Wednesday morning arrived way too soon for anyone's tastes. They had been busy all of Tuesday, prepping routines to perform for and teach to this new glee club, that Toby hadn't had time to finish telling his story.
However, when Artie was loaded up, the luggage stowed away, the bus had started rolling, and Schuester was passed out in the front of the bus, everyone had crowded around the curly haired singer, waiting for him to continue where he had left off on Monday.
"So, the recording session went amazingly," Rachel chirruped, bright eyed, oblivious to the obscenity of the hour and the fact that her fellow club members were all clutching thermoses of coffee or cans of Monster. "What happened after that?"
"Well," Toby started, pausing to let out a yawn. "Sami and Duder had a party at their house to celebrate. Once again, everyone was invited. Well, when I showed up, I went to go find Sami so I could talk to her. I found her in the kitchen, but it was so loud downstairs. I asked if there was somewhere quieter we could go to talk and she suggested upstairs. So," he stopped to yawn again, taking a long drink from his coffee when he finished. "So, we went upstairs to her room-"
"Wanky," Santana muttered, her head resting against Brittany's shoulder.
Toby rolled his eyes, snuggling closer to Kurt underneath the blanket they were sharing. "Anyway, I asked if I could borrow her guitar. She said yes, so I picked it up. I told her it didn't seem right that she had to write the song 'Sami' for herself, so I finished it. Then I played it for her-"
"Where was Tanya?" Lauren asked, her fingers messing with the strip of hair that made up Puck's mohawk. "From how you've described her, it doesn't seem like she would just let you go upstairs with Sami without her."
"Actually, I have no clue where Tanya was when all of this was going on," Toby admitted, taking another swig of coffee. "I never bothered to find out…" he trailed off, only resuming his story when multiple members obnoxiously cleared their throats and when Kurt's elbow gave him a sharp jab between the ribs. "So, after I finished the song and set down her guitar, Sami kissed me."
Sounds of choking, spit takes, cries of disgust, and little shrieks of outrage and scandal rang out amongst the group. Toby, who was currently rubbing Kurt's back to sooth him from when he had gagged himself on his sip of coffee, was baffled by this reaction. The countertenor took a few ragged breaths, looking up at his boyfriend, coughing in between every few words. "Why… did she….kiss you?" Kurt managed to get out.
"I'm guessing she had a crush on me," Toby shrugged. "I'm really not sure. I've been known to be oblivious about how other people feel about me."
"You can say that again," Kurt mumbled, still coughing slightly.
Toby wrapped his arm around his boyfriend's shoulder and squeezed. "Shut up," he whispered playfully, placing a kiss on his temple.
"White boy, continue with the story before I go over there and cut you," Mercedes spoke up from the seat she was sharing with Sam.
"Fine," Toby called back. "So, I did the only thing that made sense at the time: I kissed her back."
"What?" Kurt demanded, glaring at the story teller.
"So, you're gay, had a beard, and cheated on your beard with another girl. Brilliant, Phillips," Puck commented, earning his a smack in the head from Lauren.
"Well, what else are you supposed to do when someone kisses you?" Toby defended. When no one said anything, he continued. "Well, while we were kissing, Tanya walked in, saw us, and ran out. Sami chased after her. I stayed in Sami's room. A few minutes later, I heard Duder come up the stairs. He looked in Sami's room and told me that Sami was telling everyone to get out and I might want to leave. So, I went downstairs and found Sami and told her sorry-"
"For what?" Brittany asked, turning her doe-like gaze upon Toby.
Toby paused, blinking slowly as he thought. "I don't know. I guess I was just telling her sorry for everything that I never told her, like me being gay and causing her to get her hopes up. I never explained myself. I went home, the next morning, I called Tanya and apologized for cheating on her and broke up with her." He stopped talking, a thoughtful look glinting in his eyes. "She kept trying to tell me something, but I wouldn't let her. I didn't want to listen to her say how much she thought she needed me."
"I take it you didn't tell her you were gay," Mike interjected, raising an eyebrow.
Toby shook his head. "Of course not! Something like that can completely ruin a person's esteem. It'd be like 'oh yeah, I never really liked you, but I stayed with you and cheated on you. Oh and if that didn't mess up your entire thought process, guess what? I'm gay!'"
Everyone nodded and muttered in agreement. "So what'd you do after that?" Sam asked.
"I lied to my parents," Toby stated simply. "Told them people had found out I was gay at Arborland and were giving me a hard time about it. I also told them I had found a boarding school with a zero tolerance bullying policy about four hours away, that way my dad wouldn't have to worry about getting transferred again. They agreed and that's how I ended up at Dalton.
"However, they were worried my 'bullies' were going to keep stalking me and cyber bullying became such a big deal that they told me they had me registered in the school as 'Blaine Anderson'. They had talked it over with the dean and the teachers and they all agreed that it was in my best interest."
"Wow," Artie said. "That must have been rough."
"Yeah," Toby agreed. "I only go back to Arborland during Thanksgiving and Christmas. During summer vacation, we go somewhere else. That way I didn't have to risk anyone seeing me again. But now," He glanced out the window where the sun was just starting to creep up and sighed. "Looks like all of my little white lies are on the verge of being exposed."
Kurt squeezed his hand. "Hey, we're here for you, alright?" He said, everyone else voicing their agreement. "We'll keep you safe."
Toby looked back at him, kissing him lightly on the cheek. "I know you will."
Finn glanced at his watch. "Well, you killed about ten minutes with that story. What do you guys say we sleep the rest of the way there?"
Within the next ten minutes, everyone was sound asleep, equipped with the knowledge Toby had bestowed upon them. However, very little could prepare them for the madness that is Arborland.