A/N: Hello one and all. It's a cold weekend for me weather-wise so it's the ideal day for an update. I'm still looking for potential betas if anyone is interested. I know I've mentioned this before, but I don't own any of the characters (they belong to Ryan Murphy and now Disney I suppose).
"Come on everyone, pick a cab and get in," Quinn shouted, corralling the rag-tag team of Glee members into the three cabs that Quinn hailed with her right hand.
"Would you relax," Santana scoffed as she was pushed into one of the vehicles. "If we're here in the city, shouldn't we be taking advantage of it?"
"It's a one day trip, there and back," Tina reminded her, climbing into another car. "Some of us have classes and lives to get back to after this."
"And aren't those Kentucky cheerleaders missing you?" Puck teased, selecting vehicle number three.
"Somehow I get the feeling that this city is more my speed," Santana said wistfully as the cab drove off to the apartment in Bushwick.
Every original member of the New Directions, save for Finn who was stationed in Georgia, was in attendance for Rachel's big moment at NYADA. For many of the kids, it was a chance to have a quick reunion after Mike's untimely passing. It had already been established that a Christmas reunion was not doable given the varying schedules and commitments. Savvy Quinn had been able to book everyone who was local on the same quick flight to New York – quicker than taking the train – and having everyone leave for the 5 AM flight the following day. It would give everyone just enough time to meet and reminisce after the invitational.
"I can't wait to see Kurt and Rachel's place," Artie said, thumbing the window controls in the car. All he had to go on were the images that Blaine explained to him from semi-recent Skype sessions – pre breakup.
Blaine was silent in the cab ride over. He had debated backing out at the last minute, a pesky head cold, exams to study for at McKinley, or maybe even a Warbler reunion. But his love for Rachel, and curiosity to see Kurt kept his plans intact. Rachel had talked him through everything several times before: Kurt knew full well that Blaine was coming to the Invitational, and that everyone was going to hang out after – until the flights back were ready.
Artie turned to Tina, whose eyes were glued to the windows. "You okay?" he asked.
"I was just thinking of the last time I was in the city," Tina sighed. "You know before we lost Nationals," she laughed lightly.
"Does it seem different?"
"It's not the places that I'm so focused on, but more about the people."
Artie knew exactly what she meant without any prompting. "He would want you to enjoy the trip, you know."
Tina nodded her head. "Mike talked about his own showcase at Joffrey, it would have taken place around this time of year."
Artie placed his arm around Tina, allowing her to rest her head on his shoulder. He didn't want to say it out loud, especially now, but he was happy – in his own private way – that there was no longer a chance for Tina and Mike to be together – at least not in this lifetime. He regretted ignoring her sophomore summer, ignoring her enough to the point where she broke up with him. Their senior year, after the breakup, Tina had spent months being enraged, furious not only with Mike but what seemed to be humanity in general. After blowing his timing before, Artie was determined to not make the same mistake again – and that meant supporting Tina through all of her grief.
In the next cab over, Santana and Brittany were getting into one of their heavy make out sessions, leaving Quinn free to put all focus on her Blackberry. And here I thought riding with the Unholy Trinity was going to be fun she thought to herself, not taking into account the fact that Santana and Brittany hadn't been in the same room in weeks.
The third cab held Mercedes, Puck, and Sam. This was what Mercedes thought of as a reunion of the ex-boyfriends. Every other cab had people in it, so Mercedes had no choice but to sandwich herself between her sophomore onetime boyfriend and her senior year one time boyfriend. Sam was oblivious to any of the potential tension, flexing his different impressions and choosing what type of vehicle he would want to have his body plastered on as a male model.
The rides came to a stop; Kurt was out on the stoop to greet them and usher everyone inside.
"Rachel's still practicing at NYADA, we'll be going down there in about an hour – it takes a while to get there," Kurt explained. "Puck did you bring the camera?"
"Yes I brought the camera." Puck held up the tiny machine, small enough to do undetected, but powerful enough to keep Finn in the loop at the army base.
Kurt stepped into the tiny kitchen and began serving whatever was in the fridge to the others.
"Need help?" Blaine asked, stepping in awkwardly.
Kurt pursed his lips together in a thin line.
"We can't go through the whole day ignoring each other. Santana and Brittany are off with each other, Puck and Sam are comparing bodies, Quinn won't get away from her phone, Mercedes is calling home, and Artie and Tina – who knows what they're doing."
Kurt held back a small laugh, handing Blaine a tray of glasses. "I'm glad you came here – for Rachel, I mean. She really wants you there with her."
Kurt sorted through the cheese and crackers, his attempt at providing a classy reunion for the group. "So how have you been?" Kurt asked, platting the food. "And try not to be too specific about that guy…"
"It was a onetime thing, and I'm not seeing anyone," Blaine finished. "You?"
"There have been questions asked about me at Vogue – people have tried to set me up, someone thought they'd create an online profile for me but…so far I'm celibate."
"Me too. Senior year I have spent so much time focused on Glee Club and schoolwork, and then there's the Warblers."
"You keep in touch with them?" Kurt asked.
"I try to, but it's not the same as being there. And leadership – well it's gone down since I transferred to McKinley."
Kurt laughed, handing Blaine the food. "Let's see how long it takes everyone to go through this."