5YL Let the Encore Commence

Part 54

Prior to pulling into the parking lot at McKinley, Chloe glanced over at Wes who'd been rather quiet since getting off the phone with Sebastian. "How concerned should I be about you, and Sam after we get inside?" She asked while watching Sam's truck to ensure she went into the correct entrance, yet Wes. "Wes." He shook his head before turning to look at her.

"Sorry about that."

"It's okay, do I need to repeat myself?"

"No." He said as they pulled in, and she continued to follow Sam. "I should be alright, as for Sam, I think a lot of it will depend on how Will reacts to Shelby. The fact he was able to maintain control at the foundation office, is a miracle given the look on his face."

"I think that stemmed from having so many volunteers there." Chloe replied. "If it was only Kate, Victoria, and say, your Mom, he might not have kept his composure, for the most part. Speaking of, how'd Sebastian take the news?" The fact he laughed in response, Chloe shook her head as she pulled into the spot beside Sam. "That good, huh?"

"Put it this way, Will's damn lucky the two of them are in the Caribbean, as I'm pretty sure Blaine's reaction will be none too different." Wes said before looking at the school. "Ready?"

"Ready as one can be." Chloe replied before turning off the car, and the two making their way out to join Sam who was waiting.

"Were you able to get ahold of Sebastian?" Sam asked, once they were standing before him.

"I did, and he said he will tell Blaine, just needs to find the right moment."

"There is no right moment to tell Blaine what Mr. Schue did." Sam stated before the three of them began to walk, as Shelby was already making her way inside. "But if anyone can find the best moment to break this kind of news, it's Sebastian."

"Agreed." Wes told him. "And since Blaine was taking a nap when I called, it gives Sebastian time to compose himself."

"Was his reaction what we expected?"

"Not quite, but he admitted it was because he's completely relaxed, otherwise it would've been worse. Yet that's still saying a lot, as I can't recall ever hearing Sebastian curse that much." His response earned him quite the look, not only from Sam, but Chloe as well. "Keep in mind, I wasn't around when he heard everything that went down between Blaine and…"

"Don't say his name, please, as right now I don't need my feelings regarding him brought to the surface. It's easier to focus on one thing at a time." Sam frustratingly replied. "Why does it seem like nothing goes as planned for Blaine?"

"His wedding to Sebastian did." Chloe quickly chimed in, causing Wes to squeeze her hand.

"You're right." Sam said, as a smile crept to his face, putting one on Chloe's. "More probably has, it's just…"

"Anything that seems to have a connect to, you know, and McKinley, doesn't." Wes chimed in.

"Exactly!" Sam enthusiastically replied as they made their way inside. "Seriously, was it that hard to follow Blaine's instructions?"

"Clearly it was, since we had this problem." Wes reminded him. "Sebastian said something similar, and went to list a few of Blaine's accomplishments. He's got a point as people tend to not separate his awards, as he's won not only for vocals, but for songwriting, and producing. He does it all, extremely well." Statements which Sam fully agreed with. "Are you going to be alright?"

"Didn't I already answer this?" Sam replied.

"Yes, but your demeanor has changed since we made our way inside." Wes told him, causing Sam to tilt his head as he looked at him. "I'm serious."

"Honestly, I don't know." Sam admitted while raking his fingers through his hair. "I vented to Courtney on the way over, but, I still can't believe he did this."

"Are you really?" Wes asked. "I mean, think about it Sam, Blaine suspected something like this could happen. And, you've actually been around him more than Blaine has since he graduated."

"No one wants to see the worst in someone." Chloe said, as it was obvious Sam seemed conflicted. "I'm not too different, particularly regarding people I know. Just know Sam, I was there, and it was awkward, as Will kept attempting to contradict Shelby, who actually met with Blaine before all this. There's no middle ground, it's Blaine's way, or not at all, harsh as that may seem."

"You're right, it does sound harsh, but doesn't make it less true." Sam replied, before taking a deep breath. "The choir room is down that hall. Time to find out of how he's taking what Shelby has to say."

They weren't even halfway down the hall when they heard raised voices coming out of the choir room. "Please Shelby, tell me how I've disregarded what Blaine asked of me, my kids!"

"You didn't follow his direction, is that plain enough for you!" Shelby replied. "Blaine made it clear, what it needed to sound like, yet you decided to do your own thing."

"If Blaine could hear what I did, I bet he'd reconsider his idea!" Shelby couldn't help but laugh as she turned to walk the choir room. "You know I'm right."

"No, you're delusional!" Shelby told him. "This is Blaine's arrangement, meaning he put it together this way for a specific reason. Who the hell do you think you are to say you know better! So, you either rehearse with the New Directions, according to Blaine's directions, what we did yesterday or…"

"Or what?" Will replied.

"The New Directions will be cut from the number."

"You can't do that!"

"Actually, I can." Shelby replied. "Katherine Anderson gave me the authority to do what I deem is necessary. Think about it Will, the group rehearsal isn't until the night before. You can't expect everyone to up and change on short notice, it's not fair."

"What happened to it being about Blaine's vision?" Will sarcastically replied.

"She was being nice." Sam stated as the three of them entered the choir room. "If everyone else followed Blaine's directions, what makes you special?"

"Sam, it's not like that. I…"

"Actually, it is." Sam told him. "With numerous people involved, you risked ruining something that means a lot to Blaine, for what, your own ego? To show you're as talented as him? What is it?"

"Sam, I only started to change things when my kids started to have issues." Will replied. "They're not used to doing harmonies the way the Warblers are." The scoff heard from Wes, brought everyone's attention to him. "You have an issue with that Wes?"

"Damn right I do." Wes told him. "You don't change things to make it easier for them, you teach them! That is your job, isn't it?" Chloe's eyes widened as this wasn't a side of him, she saw often. "By changing things, making it easier for them, you actually made it harder for them."

"How?"

"They need to learn it again, the correct way." Shelby chimed in. "You know better than anyone Will, once you learn something one way, it's not easy to forget it. Which is why, if they can't learn the correct way by next week, they're not performing with the whole group."

"Blaine wouldn't do that." This time around, Sam laughed, earning him quite the look from Will. "Sam, he wouldn't do something so cruel, he's not that type of person."

"But he is, especially professionally." Sam said in response. "When it comes to performing, Blaine has little tolerance for people not following direction."

"These are kids though."

"And you are their director, meaning they'll be paying for you indiscretion." Wes told him. "Before you say Blaine wouldn't do something of that nature, Sebastian confirmed Kate's take on the situation. If the New Directions don't follow directions, they're not performing."

"Sebastian only…"

"Whoa, stop right there!" Sam stated. "If anyone, and I mean anyone can speak for Blaine, it's Sebastian, whether you like it or not!"

"Blaine…"

"What part of this don't you get?" Sam exclaimed, unaware the New Directions were approaching the choir room and could hear the raised voices coming from it. "Blaine didn't trust you to follow directions, it's why he sent Shelby and Wes!" That outburst lead Will to look at Shelby and Wes, who each nodded, before looking at one another. "And you proved he was right not to trust you."

"Sam…"

"Stop trying to portray this differently to him." Shelby stated. "Or telling him it's not something Blaine would do. You are the one person in this room that has no clue what Blaine would do or what he wants. After putting his arrangement together, Blaine sat down with me, explained his vision, in detail. Then asked me, to ensure that vision was brought to fruition, since he's currently on a much deserved vacation with his husband."

"He then asked me, if I'd be willing to accompany the Warblers since I'd be in town, ensure you didn't, push them to the background." Wes added. "Something you attempted to do, right in front of me. Let's not forget, you gave Skylar a hard time, simply because the Warblers submitted their set list to Kate and Victoria, first, meaning you had to choose other songs. If one didn't know better, they'd think you were trying to strong arm him into changing their set list so you could have your first choice."

"Wes, it wasn't like that." Will told him. "I just didn't understand how they got their list in so quickly, as it took us over a week to decided what we wanted to do."

"Nice to know some things haven't changed." Sam said to him. "I mean, we often left song selection to the last minute, something Blaine never understood as it took away rehearsal time. Looking back, I don't understand how we won as often as we did, particularly against the Warblers who were clearly more prepared." He then looked at Wes. "How long after Blaine sent the invite, did the Warblers submit their set list?"

"I believe Skylar said it took them a couple of days to narrow it down." He replied. "They focused on their strengths, along with honoring Blaine. That helped narrow the list from the beginning."

"How many songs by Blaine are they doing?" One of the New Directions asked as the group entered the room.

"I'm not privy to that information, and if I was, I wouldn't share it." Wes told them, before looking at Will. "Since it seems rehearsal is about to begin, I recommend you heed our advice. Because it'll only take a word from Shelby, for me to make a certain call, and you can hear what we told you, from the source himself."

"Why are you guys giving Mr. Schue a hard time?" One of the girls asked.

"We're not giving him a hard time, we're simply reminding him what's at stake." Shelby replied. "Which is why, I'm going to take part in your rehearsal today. You have a lot of work to do in order to be ready for the benefit."

"I thought you were going to talk to Blaine when he got back?" Another chimed in, bringing all attention to Will.

"Excuse me?" Sam said. "What was he intending to talk to Blaine about?"

"Going with his arrangement since it's what we know."

"That's not going to happen." Shelby replied. "You're going to learn the arrangement according to the directions, or, you're not going to be performing with the others." When it looked as though numerous members of the New Directions were about to speak, Sam did first.

"It's not an idle threat guys, it's the truth." Sam told them. "If you want to perform along with Blaine, listen to Shelby, as she's spoken with Blaine and knows what he wants."

"Let me guess, the Warblers didn't get this speech."

"No reason for them to, as they followed direction." Wes replied. "It's time you guys focused on yourselves, and not on what the Warblers do."

"I think it's best if you guys leave, that is, everyone but Shelby." Will said to them. "I'll take your words into consideration."

"Do more than consider them." Wes stated as the New Direction went to set their things down. "Otherwise you, and only you will be to blame for them being cut from the number. And if you don't think Blaine would do it, think again." He then turned his attention towards Shelby. "Are you going to be alright if we go?"

"Yes." Shelby replied. "I'll give you a call afterwards."

"Please do, as I know a certain duo who would love an update." He then looked at Sam. "Want to go join us for something to eat?"

"Sounds good, as I've got some questions that I think you'll be able to answer."

Once the three of them left, Shelby pulled her copy of the arrangement out of her bag as Will looked at her. "I simply brought mine along for reference." She told him as he took a step closer. "What now?"

"Blaine would never cut them from the number."

"He would, which reinforces the fact, you don't know him." Shelby replied. "He's not going to risk embarrassment up on that stage."

"Who's embarrassment?"

"You did not just ask me that." She responded before glancing over at the New Directions. "Why did you even agree to take part in this, seriously, as it's becoming more obvious you have issues with Blaine?"

"Per Emma's advice, I let my kids decide." Will told her. "And from the moment I told them about it, there was no way they were going to say no to getting a chance to perform with Blaine. While I have issues with how Blaine's handle his issues with Kurt, the kids look up to him."

"First off, I'm glad you let them decide, as performing with a Grammy winner, is quite the honor." Shelbk up to him."

"First off, I'm glad you let them decide, as performing with a Grammy winner, is quite the honor." Shelby said as she closed the distance between them even more. "Regrading Kurt, if you knew the whole story regarding what Blaine's had to deal with, you wouldn't feel that way."

"According to you."

"If you knew the entire story, and still took Kurt's side, it says more about you, than it ever will about Blaine." She then glanced at the New Directions who were aware of the tension in the room. "Time for you to get your kids up to speed, because your so called good intentions, hurt them, more than it ever helped them." Will then glanced at the New Directions, before reaching for his score. "I take that to mean you're going to follow Blaine's direction."

"I don't have much of a choice now, do I?"

"Well, I could call Wes, and have him attempt to get in contact with Blaine, interrupt his vacation, telling him he was right about you. And then, you can hear directly from him what he thinks of your so-called changes to his arrangement." In response, Will simply looked at her in frustration before going to get the metronome. "Now that's more like it."

While all this was occurring in Lima, Blaine couldn't shake the feeling that something had changed in Sebastian since he took his nap. No matter how many times Sebastian deflected, Blaine knew the look all too well, which only caused him to push harder. "You know, you don't make it easy on a person who's trying to find the right moment to tell you something." Sebastian said in exasperation as he looked up at Blaine who'd pinned him onto the chaise beneath him.

"Weren't you the one who's told me, there's never a right moment to give less than stellar news?" Blaine replied, his wet curls hanging forward, as they'd recently gotten out of the pool. "So, just tell me what's bothering you, as something clearly is."

"How about I tell you, after we do something a bit more enjoyable given our current placement?" The less than innocent waggle of his eye brows, simply caused Blaine to shake his head. "It's not important Killer, they…never mind."

"They who?"

"You're not playing fair, you're distracting me."

"No different than when you want to get something out of me." Blaine told him. "Which they, are you referring to?"

"Shelby and Wes." Instantly a frustrated sigh escaped him, as he sat back onto Sebastian's thighs, freeing his arms. "They have everything under control, now."

"What the hell did Mr. Schue do?" Blaine said, as he raked his fingers through his hair, pulling it back. "Bas, just tell me." When Sebastian reached out and took ahold of his hands once he brought them to his thighs, Blaine sighed again.

"He tweaked your arrangement."

"Excuse me? He tweaked my arrangement, who the hell does he think he is?" Sebastian couldn't help but laugh, as his response wasn't all that different from his own. "This isn't funny Bas, he…"

"Relax, I'm not laughing at you, I'm laughing because I had a similar response. Though, my language was a bit more colorful." Sebastian said, his voice surprisingly calm now that Blaine knew. "It caused a lot of issues, and while Shelby got things under control, it concerned her to the point she went to your Mom."

"About?"

"How much say she really had in things. After telling Kate what happened, she might've told Shelby she had free reign to do what was needed, including cutting the New Directions from the number."

"It had to be pretty bad for my Mom to say something like that."

"I actually echoed those comments when I spoke with Wes." Sebastian told him. "Put it this way B, Schuester actually tried to get the Warblers to sing his version and…" He stopped as Blaine pulled back in frustration, soon getting off the chaise and walking the deck. "B, talk to me."

"The audacity of that man!" Blaine said a few minutes later as he came back over towards Sebastian, who was now on his side, head propped up with his hand. "Who the hell does he think he is, changing my arrangement, and then expecting the warblers to listen to him, over me. No big deal, right, just have them change something they've worked on for weeks. God forbid if Shelby and/or Wes wasn't there, I would've had to scrap the whole fucking number because of his arrogance! Did it ever dawn on him it was arranged that way for a reason?" When Sebastian didn't respond, Blaine cocked his head. "Don't you have anything to say?"

"You want me to say something?" Blaine nodded in response. "I'm thrilled to see you pissed about this, as in my opinion, his actions are nothing more than a giant fuck you, to you. That even after everything you've achieved, he still believes he knows better, which is bullshit. The only reason the New Directions accomplished half of what they did is because they had a voice like Rachel's on their side."

"Did you really just compliment Rachel, in a rather big way?"

"Yes, don't tell her though." Sebastian playfully replied. "I'm still resentful of some of those so-called wins the New Directions got over the Warblers."

"I don't blame you, as I feel the same way."

"I didn't overstep when I told Wes…"

"No." Blaine told him before he could even finish. "As it's better it was put out there now, versus as the only joint rehearsal we're going to have. It ensured everyone should be on the same page that night."

"You hope."

"Weren't you the one that told me to trust in Shelby and Wes?" Sebastian nodded. "Then that's what I'm going to do, no matter how bad I want to call Mr. Schuester and tell him what I think of what he did."

"Actually, I'd love to see that given how hard you worked on this."

"Then hope your flight isn't late, because I'm not going to ignore what he did, not a chance."