?"

"Well, my dad proposed to Artie's mom last fall, which is why we moved to Lima. It was just a lot of unnecessary driving back and forth for something as simple as school," Sebastian replied, before adding: "Plus, the New Directions won Nationals last year. I'd never even qualified for the National competition while at Dalton, and with this being my senior year and all, I wanted to maximize my chances of winning."

"That makes sense," Spencer acknowledged, taking a sip of his coke. "You and Artie seem pretty close."

Sebastian couldn't help but let out a little chuckle at the other boy's observation. "We are now. We haven't always been this way. We pretty much refused to talk to each other for the first few months. We still fight like cats and dogs, but he's my best friend now." Not wanting to dominate the conversation, Sebastian turned the subject back on Spencer. "What about you? Do you have any siblings?"

"I have a kid brother," Spencer smiled with a shake of his head. "Peyton. He's seven. He's gonna be trouble someday."

"Yeah? All the best little siblings are. Artie's sister- Ella- she's gonna be fifteen soon, and she's already got Artie all wound up with her shenanigans, too," Sebastian returned Spencer's smile. "I think he's scared she'll turn out like that evil Kitty bitch, now that she's a Cheerio, too."

Spencer laughed. "Kitty? Come on, she's not so bad."

After a few days' hiatus, Kitty had returned to Glee Club and to the Grease production, now that rehearsals were in full swing. Sebastian had no idea what Artie had said to her to get her to come back- or why he was so forgiving of her in the first place- but Sebastian still had his reservations. She'd have to earn his trust after the stunt she had pulled with the slushies.

"You play any sports?" Spencer asked, changing the subject as he broke one of the breadsticks from the basket in half before offering the other part to Sebastian, who accepted. "Or are you only a singing kind of guy?"

"Back at Dalton, I was the captain of the lacrosse team. Preppy, I know," he added the last part and playfully rolled his eyes once he saw the look on Spencer's face. "But McKinley doesn't have a lax team, so I'm thinking about trying out for baseball, maybe. Hit the ball and run pretty fast? Seems easy enough," he said with a shrug, which gained him an approving nod from Spencer.

"The pants are something I can definitely get behind," Spencer unexpectedly quipped with a wink, as the lemon water Sebastian had just sipped nearly sprayed out his nose. The hilariously unanticipated and super gay comment caught him off guard.

"The pants are certainly nice," Sebastian agreed with a giggle, finding himself thinking: "How had there ever been a moment in time where Tina Cohen-Chang thought that this boy was straight?!".

Sandy the waitress returned with their food just then, setting down the two plates of pasta and meatballs (was there any other dish to order at Breadstix?) in front of the boys.

As Spencer placed his napkin on his lap and picked up his utensils, Sebastian silently watched him as he, himself, did the same. Over the course of the last few weeks, Spencer had gone from an instant physical attraction, to a prize to be won in a bet, to a full-fledged crush. All of that without even having had a real, proper conversation with the boy that wasn't below surface level until about an hour ago. With each passing moment, Sebastian was growing more and more attracted to him, and not in the ways that he had originally thought. Spencer was proving to be far more effortlessly cool, funny, and, overall, just much more personable than Sebastian had ever dreamed possible.

And he slowly found himself falling for him, head over heels.

…

ARTIE

The rehearsals for Grease were in full-swing now, and Artie was quite proud of the way that his cast and crew were working together in perfect harmony in order to be ready for opening night, the week after Thanksgiving.

With most of his cast being veteran performers, they were having an easy time learning their lines and preparing their songs. Finn had really gotten used to the idea of directing, which Artie was very excited about. Finn's ideas were awesome, and since the two boys were so different, they were often from a point of view that Artie never would have considered before. McKinley had done a production of Grease several years ago, and, lucky for them, the old drama director had saved some of the sets in storage. Artie loved the nostalgia factor of reusing the old sets for their show, and he commissioned the Art Club to make the ones that they were missing. Everything was really beginning to come together, and he was stoked.

One thing that Artie loved about being a director is that it revolves around having opinions on everything, even the things that you have no idea about. Case in point: today, Artie and Finn were meeting with each of the main actors during their costume fitting to give approval on their looks. Tina had graciously stepped up (or, rather, Finn and Artie had convinced her…) to take on the costume designing once again. Artie knew that her grandmother had taught her to sew as a child and that she really had an eye for this kind of stuff. He was grateful for his best friend's astonishing multitasking abilities- she had yet to miss a deadline and always met his visions with ease.

The boys were up first, and their jeans and leather jackets were perfect. It wasn't a far cry from what the jocks at McKinley wore to school on a daily basis, just swapping the letterman jackets for leather ones. Sebastian's naturally coiffed hair was perfect for making the audience believe that he was really Danny Zuko (well… the coif wasn't exactly "natural". Artie knew that it took him fifteen minutes to style his hair every morning before he left the house).

"These look great, Tina!" Finn praised her as Brittany, Sugar, Marley, and Kitty twirled around in their costumes.

"I love it so much. I promise I won't pee in it," Brittany said, doing another spin in her long skirt, neck scarf, and saddle shoes.

"Great job," Artie nodded at Tina, ignoring Brittany's strange comment. "I knew we could depend on you!"

Tina gave a strained smile in response. "Yeah? Well, it's always good to be depended on, I suppose…" Artie guessed that she didn't like her job as the production's seamstress very much. "Though we still need a Patty Simcox, since Kitty's playing Rizzo now," Tina reminded the co-directors. "I have an outfit made, but I can't accurately fit it until I know the actress' measurements. Do you have anybody in mind for the role?"

…

"C'mon, Art, please just ask her on another date," Sebastian pleaded as he stood in the doorway of Artie's room. He had just spent the last ten minutes recounting his entire Breadstix dinner for Artie for about the tenth time since Wednesday. He truly hadn't been able to stop talking about the date night with Spencer, and Artie was happy for him. He really was. But he wished that Sebastian would focus on his own budding relationship and quit bringing up that of him and Betty. "You had a really fun time with her last week, and I know that you'll have an even better second date if you'll give her a shot," Sebastian added.

Artie pursed his lips in frustration as he transferred from his spot on the bed to his chair, before unlocking his brakes and pushing off towards his desk. He wanted, more than anything, to not have this conversation with Sebastian right now. Artie retrieved the Grease script that he had spent the afternoon highlighting and hand-writing stage directions in and set it in his lap before heading to the door, which Sebastian was effectively blocking at the moment.

"I already told you, I don't want to string her along if I don't feel the same way for her," Artie surprised himself with how calm he sounded when on the inside, he wanted to yell his head off at his annoying pest of a step-brother. "If you'll excuse me."

Sebastian rolled his eyes and stepped out of the way as Artie rolled past. However, he was hot on his wheels as they traveled down the hallway leading to the kitchen.

"But you do feel something for her! I know you do!" Sebastian continued, much to Artie's dismay. "Why won't you just let yourself be happy? You deserve good things, Artie."

Artie pulled back sharply on his wheels just then, abruptly stopping himself and causing the much-taller boy to run right into him with an "Oof!". Artie took a deep breath as he gathered his thoughts.

"Sebastian, I appreciate what you're trying to do, I do," Artie said finally, not turning around to make any form of eye contact. His voice was low enough that nobody else would hear their conversation, and he was also a little bit afraid that if he spoke any louder, some buried emotion would surface and his voice would end up cracking. "I know you're just trying to help. But you don't understand my reservations about the Betty situation. No matter how hard you try to, you just don't get it. You can't, and you never will, and that's okay. But please listen to me when I'm telling you to drop it."

With that, Artie continued his way into the kitchen where he found Ella sitting at the kitchen table finishing up some homework. All thoughts about Sebastian and Betty aside, she was just the person he was looking for. He was going to fill that Patty Simcox role, one way or another.

"El!" Artie called cheerily, effectively masking the sudden, unwarranted display of emotion that he'd just shown Sebastian in the hallway a few seconds before. "I have a favor to ask."

Ella looked up from her textbook and put her pencil down as Artie approached the table, reluctantly giving her brother her attention. "What do you want?"

"I need you to join the Grease production," Artie smiled hopefully, deciding that coming straight out and saying what he needed from her would be better than dancing around the point.

"Oh, hell no," Ella shook her head instantly. "You'd never catch me dead on that stage."

"Why not? It's no different than performing with the Cheerios," Artie argued his point, producing the script from his lap. "With Kitty stepping up to play Rizzo, we need somebody to fill her role of Patty. She's a cheerleader, so it wouldn't be too far of a cry, acting-wise," Artie explained, flipping through the pages. "I've already highlighted all of your lines. There are only thirty-six of them, total, and they're all only once sentence each. It's completely manageable."

Artie handed her the script and Ella looked over it before shaking her head again. "Artie, I can't sing. Not like you can, anyways."

"You don't have to sing. You don't have any solos, and we can get someone to cover Patty's parts in the other songs, if you'd like," Artie was quick to assure her. "Though, I've heard you in the shower sometimes. You're not so bad, you know."

Ella blushed just now, covering up her face with her hands. Artie didn't know if it was because of his compliment, or if it was because she found out that she'd been caught.

"C'mon, El, Grease is gonna be really fun," Sebastian chimed in, coming from behind Artie and taking the seat across from Ella at the table. "And we'd even have a bunch of scenes together. We can run lines together to practice!"

"Fine. I'm in," she sighed after a moment of thinking it over, causing Artie's face to light up in surprise before she added: "But only if you can help me with my math homework."