I'm Walking On Sunshine
Main characters: Blaine Anderson, Wes Montgomery, David Thompson, Kurt Hummel
Pairings: Klaine
Fandom: Glee
Author: Myrne
Rated: T
Summary: Blaine Anderson has loved hiking ever since he was a little boy. Walking the Four Days Marches in the Netherlands is his next big marching event. His whole world is turned upside down when he meets Kurt. Blaine is in for the best week of his life! Heavy on Blaine being great friends with Wevid.
Important: I don't own Glee and their characters! I also apologize for any mistakes. English is not my mother tongue.
Hi guys!
I'm back with this story. I'm in the mood again (check out my other story: Is It Possible, Mr. Loveable?, it's also a Klaine one) and I really want to finish this story, because I'm still in love with the Four Days Marches. It's a wonderful event. I finished last year and this year I'm gonna participate again and hopefully finish for the fifth time, which means… my silver medal!
Without further ado, enjoy chapter 5 a.k.a. day 1 of the 4DM for Blaine and Wes!
#5: Day 1
"Please turn that awful noise off and let me sleep," Wes whined and turned around in his bed, pulling the blankets over his head in the process.
Blaine was having none of it, though. He threw a spare pillow into the direction of Wes and whooped when it succesfully hit his friend's head.
"Come on, man, we have to get up! It's the first day of the Marches, Wes!"
Groaning, Wes removed the blankets from his face and then the rest of his body, sticking one foot out of the bed and then the other, moving himself on the edge of his bed, blinking rapidly.
"Why couldn't they just start at 8am or something?"
"We've been over this a thousand times, because then we have to walk until late in the evening and the sun is gonna shine bright and it's gonna be hot."
"Yes, yes, I know, it's a rethorical question…" Wes was finally out of bed and jealously stared at David, still sound asleep even though there was so much noise.
"Dibs on the bathroom," Blaine called out before Wes could even think about moving to the bathroom. "And don't even dare to get back to sleep. You could fill your waterbottles and grab the snacks."
Wes growled low in his throat, because his best friend knew him way too well.
Blaine moved himself to the bathroom, cutting the time of his morning routine in half, because they had to get breakfast in 10 minutes if they wanted to be at the starting line when the starting shot was fired.
Wes, in the mean time, packed not only his backpack, but also Blaine's, because he had to do something to not snuggle under the blankets again and sleep some more. He moved quickly and swiftly through the large hotel room, grabbing all the stuff he needed in a record time of three minutes.
Blaine emerged from the bathroom very quickly, Wes proudly noticed. He flew into the bathroom before Blaine was completely out and pointed at Blaine's backpack.
"I packed yours too. Yes, I thought about the nasty orange energy drinks you drink too much of." Wes shook his head in disbelief, because those things were absolutely disgusting, but Blaine insisted he would perform better.
"Yeah, yeah, just hurry up, Wes. We need to be downstairs for breakfast in 5 minutes."
Wes, too, did his morning routine quickly enough, so that they headed downstairs one minute after they agreed. Blaine had already put his shoes on, Wes just walked to breakfast on his socks, his walking boots in his hands.
"Oh, eggs!" Blaine exclaimed when they entered the breakfast room, where several other hikers were already having breakfast. The whole hotel was full of hikers after all, but some didn't have to start until 7am, because they were the lucky sons of bitches who were walking the 30km.
Unfortunately for Blaine, Wes and all the other men between 18 and 50 (and some women who voluntarily chose to walk the 50km!), they had to start at the ungodly time of 4am.
Blaine and Wes each grabbed a plate and put different kind of food on it. They also grabbed some extra energy bars for snacks on the road.
"And, are you nervous?" Wes asked quietly, as soon as they were seated with their food, munching on it, while it was very silent in the room. They could feel the tension. Everyone was nervous.
"Yes, I am terrified. I wanted to train more, but I'm well read about the whole Marches and I know enough about the route not to be surprised I guess."
"Yes, same here, although I'm not a Marches nerd like you I guess." Wes chuckled, because he was sure his friend read every English article about the Marches. He was proud at Blaine for his determination.
He received a slap on his shoulder from Blaine and a loud laugh, which caused several people to look up. Suddenly the bubble seemed to be popped and the room was suddenly buzzing with conversation.
Blaine and Wes cleaned up their table, bringing their dirty plates and cups back to where they were collected by hotel staff to be washed.
"Let's go."
Blaine waited patiently for Wes, who was putting on his shoes and then they walked outside, following ten other men and one woman who were also heading for the starting line.
Blaine's mobile suddenly chimed and he furrowed his eyebrows. Who could text him this early?
Hey dudes! HAVE FUN. Sorry, but I'm going back to bed, I needed to pee. – David
Blaine snorted when Wes was reading his phone aswell, probably the same text of David.
"That guy gives away too much information sometimes," Wes laughed and put away his phone, after answering their friend shortly.
Another text came in for Blaine, and it was his mother in the USA. Ofcourse she texted right now, it was the evening there right now.
Hey Blainey! Good luck on your first day of the Marches! Your father sends you his regards aswell. Don't forget to have fun aswell. And if you feel the need to drop out, don't think you're weak. I'm proud of you already. X Mom.
His mother had always been a very warm person, unlike his father. His father had just this professional glow over him and it didn't disappear at home. Blaine was sure his father didn't say to send his regards to Blaine, but his mother included it in the text anyways, to make him feel loved by both her and his father.
Blaine never felt loved by his father, however, but luckily his mother and brother made up for all the love lacking on his father's side.
"You're popular," Wes said, while they were moving closer to the starting line. Blaine blushed and put away his phone, since he needed to focus now. He moved the sleeves of his shirt up his arm, so his wrist band became visisble. It needed to be scanned at the starting line.
When Wes and Blaine arrived at the Wedren, it was full of people. It was 5 minutes before 4, so everyone was still talking excitedly, shuffling from one foot to the other. Almost everyone was sipping on cups of coffee. Blaine and Wes already had coffee at the hotel, so they were good for now. They made the agreement to walk for four hours, until 8am, and then buy their first cup of coffee. Until then, they would drink water and energy drinks.
"It's so close now!" Blaine whispered excitedly, eyeing all the 8,000 people who were starting the 50km. It looked like so much people right now, but soon they would spread out on the route and it would be easy to find your own tempo.
Blaine knew that the 40km was a lot more crowded, so he was actually glad he was walking the 50km. He hated stepping on someone's heels because he couldn't find his space to walk.*
At 3.59am the Marching leader appeared on a balcony, so he could be seen by everyone. After a short talk, in both Dutch and English, he lifted up the gun and fired it, sending a loud "bang" in the air.
There was an excited murmur in the crowd and suddenly everyone moved forward. The scanning of the wrist bands began and after a few minutes Wes and Blaine were in front of the line. Flashing bright smiles to the people scanning, they let their wrist bands get scanned and then they were on their way!
Blaine and Wes high fived each other, marking their true start of the Marches. People next to them wished them 'succes', which is the word the Dutch use for 'good luck'. Blaine's face warmed up when he looked around him. It was instant friendship, even though he didn't know these people. Everyone walking here had respect for him and he had respect for everyone else. It felt like one big family.
They moved out of the city of Nijmegen fairly quickly, still completely in darkness. Then the bridge doomed up in the shadows, looking very big and intimidating. They had to cross the river running through Nijmegen and at the other side of the river they would move on to several villages, where people would cheer on the hikers and party and drink (yes, even at 5am in the morning!).
"In the afternoon we have the bridge aswell, right?" Wes swallowed as he watched it with big eyes.
Blaine nodded and pouted. "It's gonna be so hot there, with no shadow whatsoever. But let's not think about this afternoon just yet. We still have a long way to go."
In the following hour, where they had to walk next to the river for 5km to the first village, they met three men from the USA. They were all from Chicago and they were all walking the Marches for the tenth time.
Blaine and Wes were going steady, already past the first village where they were shocked at the amount of people. It was still early on in the morning, but the party was already in full swing, big tents everywhere and loud music sounding through the streets. Blaine was loving it, though, since it made him walk faster.
When they made their way over to the next big village, where the party would be even bigger, Blaine and Wes started talking about their upcoming trip in Europe. They would go to Belgium, France, Spain and Portugal for 5 weeks. It was way too short to see all those beautiful countries, but the original plan was even more countries in much less time, so they had already sacrified enough.
Wes suddenly started whining as he felt his shoe tightening around a spot on his feet.
Blaine noticed the uncomfortable look on Wes's face and frowned worriedly, looking at how Wes started limping slightly. It was way too early to start limping already, so Blaine pulled Wes aside, sitting down on a low wall in front of someone's house and they removed Wes's shoes.
They spotted a tiny blister and Wes whined when Blaine ran over it with his thumb. Blaine quickly pulled his first aid kid from his bag and quickly punctured the blister, bandaging the spot and putting on Wes's sock again, all in the course of 5 minutes.
"You are a life saver, Blaine," and Wes hugged his best friend tightly, as he put pressure on his foot and found out it only hurt slightly.
"Your sock had a wrinkle in it. Watch out or your feet will be covered in blisters by the end of the day and it would be nearly impossible to finish the Marches. I don't want my friend to quit on me!" Blaine said rather strictly and pulled Wes up.
They continued their way to Elst, the biggest village they would cross today. They loved all the support they got from people on the sidelines and they often got thumbs up or people holding up their hands, asking for a high five. Wes was grinning widely when a rather hot girl was holding up a 'free hugs' sign.
"Wipe that silly grin off your face, Montgomery, or she thinks you're a psycho." Blaine rolled his eyes when he saw his friend literally skipping over to the poor girl. Blaine waited patiently until his friend came back with a slight lovestruck expression on his face.
"She felt amazingly against my body, Anderson," Wes sighed dreamily.
"Ew, shut up, Wes, no one wants to hear that," Blaine exclaimed rather loudly and received a few curious glances from other hikers.
They entered Elst in a rather good time and Blaine was happy. If they kept this up, they would finish around 2 in the afternoon, which was not bad for the first day of the Marches. They knew each day they would walk slower, because of the distance and the pain in their feet, but the first day could be done in 10 hours.
When they neared a massage tent, Blaine's heart suddenly beat faster and he had no idea why. But then he saw a figure coming from behind the tent, the same figure that haunted his dreams ever since they met…
"It's Kurt!" Blaine breathed out excitedly and pulled Wes over to the tent in which Kurt was currently massaging a tired looking hiker.
Blaine neared the tent and Kurt looked up. They locked eyes and they smiled brightly to each other. Wes stood behind Blaine, rolling his eyes and making gagging noises. Blaine reached behind him and slapped his friend on his shoulder and turned back to look at Kurt again. Through all the noise they couldn't really communicate, but their looks lingered on until Blaine felt a harsh tug from Wes.
"Dude, you can eyefuck Kurt later! Let's go, we still have a long way to go!"
Blaine turned back to Kurt, who was still massaging while staring at Blaine with a raised eyebrow. Blaine pointed at Kurt, then grabbed his phone and pretended to text and then pointed at himself. Hopefully Kurt would understand Blaine wanted him to text him when he had the time. If Kurt took too long, Blaine would just text first.
Blaine waved and did an eternal dance when he saw the regret in Kurt's face when he waved back and then went back to his job, actually paying attention this time.
Wes and Blaine moved through Elst quickly and they almost were at the point the 40KM hikers would take a different route back to Nijmegen. They spotted a tent where they could buy coffee and had plastic chairs they could chill on. They needed it. The first 20KM was over and they could feel it.
"Coffee, finally," Wes sighed out, holding a white plastic cup in both his hands, inhaling the scent, looking rather pleased.
"Amen, brother," Blaine exclaimed, sipping his still scalding coffee, feeling his tongue tingle.
"We're doing great, Wes!" Blaine continued while they were blowing their coffees to get them to cool down.
"I agree, I think you got new energy after you met with Kurt, right?" Wes threw a wink in Blaine's direction, who turned a lovely shade of pink. Wes laughed and sipped his coffee, which was now a good temperature to drink.
Blaine did the same and finished his coffee in a few large sips, throwing the cup in the trash. He grabbed a muesli bar from his bag and munched on it, moving his feet around in his shoes. His feet were starting to feel a bit sore already, but he knew from Frederic that was normal. They would start to hurt after 20 or 30KM or so and it would become seriously uncomfortable. The challenge is to keep pushing through and try to ignore the pain.
Wes suddenly jumped up and put his backpack back around his shoulders. "Let's go, buddy."
Blaine loved the sudden enthusiasm from his friend and stood up as well, hissing when his feet shifted in his shoes. "Okay, yes, I'm ready!"
They moved through Elden and Huissen, to join the 40KM hikers again just as they were entering a street through the fields, with no shade from trees or whatsoever. Wes was already wiping his towel he brought with him over his forehead.
"The heat is killing me," he moaned, while Blaine was reaching for his water bottle again. He knew it could get hot, but this was serious, with temperatures over 80 degrees Fahrenheit. He saw the others around them struggling aswell and he was glad they weren't the only ones.
"Hey," Wes and Blaine heard and they looked up, seeing a petite girl with blond hair walking next to them. "I heard you guys talking English! Where are you guys from?" Her accent sounded like she came from the Netherlands.
"We're from America, Ohio to be precise," Wes answered politely and then proceeded to drink some water aswell, following Blaine's advice to drink a lot.
"Oh, cool! I've just finished high school and I will go and study English at the University in Nijmegen in the fall." The girl flashed a bright smile at Blaine and Wes and the two friends both smiled back. Her enthusiasm was contagious and soon they were talking and joking and before they knew they entered Bemmel, the last village before they would reach Nijmegen again. Blaine was so proud of him and Wes and Tara, the girl they ran into and had nice conversations with. She walked the 40, but she did it for the first time too and it was hard for her aswell, also because she didn't have someone she knew as a walking buddy.
Steadily, they reached the bridge that would bring them back over the river into Nijmegen. Blaine and Wes high fived each other and Tara flashed them both a bright smile. "We did it! Day 1 almost complete!"
They crossed the bridge in the burning sun and Blaine lost his water bottle over the edge of the bridge when he wanted to put it back in his bag, which made them laugh loudly, earning curious glances from everyone around them.
"I'm spend." Wes exclaimed when they fell down on the ground at the Wedren. They finished around 5 minutes past 2 in the afternoon and they were more than happy with that. It was still early, so they could get their wristband scanned rather quickly. There, they also received their ticket for day 2.
"Me too, dude." Blaine closed his eyes and felt the hot sun on his face, which felt better now they weren't walking anymore.
"Hello, Blaine," was the next thing he heard and Blaine opened his eyes quickly, waking up from an uncomfortable nap on the ground. Wes was still napping next to him. He looked up and spotted Kurt looking at him amusingly.
"Kurt!" Blaine yelled, jumping up and yelping because of the pain in his feet. Kurt was next to him in a split second, holding him by the shoulders and looking at him worriedly. Blaine gasped for air and stared back at Kurt. He could count the freckles on Kurt's nose and he instantly loved them.
"You finished! I'm so proud of you, Blaine!" Kurt flashed a beautiful smile and Blaine started feeling weak in the knees. Wes was still out on the ground, so Blaine could flirt without being constantly teased by his best friend.
"Thanks, Kurt. It was hard, but I'm very motivated for the second day. Hey, shouldn't you be in the massage tent?" Blaine instantly asked worriedly, afraid he was holding Kurt from his important job.
"No, I actually volunteered to start earlier and go to Elst with some of the volunteers to offer massages on the road. Because of that I don't have to start until 4 in the afternoon. It's three now."
"Thanks for waking me up. I should probably wake up Wes and go back to the hotel for a well deserved shower," Blaine said, though with much regret in his voice. He didn't want to leave Kurt now that he was talking to him, but he needed his rest also if he wanted to have a serious shot at starting tomorrow.
"No!" Kurt exclaimed quickly, putting a hand on Blaine's chest. "Please, don't leave just yet. I know you're tired, but let me offer you a massage. Please?"
Blaine swallowed as he watched Kurt's eyes sparkle. "Okay, okay, just put away the puppy eyes, they are killing me, quite literally."
15 minutes later, Blaine was groaning into the wooden walkboards. It shouldn't be comfortable, but it was. Kurt had soft hands, but firmly provided Blaine's sore muscles with some pressure it highly needed. Blaine's shirt was off and he was wearing shorts so Kurt could also reach his calves, which were so sore now Kurt was putting pressure on it.
"You're amazing. Can I marry your hands?" Blaine moaned and he heard Kurt chuckling. Blaine sank further into the uncomfortable floor as Kurt was running his skilled hands over his body. It was a dream come true. He had been thinking of Kurt a lot in the last few days and for him to touch Blaine's body like that was a godsend.
"Okay, I'm all done. Your muscles are feeling better again. They were seriously tight!" Kurt exclaimed as he shook Blaine's legs to relieve the stress and he helped Blaine standing up.
"Thank you so much, that was amazing. What can I ever do to repay you?" Blaine asked, his eyes bright, hoping he would see Kurt more this week.
"Finish the Marches. And if you finish before 3 tomorrow, I can give you another massage if you'd like?" Kurt answered, flashing the same puppy eyes as before.
"I'd like that, Kurt," and before Blaine could even think about it, he grabbed Kurt's hands and squeezed them. Way too soon, he heard groaning coming from Wes and regretfully, he released Kurt's hands and turned to Wes, who was currently in the process of sitting up.
"This floor is not the best to nap on if you've just walked 50km," Wes groaned and Kurt and Blaine both laughed. Blaine helped his friend up, who slung his bag around his back.
"Thanks again, Kurt. I'd love if you could text me every once in a while? If you're not too busy that is." Blaine flashed Kurt a doubtful smile, who smiled back brightly, wrapping his arms around Blaine in the process.
"I'll do that, Blaine. Go back to the hotel and take a shower, you kind of smell bad, sorry about the reality check." Kurt chuckled, which made Blaine chuckle and they parted with another hug and Kurt leaving a kiss on Blaine's cheek.
Blaine was floating on cloud nine the whole way back to the hotel. Wes was, ofcourse, teasing him about it. They also flashed David a text, letting him know they had finished and they were coming back to the hotel right now.
At the hotel, they did a rock, paper, scissors to decide which person could take a shower first. Blaine won fair and square and collected clean, relaxing clothes and disappeared into the bathroom.
In the shower, Blaine had a lot of time to think about the first day of the Marches. It was amazing in all sorts of ways. He loved the atmosphere, the people at the sideline cheering them on, how most of the hikers were nice to each other, even though it was crowded at some points. The day became even better when he saw Kurt at the Wedren. Kurt was amazing in so many ways that Blaine wanted to get to know him better. He just hoped Kurt felt the same way.
When he exited the shower, he saw a text appearing on his phone. After drying his hands, he opened it and his heart instantly made a jump, spotting the name.
I'm so happy we had the opportunity to talk some more today. You're amazing. I can't wait to get to know you better. – Kurt x
Blaine squealed and held the phone close to his heart, which was beating like a maniac. With clean clothes on, he fell on the bed and sent an already napping Wes to the bathroom, while taking a nap himself until David came back from the city centre.
The three friends had dinner together in the hotel room and Blaine and Wes fell asleep rather early, already looking forward to another day of the Four Days Marches.
(*) = This is actually true. It's so crowded at the 40km route, you sometimes step on the feet of the people in front of you. That's why I wanted to walk the 50km two years ago, because you have more space. But unfortunately for me, it was too hard, so I went back to the 40km. You shouldn't walk the Marches if you're going to be constantly annoyed by people walking in front of you. Some people even cut you off (which is actually really annoying). I always try not to cut people off.