A/N: This chapter demanded Sebastian's POV. It's going to be a frustrating one, but I think it's an important one to move along Sebastian's development. As always, I appreciate any and all reviews. Enjoy :)

Sebastian woke up the morning after Christmas with a throbbing headache. He grasped his hair in his hand as he sat up in his bed and checked his phone, instantly needing to turn the brightness down to stop his headache from becoming even more painful. At first, he was shocked when he didn't have any messages from Blaine; it was already late in the morning by the time Sebastian rolled out of bed. But Sebastian was never one to shy away from a flirtatious good morning text, so he decided to make the first move.

Hey Killer. What time should I come over? ;) -Sebastian

He laid in bed staring at the ceiling for a while, trying to work up the energy to get out of bed and start getting ready. Even if he couldn't admit it to anyone, he was excited to spend the day with Blaine. It had been so long since they had time to themselves and he was finally starting to feel like he maybe wouldn't be Blaine's second choice forever. The way Blaine made him feel scared the hell out of him, but as long as they were still talking and spending time together, he could contain that fear and channel it into flirtation.

After almost an hour of lying in bed and scrolling through Facebook, Sebastian was starting to get concerned that he hadn't heard from Blaine yet. He hoped he was still sleeping but started to worry it might be something else. It was already well past 11 am and Blaine rarely slept past 10, much less this late into the day. But Sebastian's headache was finally starting to fade so he decided he'd make the effort to get out of bed and maybe grab a coffee at the Lima Bean while he waited for a text back from Blaine. After all, what he wanted even more than Blaine was to get away from his family.

Unfortunately, it wasn't that easy. He ran into his mother on his way out the door who looked upset that he was leaving. But if he really thought about, Sebastian was shocked she even noticed him at all. "Sebastian, it's almost noon. Where have you been all morning?"

"Sleeping?" He rolled his eyes at his mom in disbelief that she already wanted to start a fight the day after Christmas.

"You shouldn't be sleeping this late. Maybe you should have slowed down with the Champagne," she said with a frown.

Sebastian once again let his eyes roll back in his head as he continued walking toward the door. "Maybe you should have slowed down with the two bottles of wine you downed by yourself yesterday."

Before Sebastian could open the door, his mom grabbed his wrist and pulled him closer, her nails digging into his skin. "Where do you think you're going?"

"I'm meeting a friend," Sebastian explained as he pulled his arm away from her.

"There's brunch in the dining room. Your sister and father are in there waiting for us."

"I'd rather starve," Sebastian frowned and walked out the door, ignoring screams from his mother to come back inside and join the family for breakfast. The last thing he wanted was to spend another meal with the three of them.

As Sebastian got into his car and turned the key, he heard his phone ringing and smiled when he saw it was Blaine. "Hey," he answered, trying to disguise the excitement in his voice.

"Hey, I'm really sorry but I have to cancel our plans today."

Sebastian's smile instantly transformed into a frown as he listened to Blaine. "Why?" He didn't even notice how disappointed he was until he heard it in his own voice. Part of him hoped Blaine wouldn't notice, but another part wished it would change his mind.

"I know it's going to sound stupid, but Kurt called and I'm going over to his house. It's kind of an emergency and everything is really tense over there right now so I'm going to make sure everyone is okay. I'll explain later." He was talking so fast and Sebastian felt so distant and detached that he could only comprehend parts of what Blaine was saying. The headache slowly started to resurge and the throbbing beats in his head meant he couldn't quite process what this situation meant or how it made him feel.

He tried to think of the right words to convince Blaine to drop everything and go through with their plans, but the words weren't there. Nothing would convince Blaine to pick him. He should've known better. "Okay."

"I'm sorry, please say something to let me know it's okay," Blaine begged.

Sebastian leaned his head back and closed his eyes, annoyed at Blaine's persistence. "I said okay, Blaine. What more do you want from me?"

Now Blaine was the silent one. Sebastian knew he shouldn't have snapped, but Blaine should have known this would upset him. "We can reschedule later, okay?"

"Whatever," Sebastian said as he hung up. He didn't want to argue with Blaine when the entire thing would just end up the exact same. There was no use fighting if Blaine was cancelling their plans no matter what. Plus, he was afraid he might say or do something stupid if he kept talking. He felt like he could explode, and he was not about to get emotional over some stupid plans getting cancelled.

Now that Sebastian didn't have anywhere to go, he felt conflicted on what he should do. He could go back inside and hibernate in his room all day, drown out the noise of his family downstairs with a bottle of Courvoisier. Or he could try to find someone else to spend his day with. After an embarrassingly long period of contemplation, Sebastian decided to message in the Warblers group chat to see if anyone was free.

Anyone up for coffee? -Sebastian

Spending time with the other Warblers, no matter how annoying they could be, was the best way for Sebastian to get his mind off of Blaine. At least if he wasn't alone, he wouldn't spend his day agonizing over why Blaine cancelled their plans to spend time with his ex-boyfriend. Luckily, Jeff texted back almost right away.

Me and Nick were going to the Dalton coffeehouse this morning if you want to come. -Jeff

What Sebastian really wanted was another day of drinking and forgetting about all of the shit his parents said when he came home from Dalton for the week. Now that he didn't have Blaine to spend the day with, he didn't want to do anything at all. But his brain never seemed to shut up in situations like this and he knew he should find something outside of the house to get his mind off it, so he put his car in drive and made his way to the café to meet Nick and Jeff.

When he arrived, the other two Warblers were already seated near the back. Sebastian ordered himself a coffee and then pulled a chair over to their table. Jeff was the first to greet Sebastian. "I wasn't expecting to hear from you until after winter break."

"Yeah, well, my plans changed," Sebastian mumbled bitterly as he took a sip of his coffee.

"Speaking of plans, what's the deal with Blaine? I thought everything was cool with you guys and it seemed like maybe something was going on according to all of the McKinley gossip," Jeff explained. He had no idea how much bringing up Blaine would upset Sebastian.

Sebastian gave Jeff the most dramatic eye roll he could. "It's just McKinley gossip; you shouldn't buy into any of that crap. And no, I don't know what his deal is."

"I've been meaning to ask you about something since you talk to Blaine way more than any of us do now. Is he getting back together with Kurt?" Nick asked.

Of course his first words were something that would make Sebastian even more upset. He stared at Nick with an annoyed expression but found himself curious about what might have given them that idea. "Where did you get that idea? More McKinley gossip?" He tried to conceal his curiosity by taking a sip of his coffee and avoiding eye contact.

Nick and Jeff gave each other an awkward glance while Sebastian waited for an answer. It was obvious there was something he didn't know. "We saw them on Christmas Eve holding hands. They kissed, too," Jeff informed Sebastian.

It felt like having a band-aid ripped off. All of Sebastian's secret wishes for his fling with Blaine disappeared as he felt his heart sink to his stomach. For the first time, Sebastian didn't have any words to describe his reaction to the news about Kurt and Blaine. "Are you okay?" Nick asked after a while of waiting for Sebastian to respond.

"Yeah… yeah, I'm fine, why wouldn't I be?" Sebastian asked, shaking his head to snap him out of his own imagination. He took a sip of his coffee and looked around to make sure nobody noticed his lapse in confidence.

The other Warblers stared at him in disbelief. "Dude, I know you're not really into romance and stuff, but everyone knows you're totally into him," Jeff explained.

Sebastian's eyes widened. "No way. Sure, Blaine's hot, everyone knows that. But I don't do dates and exclusivity and shit."

"That's bullshit and you know it," Nick shrugged.

Sebastian shook his head and stood up. "This is ridiculous. I'm leaving."

"We're just trying to help, Sebastian," Jeff insisted.

"Well you're not helping," Sebastian said with an eye roll. "Look, Blaine is free to get back together with gay face. I'm not going to stand in his way. The only person who ends up looking stupid in that situation is me." He paused, thinking to himself that he should have known he would never be more important to Blaine.

Nick and Jeff glanced at each other and then back at Sebastian, clearly concerned. "Just… maybe you should talk to him before you draw any conclusions."

Sebastian rolled his eyes as he started walking toward the door. "Whatever." He exited the coffee shop and made his way back to his car. He was fighting back the anger pulsing through his veins as he slammed the door shut and leaned his head back against the seat, gripping the steering wheel with his fists.

He was stupid to think that even for a second Blaine would rather be with him. It all made sense; all of the fun they had together was because Blaine was lonely. He went through a breakup and he needed a friend. It wasn't anything more than that.

All he wanted was a text from Blaine apologizing and asking to reschedule or saying he made a mistake and wanted to see him. But that wasn't going to happen. Kurt always came first, and he always would. Sebastian wasn't about to wait around all day just to be Blaine's second choice. He wasn't supposed to be anyone's second choice and yet he always was, even with his own parents.

Before he processed what he was doing, Sebastian was pulling into his own driveway. He hoped getting a workout in would help him calm down. All he really wanted to do was hit someone, but he figured a run would be almost as relaxing.

The air outside was cold and even though it was nice out for a December day in Ohio, it was still only 40 degrees which made breathing rather difficult. Still, Sebastian didn't care. He needed to get Blaine off of his mind and he had no idea how to do it. The music of Nirvana and Green Day blared through his ears and he wished more than anything that he could enjoy it, but rage music wasn't really his thing. As much as he tried to forget, he couldn't. The cold air finally got to him and he collapsed on the side of the road, grasping at the back of his neck to keep his breathing even. He felt like crying, but he wasn't supposed to do that. He wasn't supposed to feel sad or cry, certainly not over a stupid guy. He wasn't supposed to fall in love or have expectations of people. He knew better.

When Sebastian finally worked up the energy to stand up again, he knew the best way to forget about all of the pain. He ran home, ignoring the stinging in his chest caused by the excruciating cold. The desperation to think about anything other than Blaine comforting Kurt through a crisis took over. All he could picture was Blaine holding Kurt's hand, kissing him the same way he had for Sebastian on Thanksgiving. He never should have let that happen. He knew this was going to end horribly. He knew he would never come out on top.

Sebastian didn't even take a shower before he snuck into the bar and swiped the bottle of Courvoisier he'd been quietly sipping for the entire holiday season. It was almost empty, so he figured he'd quickly finish it off before opening a new one. Unfortunately, his sister interrupted him before he could open the second bottle.

"Wow, second bottle and it's not even New Years? Great job, you've officially turned into Mom," her voice taunted.

"Shut up, Evie." He rolled his eyes as he opened the second bottle. "What do you want?"

Evie approached him with a smirk. "Is it so strange for me to want to spend quality time with my brother?"

"Yes."

She rolled her eyes as she took the bottle from him before he had the chance to drink any himself. "I would have thought you'd still be hungover from yesterday."

Sebastian stared at her with an eyebrow raised. "You know what helps with a hangover?" He tore the bottle away from her and took a swig. "Liquor."

"Well at least you have less bruises than last Christmas, so that's an improvement," Evie shrugged, ignoring his comments. "Do you have any lacrosse practices over winter break?"

Sebastian responded with another eye roll. "Yeah, but you're not coming. I promise everyone at Dalton is classy enough to recognize they can do better than you."

Evie shoved him and started to walk out of the room. "I don't know. Some of those guys that you sing with are pretty cute."

"Did you not even listen when Dad was screaming at me all week? Half of them got suspended for steroids; some of them even got expelled." He poured some of the bottle into a flask and stuck it in his pocket. The last place Sebastian wanted to be was here with his sister.

"Whatever. Have fun drinking your feelings," Evie said as she finally left the room.

"I don't have feelings," Sebastian shouted after her, trying to convince himself more than anyone else.

He didn't want to sit around his house getting drunk all day just like his mother inevitably would and he certainly didn't want to talk to his parents or his sister, so he figured the best thing for him was getting his mind off of Blaine the old-fashioned way: hooking up with someone else. It always worked for him during his junior year when Blaine barely gave him the time of day. Since he only had about two shots worth of liquor, he decided it would be fine to drive the 20 minutes it took to get to his favorite gay bar in Columbus.

This was perfect. He couldn't go to Scandals because it was all the way in Lima and so many of his memories there were of Blaine. Instead, he settled on Slammers, a smaller gay nightclub in the city. As someone so young, he knew it wouldn't be hard for him to get what he needed there. He was an attractive younger guy, after all, and older single guys were all over that, especially in Ohio where there was nothing better to do.

Most of all, Sebastian missed his days in Paris. Stupid strict boarding school zero tolerance policies. One instance of taunting some British kid that escalated to violence and it was back to America. The bars there were much classier, and nobody cared how old anyone else was. The drinking age was 18 but most of the bars didn't even bother to I.D. their guests. And Parisian boys were way hotter than Ohio boys.

Lucky for Sebastian, his first suitor bought him a drink before he had the chance to spend any money. "What's a pretty boy like you doing alone on Christmas?" The older man with greying brown hair asked as he handed Sebastian a drink.

"It's not Christmas," Sebastian responded as he accepted the drink. "And I'm way out of your league."

The man looked offended but proceeded to sit down next to Sebastian anyway. "I'm John."

"John? Is that your real name or are you just trying to hide from your wife?" Sebastian asked with a smirk. He sipped on the drink, completely uninterested in conversation with this guy. He knew he could do better.

John's cheeks turned red at Sebastian's comment. "What?"

"I was kidding, but I guess I shouldn't have been," Sebastian laughed. Typical Ohio. "No offense, but closeted guys over 40 are not really my type."

John frowned as he stood up. "You're kind of a dick."

"Thanks," Sebastian gave the older man a fake smile and waited for him to leave. With one creep out of the way, he hoped the night could only get better.

Sebastian's objective was to not have to buy a single one of his own drinks and he was well on his way to achieving that goal by the fourth guy he rejected. Four drinks in and he was finally starting to care less about who his conquest of the evening would be. It was almost 11 when he started to feel tipsy, but that wasn't good enough. He needed shots. The last thing Sebastian wanted was to remember any of this the next day.

Just as Sebastian was about to give in and buy shots for himself, a shorter man with dark hair sat down next to him and ordered six shots of tequila. With his vision blurred, the young man looked so similar to Blaine it made him smile. His hair was wavy and less confined than Blaine's and he dressed much worse, but his dull brown eyes had the same hopeless romantic expression and he sat with the same confident posture. "Are you here alone?" He asked.

Sebastian's eyebrows furrowed as he looked at the other boy. He was starting to feel more than tipsy and couldn't wait to get these shots in his system. At least this guy was closer to his age, and his oblivion was kind of hot. Yet another thing that reminded him of Blaine. "Yeah. And you?"

The tray of shots slid across the bar and the two of them each took one before the other boy answered the question. "Yeah. Merry fucking Christmas."

"Not a fan of the single life?"

The dark-haired man chuckled. "I don't even remember what it's like to be single."

This peaked Sebastian's interest. No matter how many times he refused to be Blaine's, something about serving as the rebound for someone he didn't know intrigued him. The thought of another couple fighting over him was almost arousing. It was the kind of chaos Sebastian welcomed in his life.

They each took another shot before the other man went on to explain. "He broke up with me on Christmas. He recently relocated to L.A. for a job but I'm a senior at Ohio State, so we were doing the whole long-distance thing. I was going to move out there with him after graduation but apparently, he couldn't wait that long."

At this, both of them took the last shot. Sebastian was sure he was drunk by this point which was exactly what he needed to make something happen with the less attractive Blaine look alike. "Ouch."

"The guy he cheated on me with is the CEO of a tech startup. How the hell am I supposed to compete with that? I'm just an English major from Ohio." Sebastian didn't really care about all of this random backstory, and normally he would immediately leave when a guy started obsessively talking about his ex, but he decided to give the guy a chance, even if he was an English major. "Oh my god, I'm talking about my ex too much, aren't I?"

"A little bit, but it's fine. You're totally pulling off the sexy guy on the rebound look," Sebastian shrugged. He knew it wouldn't take too much to get this guy in bed with him; he was clearly desperate for revenge.

The man gave Sebastian a soft smile. "My name's Jack."

He reached out his hand for Sebastian to shake. "Sebastian."

"Do you wanna dance?" Jack asked, reaching out to take Sebastian's hand.

Sebastian fought to maintain balance as he followed Jack onto the dance floor. His dancing was sloppy in comparison to his usual self. He didn't let himself get this out of hand with alcohol very often, but that day was a special occasion. Jack's dancing was even worse, and he certainly couldn't measure up to Blaine's moves, but no one ever would.

He kept pushing the thought of Blaine spending his day with Kurt to the back of his mind, but he couldn't do it. The pain was almost unbearable. Even worse than the pain was the embarrassment of thinking he had a chance and then losing it before he could even act on it. With thoughts of Blaine consuming his mind, Sebastian knew he needed to move on. He pulled Jack in closer and kissed him, which received a somewhat shocked reaction. "What? Not over your boyfriend?" Sebastian asked in a condescending tone.

To his surprise, Jack didn't seem offended at all. Instead, he pulled Sebastian in for another kiss. They ended up in the bathroom a few minutes later, with Jack frantically removing Sebastian's pants.

The sex lasted much longer than Sebastian would have liked. Jack seemed like he was out of practice, which made sense since he'd been in a long-distance relationship for several months. But still, it seemed to do the trick. All he really wanted was to prove to himself that he still had game and falling for Blaine didn't ruin any chance he had of enjoying sex with other guys.

Sebastian had to hold onto the wall of the bathroom stall the entire time to stop himself from falling over as he sloppily pushed in and out of the slightly older guy. The second round of shots went to his head much faster than he thought they would. Suddenly he could barely remember how he wound up in the bathroom in the first place. After he finished, Sebastian felt the need to sit down and catch his breath. The combination of an orgasm and way too much alcohol certainly wasn't helping him maintain consciousness.

Jack sat down next to him on the bathroom floor and at this point, Sebastian just wanted him to leave. "Can I have your phone?" Jack asked, reaching his hand out.

Sebastian mindlessly handed over his phone, not really thinking about what Jack would do with it. Before he could process what was happening, Jack was putting his number into Sebastian's phone and sending himself a text so that either one of them would have the opportunity to contact the other. Clearly Jack didn't understand what Sebastian wanted out of this interaction. "Call me sometime. We should go out."

Sebastian turned to look at him, feeling almost nothing as he fixated on Jack's eyes. "I don't really do dates."

Jack frowned as he listened to Sebastian's rejection. "Not looking for something serious?"

Sebastian tried to process the conversation, but the world felt like it was spinning. He didn't want to get into the specifics with this stranger, not that he even thought he could when he could barely make sentences. "If I wanted something serious, I know who it would be with."

"Oh, I get it. You were pretending I was somebody else."

Sebastian shook his head and tried to stand up, but the blood rushing to his brain forced him to collapse back to the ground. "I need to get out of here." He took his phone back from Jack and started scrolling through his contacts. "I hope I helped you get revenge, or get over your ex, or whatever your goal was in all of this," Sebastian mumbled as he finally gathered the energy to stand up and stumble his way out of the bathroom. He could pass out at any moment so he knew he needed to call for a ride before it was too late and he was dead on the side of the road somewhere, not that that would be the worst idea in the world.

He didn't know how long he'd been walking on the sidewalk before he decided who to call. He wasn't sure if his goal was to hurt Blaine or just to avoid calling his sister, but he clicked on Blaine's contact and collapsed in the grass while he waited for it to ring. "Hello?" Blaine's voice came through the speaker and Sebastian let out a sigh of relief.

"Can you… I'm really drunk… I need a ride."