A/N Just an fyi...I'm aware that Blaine's middle name is not actually Anthony, it's Devon. But c'mon...can you IMAGINE the field day Irene would have had with that one?
I hope you made it through chapter 14 in one piece...ugh. I think my chapters are steadily getting longer...weird.
Questions? Comments? Wanna throw rotten vegetables and fruit at me? ;) SAY SOMETHING!
CHAPTER 15
"So when do the guys come into town?" Coop asked him.
"Next weekend; Thursday night, actually. I know there's no way I can get off work both Friday and Saturday night, but Mickey said he can get me covered one of the two. Whatever night I'm off, I was thinking of having people over…..you up for it?"
"You supplying the alcohol?" Coop asked.
"Yeah, goofball, I can handle that part!"
"Then I'll supply the party animals! Guys night, or mixed?"
"Whatever….doesn't matter to me. I just want to christen the place, and until beer gets spilled on something, it's still virginal!" Blaine laughed.
"I'm sure that'll be no problem. What about your neighbors, though? You gonna warn them or invite them?" Coop snickered.
"Oh…well, I don't know about inviting…I mean…especially Sebastian across the hall and I don't even know the new ones down the hall. I mean, I haven't talked to them or even seen them. It could be an older couple for all I know and would I really want some old people hanging out with all of us because… "
"Jeez, Blaine, it was just a joke, and you're babbling. Ok, wait….you're babbling, and not looking me in the eye. Spill! What's gotten you so uptight with the neighbors?"
"Dude! The guy across the hall is….intense!" Blaine went on to explain to Coop everything that had happened, not in great detail, but with enough little goodies to have Coop rolling with laughter.
"You have GOT to be kidding me!? He said that? Outloud? Oh that's a riot!" he laughed. "And they were doing it in the hallway?"
"Well, I don't think pants were around ankles or anything, but um, yeah…hands were in places that should be only behind locked doors…or at least closed doors!"
"So you tried to avoid him but you ran into him anyway?"
"Yeah, well, he was….um…and I…..yeah."
"There's more to this story than meets the eye, isn't there?" Coop asked, grinning slyly. "You have the hots for this guy?"
"NO! Oh no, Coop, no…I mean, he's cute…ok, he's totally hot, but I'm really thrown off by his craziness and the things he just blurts out as if it's the most normal thing in the world! I mean, who does that?"
"Apparently he does, and therefore, you HAVE to invite him. I've gotta meet this guy! Admit it, it'll be fun!"
"Oh, it'll be …..something…alright. Not so sure about this, Coop. We'll see."
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"Mr. Blaine! Mr. Blaine!" Evee yelled to him as he came out of the building.
"Hey beautiful! How's your day been?" Blaine replied, crossing the street toward Evee and Matthew. "Where's your mom?" he added, a little surprised that Maggie wasn't outside with the kids. She was always with them, never leaving them alone out there for even a minute.
"She's um…she's inside. She's on the phone with Josh. They were yelling so Matthew and I came out here." She said sadly.
"Oh, well, I hate to hear that. Is Josh..um…..?"
"He's mom's friend….her boyfriend kind of. He drives a truck, so he's not around a lot. He's gone all over the country most of the time, which is fine with Matt and me!" she snickered. "When he's not working he stays here with us."
"I see….and, you're sure your mom knows you're out here without her?"
"I dunno…. I guess she does. I just don't like it when they start yelling like that, and mom starts crying. Josh always makes her cry. I don't like him really. "
Her sad face and brutal honesty got ahold of him and wouldn't let go. He was hesitant to leave them out there alone, but as he was rolling it over in his head he heard Maggie calling them, frantic, obviously not aware they'd come outside. Blaine grabbed the door and opened it, yelling inside "They're out here, Maggie!"
Maggie appeared at the door, red eyed and puffy faced, and scolded the kids for leaving the house without telling her. "I've TOLD you about the bad people that take beautiful kids without asking for permission! You know better!" she said, another tear escaping and running down her cheek.
"God, Blaine, you must think I'm crazy…." She hiccupped.
"Nope, not at all. In fact, if you want to vent, I'm pretty good at being a shoulder to cry on?"
"I'm sure you have much better things to do, Blaine, but thank you. " she half smiled.
"Nope, I was just going to hit the coffee shop for a drink and come back home. How about you get these guys settled inside with a movie or something and I'll go grab us a sinfully fattening drink and some biscotti and we'll chat?"
Maggie smiled at him and nodded in agreement. She ushered the kids inside and gave him a last look over her shoulder. "Thanks" she mouthed at him.
Blaine went on down to Higher Ground and placed his order, grabbing the chocolate chip biscotti and headed back up to Maggie's place. Knocking on the door, he waited and heard a small voice say "who is it?".
"It's Blaine, buddy" he replied, and Matthew opened the door for him.
"Mom's in the bathroom. She's crying again. I'll tell her you're here." Matthew said.
Blaine settled himself at the kitchen table and waited, fiddling with scraps of fabric that were all over the table. Clearly Maggie was sewing something, and judging from the fabric, it was something for Evee. Flowers, butterflies, magic wands…..they were all over this fabric in bright, vibrant colors. Still, another pile of fabric with a filmy paper pinned to it was on the other side of the table. It was a soft, buttery yellow, pale and quite feminine. He smiled, thinking of Evee in a dress of the silky fabric, dancing and spinning, the skirt fluttering out around her. It suited her coloring perfectly.
Finally Maggie came out of the bathroom, again with red, puffy eyes. She gave him a weak smile and sat down across from him.
"Ok, so I'm here to listen" he said, giving her his most friendly, open smile. "Hit me!"
She chuckled. "You're going to regret this, Blaine. I promise you!"
She went on to tell him about Josh, how they'd met at her old job when he'd been the route driver for her area, and delivered packages almost daily to her office. They dated for about 6 months before Josh took another job doing OTR hauling, long distance. They'd decided it was ridiculous for him to have an apartment and pay rent for what was basically storage, since he was clearly not home often. They looked for a bigger apartment together and had found this one. It had two really large bedrooms, so the kids shared one and he and Maggie had the other. Apparently Josh hadn't been "home" in over a month, and this was the essence of their argument today.
"So he claimed he'd been back to back trips all these weeks, but when I called the office they told me he wasn't scheduled with anything that week, but he wasn't answering my calls. Turns out he was somewhere in Nebraska, shacked up with another woman." She said, taking a deep breath. "He said I should send his stuff to his new address!" Blaine gave her a look with raised eyebrows that said he couldn't quite believe what he'd heard.
"You're joking, right? He left and he wants YOU to get his stuff together and pay to have it shipped to him?" Blaine asked.
"I know, right?!" she half laughed and half sobbed.
Blaine reached over for her hand and squeezed it. He didn't say anything right away, just looked at her with empathy and sat there, ready to listen.
"So, now I have to break it to the kids that he won't be coming back, and that's what I feared most when I got into this relationship….that whoever I'd fall for would just leave and ruin their faith in relationships! Damn him!" she squeaked out.
"Mags….I don't think they're going to be overly upset about it. From the little bit I've gathered, they don't like it when he treats you poorly, so maybe this isn't all bad?"
"They said that?!" she sobbed again. "I've tried to hide things…..to be quiet when we argue….."
"You know how kids are. They hear what we don't want them to, and when you say something important it goes in one ear and out the other!" he chuckled. "So what do you plan on doing?"
"Well, I don't know really….it's just….so new, and I haven't had time to think on it much. I'll calm down, sleep on it, and find a way to make the rent on my own. We've been splitting it…I pay my half and he mails his half to the landlord when he gets paid. I may not make much, but I'll be damned if I'll move them again! They finally made a few friends in the neighborhood!"
"Awww, Maggie. I hate to see you so upset. I wish there was something I could do to help?"
"Believe me, you are helping, just by listening to me gripe and moan about things. I appreciate it, Blaine. Thank you." She said, giving him a tender smile. "God! Why are all the good ones already taken, or gay, or both!" Maggie blurted out, finally laughing in earnest. Blaine joined her and they sat around giggling like school girls until Maggie felt better.
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"So here's the key to the back door, just in case I lock myself out. It's not as if I really know anyone else in NYC to give a spare key to, so you're the lucky recipient!" Kurt laughed.
"Well, I'm honored to hold your spare keys, Mr. Hummel!" Rachel responded dryly, slipping yet another key onto her key ring. She now had more of Kurt's keys on her key ring than she did her own keys. "So what's the word with David?"
"The loft space he wanted for offices is being torn apart and redone to his specs. Apparently we can't get in for a couple of weeks because of asbestos, so I'll be working from home. He said he's sending a few models over for me to measure today, so I can make clothing that fits them perfectly for the brochure he wants to put together. I have some things already started. They'll just need tailoring, which isn't any big deal. I'm only feeling weirded out by strangers in my house."
"Did you set the other bedroom up as a studio yet? Last week it was still in shambles!"
"Yeah, got it all put away and set up how I want it. I'm taking advantage of all the natural afternoon light coming in the windows. It'll be perfect. I ordered these really swanky window shades that go up and down with the touch of a remote! So if someone's in there changing they'll have some privacy. Who knows who might be looking in the windows from the other apartment! "
"OH! Have you seen the guy yet?" Rachel asked him excitedly.
"No, but I hear him. He plays music. I mean, I don't think it's the radio or an Ipod or anything, I think he actually plays music…as in instruments. I can see them through the window. And he's really good, Rachel. If it's him singing and playing and not a recording, he's phenomenal! And I was thinking the other day, when I signed my rental agreement, there was paperwork in there that had been filled out and signed by an 'Anthony Anderson', so I guess that's either him or the other apartment down the hall. The address was the same, but there was no apartment number on it."
"Well you could have gotten that much off the mailboxes downstairs, Kurt. One says Anderson and the other says Smythe, silly! Oh, but you don't go out the front door!" she laughed.
"Perhaps, but if I start calling my neighbors by their last names, I'll sound like one of the meathead jocks from high school!" he laughed. "And thanks for the reminder….I need to check my mailbox!"
"Point taken. So, we'll have to see who this Anthony is and if he's the hot babe I saw on the stairs last week!"
Just then there was a slight hissing sound….a scraping of sorts and they looked at each other in confusion. "What was that?" they said, looking at each other oddly. Kurt saw it first. There was a bright white, square envelope near the front door that someone had pushed underneath. On the front it read "neighbor" with a smiley face on it.
"Oh my gosh, oh my gosh!" Rachel tittered, jumping around. "Open it!" she squealed running for the
door and looking through the peephole. The hallway was already empty.
"Oh joy….one of the neighbors, a 'Blaine Anderson', is having a 'gathering', it says, and he'd like for us to attend so that we can get aquainted. You know what that means, right? It means 'I'm having a party and I don't want you to call the cops, so I'm inviting you instead!'" he deadpanned. "It also means he was outside the door when you were talking about Anthony Anderson being a hot babe!" They both giggled and laughed at that.
"So are you going? You should go. You should really go, I mean, you really should get to know your neighbors, especially the hottie, and have you even seen the other tenant either?" she rambled.
"Rachel….I don't think…I mean, an apartment filled with strangers? I'll be as nervous as a long tailed cat in a room full of rocking chairs. There are bound to be lots of people bumping into one another and that might just send me over the edge. That wouldn't be embarrassing at all, right?!" he snarked. "And now that we know there are two Andersons living there, I'm thinking your hottie is taken."
"Oh Booo! Well, I think you should at least TRY to make an appearance since he took the time to invite you!" she smiled widely.
"He, huh? What if the 'Blaine' in the other apartment is a woman and SHE invited me? Or us, as the case may be, because it says I should bring a friend or two if I want to."
"Blaine isn't traditionally a girl's name, so get over it! Oh we HAVE to go, Kurt, when is it?"
"Next Friday. Ok, I'll think about it, but if I go, will you go with me? I'll need you for moral support?!"
"I wouldn't miss it" she said, and winked at him. "Finn will be working, and I'll be sitting at home anyway!"
"Rach! Listen!" Kurt shushed her.
"I am listening to you, Kurt…."
"No! Just…shhhhh! Listen!"
"What am I listening to?"
"Just listen! Come here!" Kurt dragged her into the other room and over to the wall adjoining the other apartment. They stood there, in comfortable silence, listening to the soulful sound of a man's voice singing a song neither could identify. He was lamenting a lost love, singing about a chance encounter and the subsequent disquiet for not having done anything to change the circumstances of the meeting.
"Oh Kurt, he's amazing! You think he's actually singing this? Right now?"
Just then, the music stopped and the piano notes were tested, retried, and tested again. It seemed he'd found the notes he was searching for, and he picked up with the lyrics, just as mournful as they were before.
"Rachel…he's WRITING this song….now….as we're listening. He's testing lyrics and notes!"
"Holy cow, he's got it bad, Kurt!" she grimaced. "Maybe you can borrow that song from him and sing it for your lost Adonis?" she winked at him.
Kurt rolled his eyes at her and gave her a nudge on the shoulder. "Maybe…..maybe this is the apartment building for lost loves?" he snickered. "Does that mean if I ever find him I have to move out?"
"Does he sing anything upbeat or is it all melancholy?"
"No, he sings everything….and I mean everything! The other day it was Teenage Dream and assorted other Katy Perry songs. He does some Billy Joel, Elton John, Meatloaf, you name it! But I've heard this one so often I know all the words! Ok, well, all the words he's come up with so far" he grinned. "Sometimes I sing along. That's not at all creepy, right?"
"Errrrr, not at all?" she replied, wincing, with a funny little grin on her face.
"I miss playing, Rach. I think I might have to get a piano….even just a keyboard. Soon. I need to get back into things, into me, into what I love and what I'm good at. I miss music and singing and ….well, you know."
"You miss everything Jax wouldn't let you be and do?"
"Rachel….."
"I think that'd be good. Besides," she grinned, "You'll need to be ready for your duet with one of the Mr. Anderson's next door! You two can sing about missed opportunities and pining over the one who got away!"
They both fell into a fit of giggles and retreated to the kitchen.