Kurt was struggling to put his seatbelt on because of the way Rachel was digging her elbow in his ribs.

Even though he was the first one in the car, he still somehow wound up in the back. Rachel and Quinn squeezed in on either side of him, and he was stuck in the middle where Rachel could easily end his life with her bony ass elbows.

Mr. Schue sat in the front as Finn and Santana took the two seats in the middle row, with a space in the middle where Kurt could extend his legs.

"Hey, would you cut that out!" Kurt whisper-shouted to Rachel as she started squirming even more.

She huffed and whisper-shouted back, "I'm trying to look over Finn's shoulder to see where we're going!"

"Just tell him to lean over then!"

She sighed and stared at him for a bit. "Switch me places," she said.

Kurt stared at her, "What?"

She had no patience for his confusion apparently, "Come on, Kurt! Scooch!"

He sighed, "Fine, just keep your elbows away from my ribs!"

After a few moments of struggle (and an accidental whack to Quinn's face), they settled down. Rachel could've just said she wanted to sit in the middle so that she could see better!

He looked up and realized everyone was staring at them. "Are you two children done?" Santana asked with a quirked eyebrow.

Rachel smiled, "Yeah, we're good!" She gave Barry a thumbs up. He gave her a small smile in return and started backing out of the parking spot.

"Okay," Barry started. "So, what are we thinking?"

Kurt saw everyone but Rachel frown or look confused. Barry was directly talking to him and Rachel; they had a small conversation about how they would do this outside of Jitters.

"Uhh," Finn said, confused.

Rachel spoke up, "I don't think we have much time to get out and explore the area, so we can just drive around it, and write down possible options as we go?"

Barry nodded, "Sounds good. Everyone okay with that?"

Mr. Schue looked back at everyone holding a thumbs up, and they all agreed. "Yeah, thanks, Barry." He smiled.

Barry gave another nod with a small smile. "Uh, we can go to the Central City park first? Every once in a while they play movies, and it's usually a nice environment. Even in this cold."

Kurt and Rachel really wanted to meet at the park, but Santana and Quinn insisted on meeting at Jitters. He was all for going to the park first.

"Yeah! That sounds great, Barry." Rachel assured.

Barry nodded and started driving. Kurt was sitting directly behind Santana and could practically hear a plot forming in her head. Oh no.

"So, Barry," Santana started. Kurt saw Quinn and Finn give her a nervous glance. He glanced at her through the side-view mirror.

"Yeah?"

"You said you have a girlfriend, right?" Jesus, was she trying to embarrass Quinn? Or was she actually curious? Kurt couldn't tell.

"I do, yeah." He said, somewhat nervously.

"Where did you two meet?" Santana said. Kurt glanced at Rachel. They knew what Santana was doing. He could tell everyone else did, by the way they all visibly relaxed.

She was trying to make Barry feel less nervous around her. A pleasant conversation about his girlfriend could do that.

"Oh! Uh, we met at work." Barry said easily.

"Where is it, you work?" Mr. Schue said from the front seat.

"The CCPD." Barry replied.

Finn looked impressed, "Dude, you're a cop? That's cool!"

Kurt glanced at Rachel and saw her writing in her notebook. Again. How much could she possibly write in that notebook? He leaned over, but she waved him away. He mock gasped while she chuckled softly.

Rachel Berry rule #8,927: Never miss with her in planning mode.

Barry laughed a little, "Uh, no, actually. I'm a forensic scientist. CSI."

"That's still very interesting, Barry," Quinn started. "How does that work? Does the police department have a lab or…?" She trailed off.

After about five minutes of Quinn pretending to be intrigued and Santana rolling her eyes every once in a while, Kurt learned Barry was quite passionate about his job. He knew Sebastian was intelligent, but he never showed signs of being nerdy. Well, again, he didn't know Sebastian that well, but he didn't seem like the nerdy type.

Barry, on the other hand, seemed a little nerdy. Maybe it was the way he was talking about his job or the fact his job was related to science, but it was kind of cute.

"Do you anything about The Flash?"

Now that was a good question.

Finn asked the question, and Kurt could see him scrolling through a blog about The Flash on his phone. Kurt had read through it a couple of nights before. The blog was about a year old, and the author, Iris West, wasn't active on it anymore. It was very intriguing seeing how The Flash suddenly appeared and started saving people while the city was still in doubt of the man being real. That was until he was revealed to the whole city by "Captain Cold" and "Heatwave."

Quite incredible.

They were at a red light, and Barry cutely scrunched his nose at the question. Santana quirked an eyebrow, and Rachel even looked up from her notes.

"Well…" Barry started, unsure how to answer the question. "He, uh, first started saving people around last October. And, uh, he can run kinda fast." He said the last part with a laugh.

They all laughed at that, and even Santana let out a chuckle.

"Do you know how he got his powers?" Mr. Schue asked.

"Well, there are multiple speculations," Barry said slowly.

Kurt frowned. He wasn't satisfied with that answer, and neither was Finn as he said, "What kinda speculations?"

Barry glanced at them through the rear-view mirror. He seemed to be struggling for an answer, "Uh well I—"

"Ooh! We're here!" Rachel exclaimed.

"Wow." Finn muttered, "This is a nice park."

Indeed, it was. Even though it was Winter, people were still at the park, taking walks, enjoying the atmosphere. Through the window, Kurt could see a hot chocolate stand and desperately craved something hot.

"Uhh, I know we said we didn't want to get out of the car, but I'm craving hot chocolate sooo…." He trailed off as Quinn, Rachel and Finn started moving to get out of the car.

Santana looked at them with wide eyes, "Wait until the car stops moving before you open the— Rachel, did you take my purse!?"

Will sighed as he watched everyone get out of the car; the hot chocolate stand wasn't far away from the car, so he could see them perfectly. He loved them all to pieces, but sometimes their personalities clash so hard it felt exasperating. They had matured in the three years he hadn't seen them but still can make him feel like an old grandfather who can't handle babysitting his grandchildren.

He yelled at Finn to get him hot chocolate too and realized he should've asked Barry if he wanted any.

Barry Allen. So, so weird. Not him as a person, but his face. Will didn't know much about Sebastian but remembered how tired and frustrated that kid made him feel. He was a mix of Santana and Sue; it was a little terrifying.

Will learned very quickly that Barry was nothing like Sebastian. He was friendly, calm, and didn't retaliate against Santana's brutal words.

"I should've given them my wallet," Barry said sheepishly.

And Sebastian most likely wouldn't have offered to pay for their hot chocolates.

He gave him a warm smile, "No, it's okay, Barry. You're already taking time out of your day to help us with the Fundraiser."

Barry shook his head, "It's nothing really."

Will smiled at him and turned his head when he heard Santana's laugh outside the car. She was holding three cups of hot chocolate. Everyone else was still at the stand; it looked like they were still ordering.

"You will not believe what Quinn just did!" Santana laughed as she entered the car.

Before either he and Barry could say something, she said, "She flirted her way into getting us half of our hot chocolates for free, and the poor soul is throwing in some other stuff!"

Barry looked a bit surprised and breathed a laugh while Will chuckled. He looked out the window and saw Quinn indeed talking to a man who she utterly hypnotized. Poor guy.

"Hey, Barry." Barry turned to look at Santana. "Quinn got one for you, too."

"Oh! She didn't have to do that. I have money, so I could…." He trailed off as Santana gave him a look.

"Dude, she got managed to get hot chocolate for free. Take it, come on." She said, amused.

He smiled at her and took it with a mumbled, "Thanks."

The kid was blushing. How sweet.

"Oh!" Santana said suddenly.

They looked at her as she pulled something out of her purse (she most likely snatched it back from Rachel). It looked like a crumpled picture.

She had a small smile and handed it to Barry, face down, "Here."

He took it from her, "What is it?" He said, confused.

"Unfold it and maybe you'll find out." Santana said, rolling her eyes.

Will curiously leaned towards Barry to look at the picture.

"Oh, wow." Barry muttered.

Wow, indeed. How on earth did Santana dig that up?

Barry was staring at the picture in his hand.

It was weird. He was surprised when Santana handed it to him.

He'd never seen Sebastian like this before. In high school with his friends. Laughing.

Barry's lips quirked up. It was nice seeing Sebastian smiling wide, enjoying himself in a circle of friends wearing the Dalton uniform. He was getting hugged from behind by a man with blonde hair, grinning as well. He suddenly felt a pang in his chest at the memory of him and Sebastian doing that together. And knowing he had missed seeing Sebastian like that. He wasn't with him in high school. He didn't get to see his highs and lows, see him fall in love for the first time, and see him be happy.

And Sebastian never saw him like that too.

'God, you would think Sebastian died by the way I'm feeling.' Barry thought.

At least he wasn't crying. The two other people in the car would probably jump out the window at the sheer awkwardness.

He felt himself heating up. He glanced up and saw Will smiling lightly at him. He turned to Santana and softly said, "Thanks."

She gave him a nod. "The least I can do for scaring you shitless just by talking." She laughed, and he did too.

"Can I—um." Barry stuttered.

She quirked an eyebrow. "Can I keep it?" He asked, a bit shyly.

Santana looked surprised and laughed. "Uh, yeah. I don't need a picture of the twink. It's yours, Allen."

He smiled, "Thank you."

"Okay, here they are." Will said.

Quinn, Rachel, Finn, and Kurt all squeezed back into the car, laughing slightly at some joke they must've told while they were outside.

Rachel wheezed out, "Quinn I—oh my god I can't breathe! That poor man! You are terrible!"

Quinn rolled her eyes, obviously not amused, "Okay, I just flirted lightly. You are all overreacting."

Kurt was about to say something, but Barry interrupted, "Thank you for the hot chocolate, Quinn. I appreciate it." He smiled at her.

Quinn smiled back, "You're welcome."

He needed to pay her back later. How much was hot chocolate? $5? This was from a random stand in a park, so it was probably cheaper. Right? Maybe $8? That seemed a bit expensive, didn't it? Well, actually, he wasn't sure how pricing—

He realized he had been staring into space when Rachel suddenly tapped his shoulder. He noticed she had swapped seats with Finn. He looked at her and noticed she wasn't wearing the smile she usually was when talking to him. She wasn't looking at him either.

"Is that Sebastian?"

Oh.

Kurt and Finn leaned over as well to get a look. He noticed Quinn trying to get a peak as well.

He stammered a bit, "Uh—yeah. Santana gave it to me."

Barry saw Kurt not-so-subtlety give Santana a wide-eyed look. She just shrugged and said, "Dalton still has a website. After some minutes of digging, I found that."

After every one, minus Quinn and Will, gave her a confused pointed look, she rolled her eyes and said, "I was being thoughtful. A rare occurrence but it happens." She took a sip of her hot chocolate.

Barry was feeling a bit uncomfortable. Will patted his shoulder and said, "Don't worry, Barry. I think everyone just feels a little awkward talking about your brother."

Barry had meaning to ask about that. What the hell did Sebastian do? Did he even do something? Or was this a petty feud? Santana and Kurt seemed highly pissed off at him at Jitters when they first mistook him for Sebastian.

He heard Kurt mutter sarcastically, "Awkward. Yeah, that's it."

He outwardly frowned. This was killing him.

"Why are you all so peeved off at Sebastian?"

Silence.

One beat.

Two beats.

Three beats.

Finn, who had been quiet for a bit, said, "Well—I-I don't think we're peeved off at him— "

Rachel but in, "Yeah, it's just some stupid high school drama. You know." She said, a bit too perky.

He squinted, "Uh—"

"No no no." Kurt said. "Guys, come on! If Barry wants to know what Sebastian did, then fine. We should tell him." He said flatly.

Oh god. Sebastian did something. It couldn't be that bad? It's not like he would murder one of their friends. The bar was a little low at murder. Thinking about it, Barry thought the worst Sebastian would do was teepee their school or spread a nasty rumor. But rumors could hurt. Words could ruin someone's life. Sebastian was smarter than that, though. Sebastian wouldn't purposefully do that damage—

Quinn spoke up, "Uh, well. I think you can relax a bit, Barry. He didn't murder anyone." She said with a nervous laugh.

The bar was low for them too. He was trying to brace himself. Sebastian was his twin. He wouldn't do anything extreme. And this was in high school. What could he have done?

Well, they did seem sort of upset over it. And they were his age.

"What did he do?" Barry started, "Did he hurt any of you?" He knew Sebastian wouldn't have purposefully hurt them. He was just trying to get information.

He stared at them.

Santana coughed and looked at Rachel, prompting her. Will and Finn were avoiding eye contact. Quinn and Kurt looked awkward.

Oh god.

He did, didn't he?

They wouldn't be acting like this if Bas hadn't—

"Not on purpose—well at least I don't think it was on purpose—"Rachel started.

"What?" Kurt said in disbelief, "Of course it was on purpose Rachel, he was trying to cause damage—"

Permanent damage?

Finn spoke up, "Wait, I thought it was an accident though, like a really really bad accident—"

Really really bad?

Quinn interrupted, "Yeah, it seemed like his aim was just off, and didn't mean to hit Blaine—"

Aim? Hit?

Did Sebastian fucking shoot at these people?

Barry was so lost. He watched the four of them talk over each other and growing frustrated while trying to figure out Sebastian's motivations. He glanced at Santana and saw her calming drinking her hot chocolate.

She seemed to have an opinion on everything? Why didn't she have one now?

He glanced at Will, who just shook his head, exasperated.

His neck was starting to ache because of how far he twisted it to talk to them. He unbuckled his seatbelt and turned to get more comfortable. He got out his phone and scrolled through his contacts.

He was debating if he should call Sebastian. That would be weird, right? Maybe shoot him a text? Ask him what the hell was going on? Not now, though. He couldn't call him right now.

He glanced up to see Santana looking at him. When she noticed he caught her staring, she quirked an eyebrow and nodded to his phone screen. He realized he had Sebastian's profile on display.

Did she want him to call him?

He looked at her with wide eyes, "I-I can't call him!"

Everyone else was still in a heated discussion, so they weren't able to hear him. She gave him an amused look. "Why not? Don't you want answers?"

Was she testing him?

"Why can't you give them to me?"

She took a sip, "I don't know what the twink was trying to do. It wouldn't be fair to explain the situation without knowing his side."

She explained it so calmly he almost forgot how hostile she was when they first met. Almost forgot.

"Weren't you the one who almost ripped my face in half at Jitters?"

She smirked, "Yes, it was. But I'm not Fievel's brother. And also he dropped off the face of the earth after he graduated high school. The last time I saw him he was dancing with the rest of the Dalton gay-lords with his stupid smirky meerkat face at an incredibly overdramtic proposal."

Barry briefly wondered how Santana was so quick to come up with nicknames. Fievel? Isn't that from a Disney movie?

"Uh, well. I guess I'll text him…. "

She looked satisfied, "Go head, then."

He quickly typed, "We need to talk."

That sounded a bit dramatic, but Barry needed Sebastian to know it was urgent.

Santana suddenly slapped Rachel's arm, getting her attention, and when she had it, she whispered something in her ear.

Rachel looked at Barry and then spoke over the argument, "Guys! Hey, guys! Stop, stop, stop, listen to me."

They stopped and looked at her a bit begrudgingly. "Barry shouldn't find out from us." She said flatly.

When Kurt was about to open his mouth, most likely to protest, she held out her hand and said, "No Kurt, he should find out from his brother. Family is supposed to be the voice of reason. So, Barry," he looked at her, a bit nervously as she made him a bit nervous too, "I suggest you call Sebastian and talk to him, but obviously I can't make you do anything—"

"Why don't you invite Sebastian to the fundraiser?" Will cut in.

Uh, well.

Rachel beamed, "Yeah! That's a great idea! The Fundraiser is for his school after all."

Santana perked an eyebrow at her and let out a mumbled, "Oh, that would be fun."

"Oh, yeah that'll be lots of us. Chit chatting with Sebastian Smythe, that's just what I need." Kurt said sarcastically.

Barry knew Kurt probably had his reasons for being bitter towards his brother, but that didn't stop Barry from being offended by his reaction.

"Wait, wasn't he invited anyway?" Finn said, eyebrows furrowed.

Quinn frowned, "What do you mean?"

"Well, isn't the Fundraiser for Dalton? All old Warbler members were invited."

Kurt shook his head, "Nobody has had contact with Sebastian since he graduated. They wouldn't have had a way to get in touch with him…."

Barry stopped listening. He had also been meaning to ask about the Fundraiser. Why did Dalton need a fundraiser? It was the most prestigious goddamn building he had ever seen in his life. It surely had money.

"Why does Dalton need a Fundraiser?" He asked, cutting off whatever Kurt was saying.

"How did you not hear?" Santana said after a few awkward seconds in silence.

He frowned, "Hear?"

Will sighed, "Barry. Dalton burned down a couple years ago, and the government did nothing with the land, so we decided to raise enough money ourselves. With a fundraiser."

Dalton burned down. Holy shit. That was terrible. How did Sebastian not tell him about this? He must've known, right? He used to go to school there!

He didn't have time to react as Rachel suddenly clapped her hands. "Okay! Now that we've had our break, we should start roaming the city once again! Whenever you're ready Barry."

Oh geez.

Barry needed a long nap.

Sebastian Smythe was sitting at his desk, tapping his fingers, staring at the clock.

He had five minutes until he was allowed to leave. Of course, today was the damn day he was requested to host the Shakespeare Literature Club.

Host wasn't the right word. All he was doing was sitting at his desk while 5 freshmen and a sophomore were very passionately talking about…something.

Sebastian didn't really know. He was just making sure they didn't kill each other. Which, in his opinion, was stupid considering they were adults. Technically.

They didn't need a babysitter.

And he was supposed to go out with his friends tonight! Consider that plan ruined.

He sighed and opened his phone. He didn't have anything to do. The semester was over. No essays, projects, presentations, or anything to grade. He was bored.

He should've become a high school teacher. High school clubs don't meet over break. But this was a university, so club captains got to decide whether or not they wanted to meet over the holiday.

And of course, the fucking Shakespeare Literature Club thought that was a wonderful idea!

Now, Sebastian might be an English and Literature professor, but that didn't stop him from thinking this group of kids was nerdy as hell and wanting to leave.

One of the Freshmen, Roman, checked his watch and suddenly said, "Mr. Smythe? It's time to go—"

Now, Sebastian was quite professional during school hours. Though, while giving lectures, he cracks a few jokes and tried to appear easy for his students to talk to.

However, that didn't stop him from going, "Oh, hell yes!"

Roman laughed, surprised. The other kids laughed as well.

Sebastian didn't care.

He just wanted to leave. "Okay, guys! Good work, you can all go home, and next time you have a club meeting, please have it at one of your houses."

A girl, who wasn't in any of Sebastian's classes, frowned and said, "I thought you weren't allowed to have any meetings without a teacher present?"

Freaking nerds.

"Well, who said the administration had to know?" He said with a wink and picked up his briefcase leaving the room of now laughing kids.

When he got in the car, he felt his phone buzz. He sighed quietly, thinking it was just one of his friends wondering where he was.

He grabbed his phone and looked to see who it was.

It was Barry.

Out of all people. It was Barry.

"We need to talk."

Barry texting him always meant something was wrong. He only called or texted for emergencies. Sebastian didn't want to panic. "We need to talk" can be a lot of things.

He shoved his phone in his pocket. Barry would've called if it was something urgent. He was going to have fun with his friends tonight and then worry about whatever the hell was going on in Central City later.

Central City.

It hit him. He knew what was happening.

The Dalton Academy Fundraiser. Yeah, he knew about that.

Everyone in Lima thought he dropped off the face of the earth after graduation. Maybe some thought he died. Perhaps some thought he moved away to Paris and found a lover. Changed his name, maybe.

Sebastian knew they tried to reach out to him. He ignored their attempts. He only stayed in touch with Jeff, Nick, and occasionally Hunter.

He didn't want one of his students one day turning up with a handful of blackmail about his days as captain of the Warblers, demanding him to give them a better grade. He was always terrified of that possibility.

And he didn't want to make it easier for them.

Jeff called him about a month and a half ago when the old New Direction members announced they were hosting the Fundraiser, asking if he was going to go. He said he didn't know.

Then Nick called him about a month ago, telling him the Fundraiser was in Central City and asking if he would go. He said he didn't know.

Even Hunter called him about a week ago, asking if he was going.

Sebastian said he didn't know.

Now, Barry texted him. He probably ran into one of the old McKinley guys. They probably harassed him. Maybe Lopez scared the shit out of him if she was there.

Barry probably wanted to know if he was coming. Or maybe they told him what he did. He never told Barry. Sebastian didn't need Barry to be disappointed in him.

He probably knew now.

His phone buzzed again. He quickly took it out and saw it was Jeff.

Oh god.

So many people were going to Central City. He scrolled through the names and saw so many New Direction and Warbler members. People from Vocal Adrenaline and other show choirs were coming too!

Goddammit.

He knew he had to go.

So many people were going to be asking about him, maybe making fun of him. Sebastian didn't want people doing that when he wasn't there to witness it.

He could already see himself, exasperated, talking with either Jeff or Nick or both, on the phone, telling him everything he missed.

No.

Sebastian had to do this. It was Winter break. He wasn't skipping off work. He would get to see his brother and father, who had just recently gotten out of jail.

He didn't have an excuse to avoid going, besides "I don't want to."

He sighed and closed his eyes.

Well.

It looked like Sebastian Smythe was going to Central City.

Hey darlings, I had this chapter ready about a week ago, but every time I reread it, I always found something wrong with it. I hope you are all pleased with the chapter, if it sucks, please let me know. This is personally my least favorite chapter so far, but that maybe because of how much I rewrote it. Love you all 3