Disclaimer: I don't own Glee or Dalton or the Warblers (although trust me, it would be amazing if I did – although Kurt and Blaine wouldn't have left Dalton if I owned anything) .. also some of the characters are products of my imagination/plot bunnies, and some are based off friends/family of mine .. any other resemblances are a big coinkidink and not my planning .. aka don't own, don't sue
A/N: part two of my Warblers fanfic . . . the tumblr fandom has exploded with playlists, photo manips, and even fanfics/drabbles based off this little fic . . . I'm in such awe of them and seriously have never thought this would be much more than a passing idea . . . the next chapter is already being worked on and should hopefully be up sooner than this one, but the next won't be as happy . . . for more sneak peeks / drabbles / flailing over fan reactions feel free to stalk my tumblr (leigh-da-dee), where you're more than welcome to leave a message for me or the characters – we don't bite, hard :) . . . -hugs- I hope you all enjoy!
The mood in the dorm commons was strange and Andrew noticed it first thing after getting back in from his monthly volunteering session with Mack. Sebastian and Flint sat on one of the couches with a notebook open between the two of them, talking in hushed whispers. That was never a good sign. Usually it meant some kind of upcoming attack of their insanity, most of the time aimed at the other Warblers, and it was never good news. "What are you two up to now? Or do I even want to know?"
Flint jumped, startled by Andrew's voice, while Sebastian frowned and quickly slammed the notebook shut. "Nothing. Why?" "Lit paper." "Nosey much?" "Volunteer date go bad?" Both of the resident gossips talked at the same time and Andrew just shook his head, not wanting to bother with them, but knowing that something was up. And given how badly they were trying to cover it up, it could only mean big trouble.
"Okay, I get it, you two are plotting something secret that you don't want to reveal. I won't pry. And no, it didn't go bad. But I don't know how you could consider what we do as a 'going good'." He sighed, shaking his head and flopping down on the couch across from the gossips, closing his eyes for a moment. Just a moment to recollect himself. The monthly volunteering visits were a requirement and sure he enjoyed helping people, but the emotional toll from the dredged up memories was something he could do without. He knew that Mack would be running to Eve and Lyn to spend the night with her best friends, but he was used to the loneliness of dealing with this on his own.
The couch on one side shifted slightly and Andrew cracked his eyes just enough to peek and see that it was David. "Andrew, you have to check this out and help pitch it to the Council. Besides, if we play it right, we can totally slam the girls out of the water." Andrew opened his eyes and turned his attention to David. "Okay, why coming to me on this? You're on the Council yourself, why not just pitch it yourself?" David shook his head. "You know if I did that, Thad would be all 'Council members are the decision makers, we should be neutral'." Andrew chuckled at the imitation of their fellow Warbler.
"Okay, you've got that part right. So go ahead. You sell the performance idea to me and I'll see if it's worth me suggesting." Andrew laughed at the instant smile on David's face before he started right into a full-blown sales pitch that just made Andrew's smile widen. This was why he always searched for his fellow Warblers after the volunteer sessions. They helped him find his calm again, as odd as that sounded.
David straightened his tie, a slight grin on his face as he walked the halls of Dalton's sister school. Having held a position on the Warblers Council for two years now and being a prefect gave him a little more prestige among the boys. Not to mention he was a math tutor for both Dalton and CCD. So seeing David walking the halls of the all-girls school was nothing out of the ordinary. Of course, David being at CCD on a weekend was. He knew the Nightingales had rehearsal on Sunday evenings from some of the other Warblers, so he knew that she would be on campus. He walked up to the door of the Nightingales' commons and knocked on the door before smiling at Mackenzie as she opened the door.
"Davey, fancy seeing you around here." She smirked, and David could tell that she knew something was up. Probably from Andrew. Sometimes David wondered how Andrew hoped to become a therapist after college, given his lack of secret-keeping abilities when it comes to Mack. But of course he didn't want to reveal too much too soon.
Johanna turned her attention towards the door with a smile. "Hey, David. If you're trying to sneak in to spy on us and get ahead for Sectionals, you're too late. Practice ends at eight, and you just missed catching all the juicy spoilers for the competition." She laughed as she picked up her notebook from the table.
David playfully pouted at the girl's council. "Oh darn! My diabolical plot to sneak in and scope out our competition has failed me, now whatever shall I do?" A few of the girls giggled, and Khloe just shrugged before playfully giving him a kiss on the cheek as she walked past him, out of the room. "Just do like my parents whenever another marriage fails, do it all over again." He laughed before shaking his head, still chuckling. "I still don't see how her and Daniel are together. They're practically polar opposite." Lynette shrugged before walking out of the room, arm in arm with Eve. "Opposites attract."
The girls filtered out of the room, several of the others tossing a teasing remark back at David, but the last one to leave was Gabriel and David reached out, catching her arm while holding a finger against his lips and pulling her back into the music room, shutting the door behind them. One good thing about both schools being private schools with wealthy endowments, they could soundproof certain rooms.
"David, what are you doing here? I thought I made it clear last night that it was just that. One night. Besides, you're still not over her. I won't be just rebound sex." Gabriel tried to pull her arm from his grip, but he just used the inertia to spin her back against the door, pinning her with his own body. "Gabby, that's not what I'm talking about, and you know it isn't. You could never be 'just rebound sex' and that's why I came here." She cut him off, throwing a hand over his mouth. "No. Don't say it. You're still in hopeless romantic mode from your last relationship and I don't want to hear any more of that bullshit. I was drunk, just leave it at that, David."
Gabby managed to escape his arms and headed in the direction of the other door of the room, ignoring the feel of David following her. "You're just scared of any kind of feelings after what went down with Alexa." She stopped and spun around, fully intent on slapping him for the comment, but this time he was the quicker one. "Admit it, Gabby. After Alexa, you're scared of any kind of relationship because you've convinced yourself it will end and leave you with another ex to deal with. But I'm not Alexa, thank god. And this won't be another repeat of what happened with her."
David almost regretted bringing up some of what he knew about what had happened with Gabby and her ex, but the moment of regret only gave her a space for the slap he had been expecting. "Don't ever talk to me again, David." She spun around and stormed out of the room, leaving David to sigh to himself. This was going to be harder than he had first thought.
Several of the Nightingales were all lounging around the dorm commons after practice when Gabriel stormed through slamming doors as she ran off to her room. Thankfully the dorm commons were fairly empty except for the Nightingales girls, and they were close enough not to be too nosey. Protect your sisters. And luckily their house Head wasn't in the dorm yet, or they might have had to do something drastic for cover. They had all scattered around the commons room, pulling out homework or watching the television that was showing some teen show at the moment.
A soft ring from Lynette's cell phone made her hop up and walk back outside, the smile evident in her voice as she answered. The others laughed. "We know who that was. Wonder what he's plotting this time?" Eve laughed and shook her head at Mackenzie's question. "We all know better than to try and figure out what is going on in that boy's blonde little head."
A text alert popped up on Mack's cell phone and she smirked. "The boys have their return song picked. Apparently after I told Drew that we're playing back at them they started plotting." Another cell phone dinged with a text and Alice laughed. "Thad and the boys are getting cocky. They bet us they can have it performance ready before we put ours together. Without added rehearsals." Another ding from another cell phone. "They're text bombing us! What the hell? And that wasn't even Daniel, it was Sebastian, the sneaky little fuck!" Mack laughed at Khloe's outburst with a shrug. "Dan probably wouldn't join in the taunting unless they pushed him to. But I wouldn't be surprised if Sebastian didn't spam us all." Sure enough, another ding from Johanna's phone followed by dings from the other Nightingale's phones.
Jo frowned before closing the economics textbook she had been working out of. "Okay, that's it. They want to take it out of hours, we'll play. Song suggestions? We'll get it put together and then rehearse tomorrow and then go show the boys we know how to play their little game." She typed away at her phone quickly before setting it back down on the table. "Oh it's on, boys!"
Lyn walked back in with a laugh, ending the call and dropping back on the couch beside Eve. "What's on?" She glanced around at the other girls before laughing. "Oops, missed texts." Eve leaned over with a shrug. "Yeah, the boys are challenging us with the dueling performances again. But I'm sure Jeff told you." Lyn shrugged. "I just got his text. It was Brody that called, asking me about this Wednesday." Mack laughed before raising an eyebrow. "What's this Wednesday?" Lyn shrugged before typing on her phone and glancing back to the television. "Coffee shop show. We always go see Lowell Hollow together." At the mention of the band name, Mack made a face causing Lyn to shake her head. "Don't start, Mack. Besides, I know that nobody else really likes them, besides, it's become a tradition that me and Brody see them."
Jo shook her head. "Okay, so arguing about music tastes and bands aside, how about we deal with the boys' challenge?" There were murmurs of agreement before dings from all the girls' cell phones with the same text message from Sebastian on the screen with just a link. Eve quickly typed the link into her laptop where she had been working on a paper. They all piled around Eve's laptop as they waited only to find that it was a video. "This can't be good." Lyn leaned her head against Eve's shoulder with a small frown.
Once the video finished loading, the camera turned to show Sebastian with a smirk. "I see you lovely ladies have gotten my text message and decided to follow the link. Well, you girls wanted to challenge us? Let's see if you can beat this little number." He winked and then turned the camera back around and there was a few moments of wiggling before Nick's voice interrupted. "Just move, I'll set it up." A few seconds later the camera stopped shaking and Nick popped around and smiled. "That's why we don't let Sebastian play with electronics, ladies." He grinned before blowing a kiss towards the camera causing Eve and Lyn to giggle before he disappeared behind the curtain of Dalton's stage.
The curtain slowly pulled back with the initial harmonies of the Warblers before they burst out into the full song, dancing around the stage perfectly in synch with Sebastian in the lead solo. Just by the moves, you could tell that David and Jeff had won out on the choreography instead of keeping to their standard Warbler style, even though the tight harmonies were still there. And it wasn't lost on the girls either. Khloe kept giggling behind her hand while occasionally Alice would whistle under her breath. At the end of the song, Sebastian smirked again. "Well, ladies?" Nick hopped out of the block formation and jogged over to the camera with a grin. "Love you ladies, don't get too flustered. And don't worry, I'll put a repeat button when I upload it." He winked and then the video ended and a big flashing 'REPEAT' button appeared.
"Damnit, those cheating smug little jerks!" The other girls turned to Jo with a fake shocked expression at her outburst. "What? They did! Now we're really going to have to get back at them. Any ideas?" Mack smirked. "I have some. But I want to hit repeat first."