A.N.: I had some wonderful reviews, and honestly, I don't really mind the lack of reviews. As long as one person enjoyed it (in this case, two), I feel as if I've done my job as an author. So, thank you very much for everything! I don't own GLEE, and I'm not for sure if I'm going to turn this story into a multi-chapter sort of thing or just a two-shot.
"I need to call my dad," Kurt said softly, wrapping his winter coat around himself. The Warblers had retreated inside for a few minutes to grab their things. "He'll want to know, if he lets me go." The countertenor picked up his cell phone and dialed his father.
"Hey, kiddo. How's the party?" Burt asked, his tone a little too chipper for the time of night. "Sorry about what happened."
Kurt bit his lip, wondering how he was going to go about this. "Um, we're having some trouble here; it's snowing really badly-"
"Do you need me to come get you?" his father's worried voice asked from the other line.
"No, I just - we're going to the hospital in a few minutes and-"
Once again, Kurt was intercepted by Burt's concerned tone. "Okay, who's going to the hospital? Do I need to pick you up?" As annoying as it was to be interrupted, Kurt couldn't deny how nice it felt that his father was genuinely worried about his (and the other Warblers'), well-beings. Unfortunately, this conversation seemed as if it was leaning towards the direction of "I'm not letting you drive a big car in bad weather!" The countertenor ran a hand through his no-longer-perfect hair.
"One of the Warblers got really sick, and we need to visit the hospital! Listen, I know the weather's bad, but I'll be really careful!"
The rest of the group looked over with curiosity at the seemingly one-sided conversation.
"Is Blaine with you?" Burt asked. The funny part, Kurt realized, was that no one but the Warblers knew about the . new relationship. All the excitement halted the inevitable Facebook update - Kurt Hummel: In a Relationship.
He knew at least twelve people that would "like" that.
"Yeah, he's here; I need to talk to you about something later, by the way. No, Dad, you're not going to have to shoot him!"
Blaine's eyebrow raised significantly. He looked over at Wes, who shrugged his shoulders in a vain attempt at comfort.
"It's really not that bad out, hardly snowing! Okay, meet me at the hospital," Kurt sighed heavily, seemingly defeated. "I love you, too. Bye." The countertenor hung up and looked quite ready to knock his head against the front door. "Okay, everyone, get in the car," he enunciated the last part quite clearly.
Once again, Trent opened the door and let everyone else out before himself. Blaine opened the car door for Kurt because, even in a time of crisis, he was still a gentleman.
No one even dared talking to Jeff; the blonde kept jiggling his foot up and down, a nervous trait of his that he'd kept for years. A smile began to play on his lips when he remembered that Nick always made fun of him for it. The smile promptly faded.
He tried not to think of it, but Nick kept reappearing in his mind. That small brunette who looked so desperate the last time they had really talked. The fragile teen that he had confessed his love to. The one that looked positively scared from the announcement.
Everyone piled into the large car, and Kurt turned on the ignition. The warm air was immediately a relief to the freezing outside. Blaine rubbed his fingers together, lacing his hand in his boyfriend's open on. The brunette turned to face him with a look of slight fear. "Everything will be just fine. I promise," Blaine whispered so that only they could hear each other. "Courage, remember?"
A sigh from the countertenor followed by a light smile allowed Blaine to place a soft kiss on the pale hand.
"Ahem," Wes cleared his throat. "Can we get going now?"
Kurt nodded, pulling out of the driveway slowly. "Okay, so my dad's coming to pick me up, and then I'll probably be going home. He can take some of you guys home, if you want."
The drive to the hospital was very cautious. And very slow. After ten minutes or so, Jeff began to drum his fingers irritably against the window. His face was unreadable, his jaw set. He kept tapping his feet until Trent turned around to face him. "Would you please stop?" he demanded.
"Oh, I'm sorry I'm worried," Jeff snapped back.
"We're all worried about Nick!" Trent countered, trying to keep at least a little bit of peace in the tense atmosphere.
"Not like me! None of you know him like I do! He's my best friend, and I-"
"Love him?" Kurt deadpanned, eyes clearly not amused. "Everyone heard you; he heard you. Sorry, but if you really loved him, you'd know that he'd want you to not be freaking out."
Jeff inhaled sharply, an argument soon on the horizon. "You don't know how I feel!"
"I'm just saying," Kurt retorted, "would he be wanting you to start snapping at everyone?"
"I- I don't know! Just shut-"
A low growl came from the passenger seat. Though no one could see, Blaine's eyes were dark and nearly dangerous. "Jeff, be quiet," he said as calmly as he could without causing an even larger fight. Even if they had only been dating for a few days, Blaine Anderson became quite protective when anyone insulted or even yelled at his boyfriend.
Now officially known as the most beautiful, best thing that had ever happened to him.
Jeff leaned back in his seat, thoroughly calmed down. "I'm sorry. I'm just - just worried."
The mood became much less tense, as everyone had come to be less irritable towards Jeff and much more sympathetic. It was quite obvious that (even before the love confession), they were both horribly in love with each other; they just wouldn't admit it (or, much like Blaine and Kurt, were much too oblivious).
The common bet was that it was the latter option.
Thirty minutes later (and what a long half of an hour it was), Kurt pulled into the hospital parking lot, sighing with relief that he had actually driven in that weather and made it to the destination in one piece. He turned off the car and rested his head on the steering wheel, breathing deeply.
Blaine reached over and touched his boyfriend's shoulder gently. "This is why you passed your driving test on the first try."
The group of Warblers got out of the car and practically ran inside, each nearly slipping on the icy ground (courtesy of their wonderful custom-made shoes that had no traction whatsoever. Jeff was the first out of the revolving doors, not quite sure what to do after that.
Kurt followed close behind and walked with purpose to the front desk. "Are you looking for someone?" the receptionist asked with a dazzling smile.
"Yes, Nick Duval."
The woman turned to find the room they were looking for on the roster; she then glanced up at the large group of teens. "Are his parents anywhere?" she asked gently.
"They won't come," Jeff spoke up, looking quite definite in his answer.
Kurt truly pitied the woman, noticing just how awkward she must have felt. "Well," she started, her voice cracking slightly, "no nurses have come out yet, but I will tell you when anything new comes up. Is there a . . . name that I should call?"
"Warblers," Wes answered.
"As in, the bird?"
"The very same," Blaine nodded.
Kurt huffed and sat down in a chair, feeling that there was no way that arguing would really help in the current situation. He motioned for the rest of the Warblers to join him, and they did so without complaint.
Blaine smiled gently and squeezed his boyfriend's hand. As usual, Kurt never let anyone know what he was really thinking, even if the entire world was crumbling in from the inside. Luckily, this was not the case; though that didn't make him feel much better.
When Kurt looked over, however, Blaine decided that he would try to break down those barriers eventually; not today, but eventually.
"Are you okay?" the shorter teen asked.
"Better than Jeff," came the witty response.
This statement was much too true. Jeff sat by himself, a space between him and Thad. His foot kept the rhythmic tapping that it usually did when he was mulling over something important. But this was not important - it was life-changing.
"Why don't we call Nick's parents?" Trent asked, slipping his cell phone from his pocket. "They'll want to know that their son is in the hospital."
Jeff sighed; it was natural that no one else would know why. Nick was too good at keeping secrets from everyone, too good at keeping secrets on how his parents didn't approve of anything he did. An A was not a good enough grade on a test, backup (if he truly insisted on being part of that singing group), was not good enough, not having a girlfriend was not good enough.
Nothing ever was.
To be honest, Jeff wasn't quite sure why Nick never seemed interested in any of the girls he went out with (other than he was gay), but the blonde supposed it was because he wanted to care about someone of his own volition (male or female), not something arranged. And, sure, he did audition for solos, but he didn't think any less of Blaine when the lead was given to him - he respected Blaine to no end (even if he'd never admit it). He got near-perfect grades most of the time, but when he didn't, he nearly always freaked.
The funny thing was, everyone knew that Nick was gay, except for his parents. That, or they were in permanent denial.
"Earth to Lover Boy!" David called as a young nurse walked into the waiting room.
"Warblers!" the receptionist yelled, not looking up from her work.
The nurse, a blonde girl with pretty green eyes, met the group. "No family?" she asked, a confused expression written on her face.
"They won't come," the receptionist responded, now smirking. Who knew that two minutes with such a strange group could rub off on a person.
Wes led the group to the nurse, straightening his tie as he did so. Even off hours, a Warbler must still appear as dapper gentleman, worthy of the title "role model". (Warbler Handbook, Page 137, Paragraph 2.)
"So, I'll be giving the status report to you young men?" she asked, trying to hide her most obvious blush. "Well, Mr. Duval is responding positively to the medication, but he also showed signs of dehydration and exhaustion. Has something major happened recently?"
The lead Warbler slapped a hand to his forehead. "We were just performing at a singing competition and lost. Big time." Blaine seemed quite guilty, even if he hadn't put together the itinerary of practice.
"Alright, sweetie, that's stress. Anything else?" They may be the Warblers, but these boys sang like cute little canaries.
"We've been having a non-stop practice schedule and haven't left much time to anything else," Thad spoke up, shooting a wayward glance at Wes.
The blonde woman placed a hand on her hip. "I see. Is there anything else, maybe a major test or something?" For some reason (or perhaps he wasn't thinking straight), she looked straight at Jeff. "Please, don't be afraid to hide anything."
Jeff shifted uncomfortably on one foot to the other. "I think he's been having some family problems, but I'm not for sure," he lied. Nick had made Jeff pinky-swear that he would never tell. And, with Nick Duval, Jeff quickly learned not to break the pinky-swear. Just don't.
"The doctor will have to ask him about that later. Anyway, I recommend only one of you staying with Mr. Duval until he wakes up. We really don't want to startle him." She tried to ignore the crestfallen looks on the Warblers' faces. Until Kurt stepped up. It was probably right that Kurt stay with Nick. He was the one, after all, who took control of the situation and practically saved the short brunette's life.
"Jeff, he's your best friend. You should watch him. So that, you know, you two can get things settled."
If Kurt wasn't dating Blaine and Jeff wasn't madly in love with Nick, Jeff might've kissed him. "I don't . . ."
"A 'thank-you' would suffice perfectly."
And there was that all-knowing Kurt Hummel who could figure out an entire person with just one glance but could never truly be figured out himself. Now the blonde Warbler was aware of why Blaine looked to his boyfriend with such reverence.
"Thanks."
"If and when he wakes up, he'll most likely be confused for a while; and don't be surprised if he's extremely tired and groggy."
The nurse allowed Jeff to go into the quiet hospital room, not looking away until Jeff had seated himself in a chair that was close enough to get to Nick if something went wrong but far enough away so that he wasn't breathing down his friend's neck. The door was left cracked open, allowing privacy but also allowing easy access for a doctor.
Nick's skin (which was normally pale, anyway), was almost as white as the sheets, his dark hair making a stark and uncomfortable contrast. His eyes were shut with a sort of pained expression that nobody but Jeff could truly even notice. Jeff wanted so much to lean in and kiss his friend right there, but timing meant everything in a relationship (Blaine had been sure to emphasize this point about his relationship with Kurt and when to break the news that he was in love). He watched the steady rise and fall of Nick's chest and smiled lightly.
There was something so sixth-sense-like about Nick that no one (not even Jeff), could truly ever comprehend. He knew when he was being watched, which at times made a secret admirer impossible to have, and could never let anyone stare at him without turning around.
The brunette's eyes fluttered open, immediately trying to focus on the room around him. It would be rather hard, considering the very white walls and very bright lights. He made a groan of recognition that he was awake and tried to raise a hand above his eyes. Eventually, he seemed to become accustomed to the situation, and without even acknowledging Jeff, made a slight whimper of pain.
"How are you feeling?" Jeff gently asked.
Nick's eyes darted towards the blonde. "Jeff?"
A.N.: We all know that a confession's coming up, but if you all want me to continue, I'd be more than happy to! Please review, and I certainly hope that you all enjoyed!