AUTHOR'S NOTE:

It's been over a week since my last update, I apologize! I'll try not to go that long between chapters again. ;) As a reward for being so patient, here is an extra long chapter! Be sure to leave a review and let me know what you think!

Chapter 40: City of Angels

SEBASTIAN

The weekend that Sebastian had been waiting for, for as long as he could remember, was finally here: Nationals! He honestly had to pinch himself a few times, to make sure he wasn't dreaming. Ever since he had joined The Warblers, attending this prestigious competition had been on his bucket list, but he'd never been so lucky. Last year, after Dalton lost at Regionals, he had tagged along to Chicago to go cheer on Artie and the New Directions. Of course, he'd been ecstatic when Artie came home a champion, but a little (okay, a big) part of him was jealous too. Now, he'd finally get the chance to avenge his losses and have a shot at the title himself. It was all very exciting to Sebastian, but his mega-jock boyfriend didn't seem to understand his hype.

"Hey, don't get me wrong, I'm excited," Spencer insisted, holding up his hands in surrender as Sebastian gawked at him as they sat in the choir room on Friday afternoon. "It's just Glee Club, though, right? It's not like we get cash money if we win. Or a championship banner to hang in the gym. It's just bragging rights."

"And a trophy that's taller than me!" Artie added from where he was eavesdropping nearby, pointing to the 2012 First Place trophy that sat in the display case.

"I seriously can't believe you said that 'it's just Glee Club'," Sebastian said, using air quotes before shaking his head. "You're completely out of line. Show choir is not a laughing matter! It's just as serious as baseball."

Sebastian knew that his boyfriend wasn't necessarily trying to discount Glee Club, he just didn't "get it". Sure, Spencer was happy to be a part of the New Directions, but that was mostly because he got to spend more time with Sebastian, got on Mr. Schue's good side when it came to his always-MIA history homework, and because he didn't mind singing all that much. Still, Glee just didn't hold a candle to football or baseball in his eyes, a simple fact that Sebastian knew that he couldn't reform no matter how hard he tried.

Spencer just shrugged and returned his attention to the front of the room just as Mr. Schue walked in.

"Okay, okay!" He called, clapping his hands together. "Is everyone here?"

"I already did a headcount, Mr. Schue," Finn replied, standing up from where he'd been sitting on a stool. "Everyone's here. We're good to go."

The New Directions had stored their luggage for the trip in the choir room during the school day and assembled there after the final bell, before loading onto the bus to the airport.

Last year, Nationals had been held only a four-hour drive away, in Chicago, so many of their families were able to make the trip to support the team. This year, that wouldn't be the case. It was a lot to ask, for families to spend so much money to fly across the country for the competition, so Mr. Schue and Finn were traveling with the team as their chaperones. Getting into California tonight would allow for some sightseeing and a last-minute rehearsal tomorrow before they needed to be on their A-game for the competition on Sunday.

"Hey, Spence, wanna help me out with the lift?" Sebastian asked his boyfriend from the seat on the bus that they were sharing, nodding to where the bus driver had lowered the lift down for Artie and he had wheeled backward onto it. The blonde boy nodded and they both stood up and walked to the back of the bus to receive Artie once he was on board.

The lift was noisy and slow, causing the team's other members to collectively stare in Artie's direction. He was a good sport about it, but Sebastian knew that he was embarrassed. It was a lot of unwanted attention, especially for a guy who didn't like the spotlight as it is.

"Alright, so, see those securements on the floor?" Artie asked, once he was settled in the space left for his chair and had his wheels locked in place. "There are two on each side. You're gonna want to hook those onto the frame of my chair."

Neither Sebastian nor Spencer had ever been the ones to help with this particular process, so they were mostly clueless, but Artie was good at directing them with what to do next.

"Alright, good," Artie praised them when that part was completed. "Now, pass me that seatbelt, would you?" Sebastian followed through with Artie's request and pulled down on the seatbelt, which was much longer than the ones in a car, and passed it to Artie. He pulled it tightly across his body before handing it off to Spencer, who clicked the buckle into place.

"Ta-da," Artie said in a voice that let the two other boys know that he was less than enthused by the whole ordeal. "Thanks."

"No problem. We'll come back and help you out when we get to the airport, too," Sebastian told him, clapping him on the shoulder before returning to the seat he and Spencer had abandoned earlier.

"Wanna listen to music?" Spencer asked, offering one of his headphones to Sebastian.

Sebastian knew that Spencer would probably play something completely strange, like "She Thinks My Tractor's Sexy" or something, but he accepted the offer anyway. Sebastian glanced back over his shoulder quickly, to see that Kitty had settled in the seat in front of where Artie's chair was parked and that she was turned around talking to him. He couldn't hear what she was saying, but whatever it was got a laugh out of Artie.

After turning back around and slipping the earbud in his ear, Sebastian settled his head on his boyfriend's shoulder, hoping to catch some Z's that he was sure he wouldn't be able to find on the long flight.

…

Ever the meticulous planner, Artie had insisted that they get to the airport extra early, to allow time for long lines, snack breaks, and restroom trips. As usual, Artie was right in anticipating this, because up until they got to their gate the experience at the airport was nothing short of chaotic. Printing boarding passes for the flight, checking the luggage, and getting through security could be quite the process on any given day, let alone ahead of a weekend when you're traveling with thirteen kids and one-and-a-half adults (Finn still seemed and acted like more of a kid than a teacher).

"You all go on without me," Artie was saying after he deposited his backpack on the conveyor belt to be x-rayed as they were going through TSA. "I have to wait until one of the agents becomes available, and seeing how busy it is today, it could be a while. Go get seats at the gate. I'll meet you over there."

"We're not gonna just leave you here," Sebastian told him as he got in line to walk through the metal detector himself. "We don't mind waiting."

Sebastian had air-traveled with Artie a few times since they had become brothers, and he was fully aware of how tedious the process was for him, even though most of their teammates were blissfully unaware. Since his chair was largely just a big hunk of metal, rolling through the metal detector was completely out of the question. He had to sit and wait for a TSA agent to have a free moment to come over and physically pat down his lower half, as well as thoroughly check his chair for any kind of illegal substances. Sebastian knew that Artie was more inconvenienced than embarrassed by the whole situation, but he still didn't want everyone waiting around watching him get the old-fashioned frisk down. Regardless of Artie's wishes, Sebastian wasn't just about to ditch his brother high and dry and leave him to navigate the airport alone.

Artie looked like he was going to protest again, annoyed by the thought of holding everyone up, but Finn jumped in to save the day.

"I'll stay with you, Artie," he offered, that trademark grin ever-present on his face. "That way you won't be by yourself."

Artie flashed a tight-lipped, but grateful, smile in Finn's direction and gave him a curt nod. Sebastian was satisfied with this arrangement as well, as he followed Spencer through the metal detector and retrieved his bag on the other side. He gave Artie a wave over his shoulder before heading over to the gate with the others.

"I'm getting a Coke and a bag of M&Ms for the flight," Spencer said a little while later, standing up from his seat and looking at Sebastian. "Wanna come with?"

Sebastian nodded, and the boys headed over to the little convenience store where they could purchase the overpriced snacks. After finding some chips and a soda for himself, Sebastian grabbed a pack of Twizzlers, which he knew to be Artie's favorite candy, before heading over to the cashier.

When they returned to the gate, they saw that Finn had claimed his seat next to Mr. Schue, but Artie was nowhere to be found. Sebastian assumed that he was in the restroom, taking care of all of his pre-flight needs so that he wouldn't have any sort of adverse reaction to having to sit still on the plane for several hours without being able to shift his position very much.

He arrived just as the woman came over the speaker to announce that passengers who needed extra time or assistance were welcome to board at this time. Kitty, who had already claimed her seat next to Artie on the plane, and Finn, who was the chaperone assigned to go ahead with them, stood up to follow Artie. They got their boarding passes scanned before entering the jet bridge, where there was a flight attendant waiting at the end with an aisle wheelchair to bring Artie to his seat.

It was a while before the other members of the New Directions got to board since they were in group B, but eventually, it was their turn. As Sebastian walked down the aisle himself, he saw that Kitty was in the window seat, already snuggled up to Artie, who was beside her in the middle. His arm crossed over the armrest and his hand held hers as it rested on her thigh. Artie was busy talking to Finn, who occupied the aisle seat to accommodate for his long legs, as Sebastian slid into the row behind them with Sam and Spencer. Sebastian knew that Artie usually had some flying anxiety, but thankfully, it didn't appear that he was too worried today.

"Here we gooooo!" Spencer whispered giddily in Sebastian's ear, leaning over him to get a better look out the window as the plane began to take off. "Next stop, Los Angeles!"

…

"I'm sorry, sir, I can't release the rooms," the woman at the hotel's front desk told Mr. Schue as the kids listened in, nearby.

"Then I'd like to speak to a manager, please," Mr. Schue replied, looking exasperated after the long day he'd had of both teaching and traveling.

"What seems to be the problem?" A bald man stepped in.

"Well, one hour ago, I got a call from Detective Sue Sylvester with the LAPD saying that a fifty-year-old Ohio man with a perm had abducted fourteen emotionally disturbed teenagers, and if he tried to make a reservation, I was to contact the FBI," The concierge said, eliciting an eye roll and a head shake from Mr. Schue.

"It's not looking too good on the rooms, guys," Sam concluded as they all waited around with their luggage and garment bags with their costumes for the competition.

"Well, why don't I just call my daddy?" Sugar shrugged. "He can get us rooms in no time."

"Sugar, thank you, but that won't be necessary," Mr. Schue assured her before turning back around to continue dealing with the situation at hand.

"Don't look now, but I think someone famous just came in!" Kitty squealed, bouncing up and down. It was her first time in LA, and she had her eyes peeled for any and all celebrity sightings.

"Even better!" Finn said, once his eyes landed on the figure in question. "It's Mercedes Jones!"

"I was hoping you'd make it!" Sam exclaimed, clearly more happy than most would be upon seeing their ex walk in the room.

"Are you crazy?! I wouldn't miss this for the world!" Mercedes assured them, distributing hugs all around, even to Sebastian and the newbies that she didn't know as well, aside from working with them briefly on Grease.

"Is it true?" Blaine asked excitedly. "I heard that you got a record contract because either Usher, Kelly Clarkson, or Michael Jackson's dad bought your album in a 7-Eleven parking lot!"

"I was selling my CD, Hell to the No, in a parking lot," Mercedes began to explain. "Now, I ain't gonna lie, business was wack. But then this Mexican lady bought one. I think she felt sorry for me. Turns out, that Mexican angel on earth was the housekeeper to Kanye West! She gave it to Kanye, who gave it to Kim, who gave it to Ryan Seacrest, who gave it to Sony Records… the Sony Records! Next thing I know, I'm sipping Perrier with a bunch of rich dudes!"

Sebastian raised an eyebrow approvingly. That was a pretty impressive story, even he had to admit. Mercedes would become a star, no doubt about it, and he was looking forward to the day when he could say that he knew her way back when… even if he called her Honda Accord, Toyota Camry, or Aretha most of the time.

"Hold up," Artie interrupted, clearly not as enthralled with Mercedes' story as the others. He pointed at the dog that she was clutching under her arm that hadn't moved in the slightest the entire time that they'd been talking to her. "Is that dog alive?!"

"Oh, it's a faux-huahua," Mercedes laughed, receiving confused looks from the younger kids. "A fake Chihuahua. They're all the rage, here in LA."

"Mr. Schue, Mercedes is here!" Tina gleefully called over to their teacher who was still trying to get through to the hotel's employees.

"Oh, hey, Mercedes!" He waved before turning back around.

"Oh my God, that's them!" Sebastian gasped, tapping on his boyfriend's arm and slyly pointing at the group of high schoolers that just walked into the hotel lobby.

"Who?" Spencer wondered aloud, earning him a look of shock from Seb and Blaine alike.

"Do none of you read the show choir blogs?!" Blaine asked in surprise as he looked around his friend group.

"No, Blaine, we don't. None of us read the show choir blogs," Kitty crossed her arms. "Just you, and apparently Sebastian."

"That's Throat Explosion!" He said, by way of explanation. "And that's their leader, Jean-Baptiste. Jean-Baptiste was born in Québec to acrobatic parents. He trained with Cirque du Soleil before emigrating to Fort Wayne, where he used his French-Canadian circus stylings to turn the entire show choir world upside down."

"Bonjour! You must be the New Directions," the brunette boy, who Sebastian knew to be the infamous Jean-Baptiste, greeted them as his entourage of turtle-necked teammates followed silently behind. "And you must be Blaine."

"How… did you know my name?" Blaine asked, suddenly timid in the presence of such greatness.

"Show choir blogs," Jean-Baptiste answered simply.

Sebastian nudged Spencer and gave him a look that said: See, it's not just Blaine and me who read those.

"I'm Sam Evans, the leader of the New Directions," Sam cut in, stepping in front of Blaine as the other team members exchanged confused looks. The New Directions didn't have a leader, and if they did, it would be Artie or Tina, since they were the only members of the original six left. "And I know you guys are all really good and stuff, but that's just gonna get us out of our comfort zones and send us over the top."

Jean-Baptiste did not look the least bit fazed by Sam's attempt at being intimidating. "Well, it was really great to meet you, Sam. Best of luck, New Directions. We really can't wait to see your set and crush you like a bug. Bye!"

Jean-Baptise and Throat Explosion pushed past the New Directions and over to where Mr. Schue was finally finishing up at the check-in desk.

"That was tense!" Blaine looked around the group when the other team was out of earshot.

"Oh, how I miss the show choir high school drama!" Mercedes said somewhat sarcastically as she hugged Tina from behind, earning her a laugh from her friends.

"Okay, you guys, it was a tough battle, but I seem to have finally convinced the hotel employees that I am not a child predator, and thereby gained access to our rooms," Mr. Schue announced, which was met with a cheer from the students. "We have four rooms: one for the five girls, one for Ryder, Jake, Joe, and Blaine, an accessible room for Artie, Sebastian, Spencer, and Sam, and one for Finn and myself. I think we should go up and get settled for the night, then tomorrow, we can take advantage of some time to sight-see before our rehearsal."

Everyone was exhausted and about ready to crash as it was, so the plan received no objections, as everyone loaded into the elevators and headed upstairs.

"Whoa, this place is huge!" Sam exclaimed as he used the key Mr. Schue had given them to unlock the door to their room.

"One of the few perks of rolling with Artie Abrams," Artie quipped, immediately beginning his thorough check of the room.

Sebastian had stayed in hotels with Artie before, so he knew that Artie was making his way throughout the spacious hotel room to make sure that it was equipped with a shower chair, lowered mirrors, countertops, and beds, and was up to his standards overall. It seemed to pass his inspection (though, Sebastian assumed that Artie would have been fine with anything that was more accommodating than Griffin's fraternity house).

"Alright, first thing's first, you're sleeping with me," Artie said, pointing at Sebastian, who raised an eyebrow at him.

"Who are you to boss me around?" Sebastian asked, putting his hands on his hips.

"The parents would have an absolute cow if they were to find out that you two slept in the same bed on a school trip," Artie replied, looking between Sebastian and Spencer. "And no offense, but Sam and I don't need to be in the room when that does happen."

Sebastian knew that Artie was mostly kidding about the last part, but he did have a point that he would probably never hear the end of it from their parents if they were to find out that the couple had slept together in the hotel.

"Way to be a cockblock, Hot Wheels," Sebastian rolled his eyes with a smirk, bringing back the nickname with the cruel intentions. He had always called Artie that last year as a way of poking fun at him, but now he did it good-naturedly.

"Hey, you should be thanking me. I'm just saving you from the wrath of Nancy Abrams," Artie said, transferring from his chair to the bed, knowing that Sebastian was joking and had no real intentions of getting it on with his boyfriend on this trip (at least, not while the other two were in the room…). "I've been on the receiving end of said wrath before, and trust me, it's not a fun time."

Sebastian nodded, regretfully obliging with Artie's rules before he began to wonder when it was that Artie had been caught with a girl in his room…

…

ARTIE

The next day, at the recommendation of their LA hostess, Mercedes, the majority of the New Directions decided to board a double-decker bus and go on a hop-on, hop-off tour of Hollywood. Rumor had it that Puck might even take a break from his pool cleaning and script writing jobs to meet up with them for lunch.

Artie hadn't been thrilled with the idea of spending the day on the hardly accessible bus, so he was happy that his teammates had chosen to do it on a morning where he was going to be absent. Since he was free until rehearsal, Artie thought that this would be the perfect opportunity to take an official accepted students tour of his future home for the next four years, the University of Southern California. Finn had been gracious enough to accompany Artie for the morning, so they were making a guy's day out of it while Mr. Schue and Mercedes took the others on the bus tour.

"You'll both have plenty more chances to come and visit me while I'm there," Artie had insisted when Sebastian and Kitty had both begged to come with him on the tour of USC. "Maybe you could both come to the football game against UCLA in the fall. But, for today, you should go enjoy LA."

Artie didn't want to hold Kitty back from all of the potential celebrity sightings that the day in Hollywood would provide, and spending the day being a tourist was so far up Sebastian's alley that there was no way he was going to let them both miss out on the experience and instead come with him on a boring college tour.

So that's how it ended up being just Finn and Artie in the cab traveling across town to where the campus was located.

"Thanks for coming," Artie said to Finn, who was staring awestruck out the window as they drove through downtown Los Angeles. "I know you probably would have wanted to go on the bus with the rest of them, but I appreciate you taking the time to tour the school with me."

"No problem, dude!" Finn replied, beaming in Artie's direction. "I was happy to come along when you asked me. Plus, I've missed getting to spend time with you. It's been a while."

"Yeah, it has," Artie agreed, matching Finn's smile.

The campus wasn't too far away from their hotel, so it wasn't long before the driver pulled up to the admissions office. Finn got out first and retrieved Artie's chair from the trunk before bringing it over to the back door so that Artie could move into it.

"You must be Artie!" A tall Asian student said with a warm smile, immediately greeting them upon their entrance to the building. "My name is Cam, and I'll be your tour guide for the day. Congrats on your acceptance! We're so happy that you chose USC."

Artie nodded and stuck his hand out to shake Cam's. "Yeah, thanks! And this is my friend Finn. He goes to college back home in Ohio, so he's just here to keep me company today."

"Hey, Finn!" Cam greeted the older boy with just as much enthusiasm as he did Artie. "Well, welcome to campus. I understand we're seeing the School of Cinematic Arts and the accessible dorms today?"

Artie nodded. He'd always been a self-professed nerd, but he didn't think he'd ever be so eager about wheeling around the campus of a school he didn't even attend yet. It was then that he was positive that he'd made the right choice of where to go, as he hadn't been even close to this excited about seeing Ohio State a month ago. That, and the fact that USC's film school is considered one of the most competitive schools anywhere, with only a two percent acceptance rate. He'd have to be stupid to turn down an offer like that.

They headed out the door and Cam began to lead them down the sidewalk. "Our film school here is one of the most prestigious in the country, and we pride ourselves on our accomplished alumni and professors."

"Did you know that Ron Howard, Peter Segal, and even George Lucas went here?" Artie asked Finn, his voice full of wonder as he added on to Cam's statement. "George freaking Lucas! And Spielberg was rejected."

"You've really done your research!" Cam praised Artie, who nodded as he mindlessly adjusted the velcro on his fingerless gloves. "Well, I'm guessing that I don't have to tell you that, as a Film and Television Production major, you'll have access to the newest cutting-edge techniques and technologies, from cameras, to light kits, to editing software."

"Wow, Artie, that's incredible!" Finn exclaimed, beginning to share Artie's excitement about the school.

Cam led them around some of the buildings, showing them some multimedia classrooms, sound editing labs, post-production suites, and screening theatres. Artie could vividly imagine himself sitting at one of the desks late into the night, editing his first independent film. All that Cam showed him was everything Artie had dreamed it would be and more.

After wrapping it up in the film school, Cam showed them one of the dorm buildings nearby.

"The University has a variety of accessible housing options, both on and off campus," Cam explained. "Your needs will be taken into consideration when you apply for housing, and our amazing Disability Services and Programs office will place you somewhere that will satisfy them."

"This is nice!" Finn noted as he and Artie both looked around the dorm room as Cam observed them from the doorway. "And you won't have to worry about ending up with a crazy roommate or the gross communal bathrooms."

Artie nodded as he began to visualize how he'd set up his room. His bed against the far wall, a futon over there, his desk by the window…

After Artie thoroughly inspected the dorm room and determined that it was up to his standards, he thanked Cam for his time. The boy said that it was his pleasure, and told Artie to feel free to reach out once he gets to campus in August.

"I'm a screen acting major," he shared. "So if you ever need somebody to star in one of your films, hit me up!". Artie assured him that he would.

When the tour was over, Finn and Artie decided to grab some pick-me-ups at a Starbucks on campus before calling a cab to take them back to the hotel.

"You probably didn't notice this, but the campus is super flat," Artie shared as he sat across from his friend at a table in the coffee shop with his cold brew in hand. "That was one of the characteristics that put it above UCLA in my eyes. I've read some horror stories online from some manual wheelchair users who go there, and I wasn't exactly looking to have to complete a rigorous workout just to get to class."

Artie took a sip of his drink before continuing to talk.

"I'm not able to control a lot of the aspects of my day-to-day life, so I like to have authority where I can. For that reason, I was kind of nervous about putting my deposit down before coming to tour the school in person. I didn't even think I'd get in here, and when I did, I just felt compelled to commit. Now, I'm glad I did."

"As we were touring around, I could really see you thriving here," Finn told him, taking a sip of his hot chocolate and hesitating a moment before opening up to his friend. "I'm glad you asked me to come with you today because, if I'm being honest, I've been thinking about transferring out west from the University of Lima."

"Really?" Artie's eyes widened. This was news to him.

"Yeah," Finn nodded. "Ever since Puck offered me a job cleaning pools in California with him at the end of last year, I haven't been able to stop thinking about it. If I came out here, I could keep studying to become a teacher at a state school or something, while at the same time, working to support myself."

Artie nodded. What Finn was saying definitely made sense, but if he'd been thinking about this all along, why had he spent the last year just milling around in Lima? What made him come to this decision now?

"What about Rachel?"

Finn shrugged. "She's in New York. We Skype and see each other every now and then, but what difference does it make if she's there and I'm in Lima or California?" He sighed. "I think what I need is to get out of Ohio. See the country, you know? Plus, you'll be here… and Puck… and Mercedes. So it won't feel far from home. Not really, anyways."

"Well, you have my full support, if that's what you decide. Plus, I could call up my favorite co-director any time I need a second opinion!" Artie smiled from ear to ear, which was quickly matched by Finn as the older guy held up his drink in a toast.

"Cheers to always having someone amazing to roll with, even a thousand miles away from home."

"And as we know, nobody rolls better than me," Artie added with a wink.