Summary: Sebastian tries something drastic to help Blaine and someone else tries something drastict to prove a point.
3 Weeks Later
Sebastian had Blaine by the arm and had literally pulled him out of Warbler practice and back to the dorms. "What the hell are you doing?" demanded an extremely irate Blaine, but Sebastian didn't care. He was doing this for the greater good.
"You've got to let up on the Warblers" Sebastian told him. "I know Regionals are only a couple of weeks away, and you're still pissed that Schuster got the New Directions back in after we beat them at Sectionals, but everyone needs a break. Come on B, you're the nice one. Remember? That's how our whole co-captain dynamic works."
"I haven't been that bad."
"Killer, a couple of the First Years were reminiscing about the good old days…with Hunter." Blaine sat down in the chair at his desk and his entire body sagged in defeat. Sebastian knelt down in front of him and made his boyfriend look him in the eyes "You know I'd help you if you would let me."
"There's nothing you can do. You know that."
Sebastian took one of Blaine's hands and ran his thumb gently across the now scared knuckles "I'm not talking about what's going on with your case. The District Attorney, your parents, my dad and even your uncle and Cooper are taking care of that. And I'm not talking about what's going on in here." Sebastian used the pointer finger on his free hand to tap on Blaine's forehead "That's Dr. Shepard's job. What I want to help with is here." He moved his finger and brought it down so it now tapped on Blaine's chest.
Blaine closed his eyes and let go of a tear as he realized where Sebastian was pointing "My heart? You think it is your job to help my heart?"
"I know it is."
"Even if I have been the worst boyfriend in the world and wonder every day why you haven't broken up with me?" Blaine knew he had been pushing Sebastian away but he couldn't stop. He wasn't the boy that Sebastian fell in love with. In fact, he didn't know who he was anymore. He wasn't the depressed mess he had been at McKinley, but he also wasn't Blaine Warbler and he definitely was no longer Wolverine.
And he could never be again. The Neurologist had told him that if he even had a chance at playing music again, he had to give up fighting (or boxing as he told the doctor and his parents) forever. At the time it seemed like a no-brainer, he couldn't bear the thought of no longer being able to play music. What he hadn't realized was that even when he was at McKinley, he had used the heavy bag as a way to work out his frustrations. Now he didn't have an outlet for his anger, except for First Year Warblers evidently, and unfortunately, Sebastian. He looked down at Sebastian's thumb rubbing over his knuckles when his eyes caught sight of the band of leather around Sebastian's wrist. It was the cuff that matched the one he had given Blaine for Christmas. The one that had the words I'm In on the inside. The one that Blaine had ruined when he got blood all over it.
When Sebastian realized what Blaine was looking at, he removed it and pulled up Blaine's sleeve, attaching the cuff to his wrist so that it sat under the ID bracelet he wore "I'm not going anywhere, you idiot. I want you to wear my cuff until you truly believe what it says."
"I'm in."
"Damn right you are" Sebastian smiled and then gave Blaine a quick kiss to the tip of his nose before standing up. Without saying a word, he walked over to Beat's (who was now Blaine's roommate) closet and came back with something Blaine had refused to even look at for weeks…his acoustic guitar.
"Bas, I can't."
"Just hear me out, ok. I was talking with your mom…" The groan Blaine let out informed Sebastian that may have been the wrong thing to do, but it was too late now. "Yes, I talked to your mom, and she said you have been playing piano at home but you won't go near your guitar, even though your physical therapist recommended it." He sat the guitar on the bed and somehow got Blaine over to sit next to it "No one is going to bother you. Take your time. The Senior Warblers and I are taking everyone bowling…Well, I'm glad you find that funny."
"You? Bowling? Wearing other people's shoes? This had to be Trent's idea."
"Hey! We may not be Blam, but Sent is pretty damn awesome."
"First, we need to figure out a new name for the two of you. And second, you've got to admit you and Trent are an odd match."
"Says the guy whose Best Gay is Santana Lopez."
Blaine had never liked the term Santana used to describe their relationship but it was far better than her original Person I would be fucking if I wasn't gay. He was going to regret answering that door naked for the rest of his life. "Yeah, you got me there." He took his eyes off of Sebastian and looked down at the guitar "I wouldn't know where to begin."
"You probably don't want to hear this. Your mom suggested a song, but wouldn't tell me what it was. She said that you could probably play the song through sheer muscle memory."
He knew exactly what song she was talking about. It was just like his mother to play dirty "Beautiful."
"The Christina Aguilera song?"
"Did I ever tell you that my Aunt Cory taught me to play guitar?" Sebastian shook his head and wondered what Sugar's mom had to do with this "Beautiful was her favorite song and so when she got sick, I played it for her. When she died, I played it for Sugar every night for months so she could go to sleep. It was one of the reasons I stayed with her and her dad. I've played it hundreds of times."
Sebastian tried not to smile. He knew it was selfish but the more he learned about Blaine's relationship with Sugar, the less Blaine's move to McKinley seemed to be about Kurt. However, this wasn't the time for that. "Maybe your mom was right" Sebastian told him "That sounds like a good place to start. Take your time and remind the OCD part of your brain that it doesn't have to be perfect." He really hated leaving Blaine alone, but knew he was much more likely to at least try to play if he wasn't being watched. Instead, he put his hands on the sides of Blaine's face and tilted it up to give him a kiss "Just call if you need me."
Once he was out of the room, Sebastian let out a sigh of relief. He knew going in that his plan was risky at best. Hell, he had been pretty sure Blaine would smash the guitar over his head. Now that the plan seemed to have worked, he didn't know what to do. As much as he adored Trent, there was no fucking way he was going bowling. His internal dialogue ended when he heard the sound of a guitar from behind Blaine's door. It wasn't fluid and several wrong notes were hit, but at least Blaine was trying. Then it stopped.
It took every fiber of his being to not run back into the room, but fortunately Blaine began to play again. This time there were no hesitations. Every note was mesmerizing, yet haunting. And then Blaine began to sing.
Life's too short to even care at all oh oh
I'm losing my mind losing my mind losing control
"Holy Shit!" Sebastian no longer had any concerns about Blaine's hands, but he felt guilty for standing there, listening. Blaine thought he had left. Blaine had not meant for these words to be heard.
These fishes in the sea they're staring at me oh oh oh oh oh oh
A wet world aches for a beat of a drum, oh oh
If I could find a way to see this straight, I'd run away
To some fortune that I, I should have found by now
I'm waiting for this cough syrup to come down, come down
"Holy Shit! Is that Blaine?" Sebastian whipped around and told Jeff to shush, but didn't make him leave. He probably wouldn't have anyway.
Life's too short to even care at all oh
I'm coming up now coming up now out of the blue oh oh
These zombies in the park they're looking for my heart oh oh oh oh
A dark world aches for a splash of the sun oh oh
"Holy Shit! Is that Blaine?" Thad's interruption was met by shushes from both Sebastian and Jeff, which he did and then joined them.
If I could find a way to see this straight, I'd run away
To some fortune that I, I should have found by now
And so I run now to the things they said could restore me
Restore life the way it should be
I'm waiting for this cough syrup to come down
"Holy Shit! Is that Blaine?" After Nick received the now standard response to the repeated question, all of the boys quickly turned their attention back toward Blaine's door as the song's tempo took a dramatic change.
Life's too short to even care at all oh
I'm losing my mind losing my mind losing control
When Blaine began a guitar solo, the three that had joined Sebastian each had an ah-ha moment. This whole thing had been about Blaine attempting to play his guitar again. As the solo became more demanding, perhaps even angry, they all came to the same conclusion that Sebastian had earlier, Blaine's hands would be fine. They also came to the same conclusion that there needed to be a reason Blaine chose to play that particular song. They just didn't know, or maybe wanted to admit, what the reason was.
If I could find a way to see this straight, I'd run away
To some fortune that I, I should have found by now
And so I run now to the things they said could restore me
Restore life the way it should be
I'm waiting for this cough syrup to come down
One more spoon of cough syrup now whoa
One more spoon of cough syrup now whoa
"Holy Shit! Was that Blaine?" Unlike the others, Beat had been wise enough to whisper his question, but to be fair the music had stopped.
"What are you guys doing here?" Sebastian asked "Considering four of you came, it better not be just to find me." Since Beat had been the last to arrive, he told him what was going on. "Are you fucking kidding me?" Sebastian was so pissed by what Beat told him that he turned and opened Blaine's door, not even taking the time to announce himself.
"Damn it, Bas!" Blaine yelled having been startled by the sudden intrusion, but when he saw that Sebastian wasn't alone he became concerned "What's going on?"
"Killer, Schuster is in the Warblers commons. Alone. And he wants to speak to you. Alone."
"Holy Shit!" was all Blaine said before he laid his guitar on the bed and took off toward the commons, the rest of the guys on his heels. Upon his arrival Blaine had to stop himself from laughing. Yes, Mr. Schuster was there but he was almost cowering as Trent stood in front of him, arms crossed, foot tapping and a familiar-looking snarl on his sweet, baby face.
He had definitely been spending too much time with Sebastian.
Blaine walked straight over to him, temporarily ignoring their guest "Where are the rest of the guys?"
"The Junior Warblers took them to the library to work on homework for the time being."
"Thanks, Trent. I'll take it from here."
"Oh, hell no, Killer. There's no way I'm leaving you alone with that asshole." Sebastian said as he and the others entered the room and formed a perimeter around Blaine.
"Sebastian, I just want to talk…"
"Not happening after the crap you pulled when he was in the hospital." Sebastian was so focused on the man in front of him that he didn't notice that Blaine had grabbed ahold of his arm until he heard him wince "Oh god, B. Are you ok?"
"My fingers hurt, in a good way" Blaine assured him. "But Bas, I need you and the guys to leave and make some calls."
"I'm not leaving you alone with him."
"Jeff will stay with me. Bas, go make the calls."
Before Sebastian could object again, Trent stepped in "Let's go, Seb. Blaine's got this."
"Fine, but we will be right outside of that door."
Once everyone was out of the room, Blaine turned his focus back to his former advisor. He had to admit, he was extremely curious to know why Mr. Schuster was there, even though it would most likely piss him off. But before they went any further, he needed to remember his manners.
After all, he is a Dalton Boy.
"I don't believe the two of you have been formally introduced. Mr. Schuster, this is Jeff Sterling, a fellow Senior Warbler. Jeff, you've heard me speak of Mr. Schuster." Jeff let out a snicker but managed to keep his cool. "Now, why are you here? And don't try to twist things because if you haven't guessed, at this moment calls are being made to Sam, Sugar and Kitty." Jeff looked over at Blaine and wondered why he had left Puck's name off of the list. It took only a quick glance back from Blaine for him to remember that Puck was keeping an eye on Kurt (through Finn). The last thing they needed was for Mr. Schuster to find out about Puck and Beat's new found friendship.
"This week's theme in Glee Club was Feuds since there has been tension between everyone after what happened while you were in the hospital. So, I'm here to offer an olive branch and once again invite you to my wedding next Saturday."
"No, thank you." While he would have said no anyway, it didn't escape Blaine that there had been no apology in the previous statement.
"I figured you'd say that, so I have a compromise. Let's settle this in true McKinley fashion…a Diva-Off. We each provide a judge and if the New Directions win, you, and I assume Sebastian, will come to the wedding."
"Agreed."
"Uh, Blaine…"
"No Jeff, it's ok." The look in his eyes showed Jeff that Blaine truly was ok, so he took a step back and let his friend continue.
"I have a few stipulations. First of all, this is between you and me. No outside help coming up with routines. I can't use any Warblers and you can't use any of the New Directions, past or present. Each team performs two songs, not the same ones, just something associated with a musical diva. And when the Warblers win, you get rid of Finn, Kurt, Puck and anyone else you planned on calling in, and let the Seniors plan your Regionals performance like should be happening. I'm assuming you are holding true to form and are waiting until the last minute to come up with something."
"Agreed." Will hoped that Emma wouldn't be too mad that he would have to take time from wedding prep to do this. After all, she was the one that made him come to Dalton to personally invite Blaine to the wedding. "Since this has to be before the wedding, how about one week from today?"
"Agreed. Let's say McKinley auditorium, 4 PM? Oh, one more thing. I don't trust you. So, I'm going to ask someone to go and make sure you aren't getting any help. You can send someone as well, or you can trust Jeff. I will assure you that when he gives you his word as a Dalton Boy, he will keep it."
"Agreed, and as a sign of good faith, I will trust Jeff with monitoring outside participation. See you all next week. Blaine, Jeff." When Will open the doors to leave he found Sebastian and all of the rest of the Warblers, but they let him by without incident. They were more interested in what Blaine and Jeff had to say. When Blaine explained what he had agreed to, he was met with 16 pairs of eyes looking at him like he had lost his mind.
"Blaine, how are we supposed to do all of this?" Thad asked for the group. "Right now we only have one song for Regionals and we can't seem to get it to come together."
For some reason that excited Blaine. He ran over to the desk and wrote something on the outside of a folder before rejoining the group "The problem is not the routine, it's the song." He stopped momentarily for the expected groans of frustration before he continued. "Listen, the theme for Regionals is Tell us who you are. The song we chose doesn't say who we are, but how people see us." Blaine held up the folder which had the title of a different song on it "This is who we are."
"Holy Shit! He's right" Trent's cheeks immediately went red. He meant what he said, he just didn't swear very much. Maybe he had been spending too much time with Sebastian.
Trent's enthusiasm only fueled Blaine's "And the routine fits, but it would need a couple of tweeks."
"Tweeks?" Nick asked.
Blaine handed the folder to Jeff and walked over to a couple of Second Years "This song has a much stronger bass line. Jackson, Aiden, I know you guys have been leery about working with Beat and Kevin, but I know you two can do this." Both boys happily agreed to that change, but Blaine had one more so he turned back to the group "And this is not just going to be just me and Bas. All Senior Warblers have a part and yes Beat, that means you will sing something."
While everyone else was laughing and teasing Beat, Blaine looked over at his boyfriend who was sporting an "Old Sebastian" smirk. "You've been awfully quiet."
"I've agreed with everything you've said, I just have one question. What are we going to do for this little Diva-Off you've gotten us into?"
"That's easy. I'm going to do a solo for the second song and the first song is done. The guys will pick it up quick."
"How are you going to pull something from the archives, Killer? You can't have any Warbler help."
Blaine walked over, gingerly took hold of Sebastian's jacket and pulled him in for the most passionate kiss they had shared in weeks (which didn't go unnoticed by the rest of the Warblers who stopped what they were doing and tried not to watch) "Who said it was something from the Warblers? I've got to go. See you when I get back."
He was almost out the door when Jeff called out "You're forgetting something, Anderson. We still don't have a second song for Regionals."
"Open the folder, Sterling."
Jeff couldn't get the folder open fast enough "Holy Shit! That son-of-a-bitch did it! He's back. He's really back!"
"Who?" Thad asked.
"Blaine Warbler!" Jeff held up the folder so everyone could see the sheet of paper on top…Regionals Song #2/Music and Lyrics by Blaine Anderson
Everyone began to chatter, but stopped when they heard Sebastian snicker. "What's so funny?" Jeff asked.
"The guy that just left, that wasn't Blaine Warbler. That guy was Wolverine."
A half hour later, Dr. Shepard noted the change in Blaine's demeanor the moment he entered his office "You seem to be in a good mood today."
"That's because I am."
"Care to explain?"
"Ok, but after I explain everything, I need to ask you for a favor." Blaine did tell him everything, but he was obviously the most animated when he talked about Mr. Schuster. How confronting his former advisor had gotten his "creative juices" flowing for the first time in weeks. How he didn't want to hurt his McKinley friends, but he wanted to crush him in the Diva-Off. And he didn't want to just crush him, he wanted to embarrass him.
Listening to Blaine speak like that concerned his therapist "Blaine, I really think we need to take a step back and discuss your anger issues again."
The last thing he expected was for Blaine to start laughing at him "Doc, this isn't anger. This is show choir."
"Blaine…"
"No, I can prove it." Blaine got out his phone and smiled when the person he called actually answered. "Hey…Yes…Yes, I'm doing much better. Do you have a few minutes?...Good. I'm with someone that doesn't believe me when I tried to tell him how cut-throat show choir could be. I thought you would be the perfect person to talk to him about it…Thanks. I'm going to go ahead and put you on speaker." He put his phone down on the table in front of Dr. Shepard and then asked "Rachel? Can you hear me?"
Forty-five minutes later, Blaine put his phone back in his pocket. It had been a good thing he still scheduled two hour appointments "Believe me now?"
"Yes, but Blaine was that really necessary? I mean, I'm sure Rachel is a lovely person, but…"
"She's a bit much?"
"You think?" They both began to laugh until they were each doubled over, with tears running down their faces. When they finally caught their breath, Dr. Shepard asked "So, what's the favor you needed?"
Meanwhile in Lima, Kurt was in the middle of an intense phone conversation "I told you, Travis. There's nothing I can do. Ever since Blaine went into the hospital I can't get near either him or Sebastian, but it won't be for much longer. I'm going to see them next week when they come to McKinley."
"Fine, I'll give you 10 more days. But if I don't see $10,000 in my bank account that day, I'll tell that Santana chick everything."
Notes:
Cough Syrup (Glee Version): Cannata, Eric; Comtois, Francois; Hashemian, Ehson; Gadhia, Sameer; Tilly, Jacob 2010
I promise that I planned on using Cough Syrup here all along. It is hands down my favorite Glee song. This is the first time I felt it fit into something I wrote. It has nothing to do with the fact that Darren teased it for Elsie Fest. Blaine's decision to sing that particular song (and what was going on when he originally sang it) will be addressed soon.
The Diva-Off will combine different themes from canon episodes 4x13 (Diva), 4x16 (Feud) as well as others I will note at the time. This is the "I do not own anything from or affiliated with the television program Glee" portion of the note.