Well, I'm back! While I was away, I was able to work on some more of this fic, so here's another chapter :D

Enjoy :)


CHAPTER FIVE

After the group applauded Kurt on his performance, he darted out behind the curtains where Blaine presumed he was off to get changed. It took Blaine a moment to pull his eyes away from where Kurt had been, but he soon recovered himself when the next person was called up to perform. They were each very talented and all so uniquely different that Blaine had no idea how the pairings would end up. He was still fixated on his thoughts about Kurt – as he had come out from behind the stage wearing jeans so tight they looked as if they were painted on – when Mr Shue called him to attention.

"Blaine, are you ready to go on?"

He shook his head free of any thoughts of the boy sitting in front of him, leaning his back against Sebastian's shoulder. "Ah, yep. Yeah, I am."

Blaine asked Sam if he would be able to borrow his guitar and after the blonde happily handed it over, Blaine stepped onto the stage. He was thank-full that no one else had made any sort of intro, so he just got right into the song.

Life's too short to even care at all, oh
I'm losing my mind, losing my mind, losing control, oh oh

The world around Blaine disappeared the second the song started. He lost himself in the lyrics and the sound, all thoughts of Kurt drifted from his mind as he sang the song that meant so much to him. It had always been his go-to song whenever he felt that it was getting too tough, he would sit down and just sing. He never cared if the chords weren't right, or if his vocals were off, he just needed the lyrics.

So I run now to the things they said they could restore me
Restore the life the way it should be
I'm waiting for this cough syrup to come down

Sebastian had to admit that this guy had talent, and it wasn't a forced talent that was sometimes extraordinary; it was natural. He glanced over at Kurt who had visibly sat up straighter the second that Blaine had opened his mouth. Sebastian could see a glisten in Kurt's bright blue eyes that he rarely go to see himself, and he had known Kurt for almost five years now.

A tinge of something sparked deep in the pit of Sebastian's stomach that he couldn't quite pin-point, cause no, he could be jealous of Blaine, could he? Kurt didn't even know Blaine, unlike Sebastian, who knew the countertenor more than anybody; even more than Finn.

When they first met each other Kurt and Sebastian hadn't gotten along so well. They were always fighting and throwing insults at each other any chance they got. But after about a year they finally decided that enough was enough and sat down to have an actual conversation; although the insults are still exchanged, they're in a more loving way compared to before where they intended to offend the other.

Once they were actually civilised they grew closer and closer, until one day they both realised what – and who – had been in front of them the whole time. Now Sebastian knew what it was like to find someone, someone who you had been looking for forever without even knowing who you were looking for, you just knew they were out there. He knew that what he had with Kurt wasn't something that he could just take for granted, and there was no way he was going to screw it up with a rush of stupid jealousy.

One more spoon of cough syrup now (oh whoa)
One more spoon of cough syrup now (oh whoa)

Blaine's voice faded out into the distance of the theatre and he open his eyes for the first time since he started the song and his heart warmed at all the faces that were looking up at him, each glowing with smiles.

"That was great Blaine, well done!" Mr Shue applauded along with the others and then wrote something down on a clipboard quickly, like he had done with each of the performances. "Okay, so I have your partners all sorted out now."

They all waited eagerly to find out who they were partnered with and Blaine noticed Sebastian nudge Kurt to get his attention and then held out hand in fist which Kurt tapped with his own, a grin spreading over his face. Blaine gathered that the two of them would most likely be paired together.

Mercedes was paired with Sam, Mercedes looking quite thrilled, Sam on the other hand looked as if he would rather be partnered with Voldemort. Finn and Rachel were next and Finn made his way to sit with her in the second row – somewhat shyly. The next pair was Quinn and Artie, who Mr Shue said was based on vocals, but he also knew that the two of them could come up with a wicked routine on their wheelchairs. They both grinned widely and gave each other a high-five.

Blaine waited patiently for his name to be said, even though he didn't really want to be partnered with Puck. Not that Blaine had a problem with him, no. He never judged anyone. He was just a little bit intimidated by the Mohawk and the 'badass' attitude.

"Blaine, you'll be working with Kurt."

Couldn't he be paired with someone who was a little closer to his size, maybe even someone-

Wait, what?

"Mr Shue, I thought you would put me with Kurt." Sebastian piped in, clearly showing his distaste of the pairing.

The teacher let out a sigh, Blaine picked that he knew this would happen. "Sebastian, I know yours and Kurt's voices work well together, but Blaine's will be a much more suited match, as yours will be with Puck's."

"But-"

"No arguing, Sebastian. My decision is final."

Blaine looked over at Sebastian, feeling little guilty when he saw the hard expression that was spread across the usual cocky boy's face. Blaine would never be the other guy, so Sebastian had nothing to worry about, but he couldn't help shake the feeling that he would worry anyway, and Blaine realised that he had just made an 'enemy' without even meaning to.

Sebastian knew it was stupid to get annoyed over this, but he and Kurt had been partnered for everything because their voices worked so well together, that was one of the many ways in which they connected. He kept quiet after that though, sticking to his earlier promise he had made to himself.

Each pair separated to discuss ideas. Mr Shue had explained that they needed to both sing and convey a message to the audience that meant something to both of them, it had to be something that was close to the heart. Sebastian cringed at the thought, he never showed anyone what was important to him, Kurt was the only one that saw the real Sebastian Smythe and he intended to keep it that way.

"Hi, I'm Kurt Hummel." Blaine turned to face the boy that had filled many of his thoughts of the past hour and smiled, making sure that he was playing it cool. Who was he kidding, he was no better than Nick, he didn't know how to play it cool, but he at least tried.

He held out his hand to the taller boy. "I'm Blaine Anderson."

Back in the music room, Nick and Jeff sprawled on the ground , clutching their stomachs as they both tried to recover from their laughter. Jeff's attempt at a piggy-back ride had gone horribly wrong when Nick's foot had jabbed him in the rigs. Needless to say, Nick now knew how ticklish Jeff is.

"Boys, are you two actually going to take this thing seriously or are you just going to waste the time you have?" Their teacher had spotted them mucking around, again, for the…third? time in the last fifteen minutes.

The two of them mumbled their apologies and had to try to hide their giggles until the teacher left, which proved difficult as he stuck around a little longer. "How about, since the two of you have so much time to waste, you can go first."

He must have thought that he had proven his point, but Nick and Jeff had been prepared since before they even knew they were partners. "Sure." Jeff agreed with a Cheshire cat grin planted on his face, much to the annoyance of the teacher.

Nick turned to Jeff, smiling happily when he caught sight of the blonde. Their eyes locked for a moment and Nick really wanted to look away before Jeff saw what he was keeping hidden, but he knew his eyes would give him away; the eyes are the windows to the soul.

It took Nick a moment to realise that Jeff hadn't looked away, his eyes were boring into Nick's and it sent a jittery feeling through his stomach. Jeff looked like he was about to speak and Nick acted before he had the chance; averting his eyes and standing up quickly.

"Er, so what did you…have in mind?" Nick questioned awkwardly, rubbing the back of his neck – a nervous habit that he was always known to do.

Jeff slowly stood up, an unreadable expression on his face. He didn't respond to Nick's question right away, he just looked to the dark-haired boy as if searching for an answer to his weird behaviour.

Nick shook the thoughts away before he got too caught up in thinking that Jeff may actually like him – who was he kidding, he isn't a girl, he has no chance.

Jeff seemed to forget the small moment – Nick presuming that he hadn't even noticed it because he is just not interested – and made his suggestion for what they could perform. Nick grinned widely at Jeff's suggestion and the two boys made their way to the front of the room while the teacher called everyone to attention.

They got themselves set up at the front, a couple of the music class' band members creating the music for the two boys. Jeff gave Nick a sideways glance and a nod to indicate that he was ready to start. The music started very faint and quiet, letting Nick's voice ring over the top of the instruments. Nick kept his voice slow and even, drawing out the first verse to build up the thrill of the chorus.

You can't stop an avalanche
As it races down the hill
You can try to stop the seasons, girl
But ya know you never will
And you can try to stop my dancin' feet
But i just cannot stand still

Nick's voice was levelled and controlled and he could see Jeff out of the corner of his eye itching to begin his part in the performance. Nick would have laughed at his friend's impatient foot tapping if it weren't for him singing.

Cause the world keeps spinnin'
Round and round
And my heart's keeping time
To the speed of sound
I was lost til i heard the drums
Then i found my way

He glanced at Jeff again, who was looking at him as if to say 'really? You're kidding me with this right? How do you expect me to dance to this?' Nick just grinned widely at Jeff before he finished the last slow line, drawing it out even longer than the others just to torture Jeff some more.

Cause you can't stop the beat

For a moment, there was silence and Nick just gave Jeff a mischievous smile which was returned by a mock glare from the impatient blonde. Jeff broke into a much awaited routine when the beat picked up and Nick sung the words faster than before, leading them into the chorus where Jeff's vocals joined his own.

Nick was surprised to hear how well his and Jeff's voices sounded together. It was one of those moments that felt kind of like the perfect match, but it was short-lived when Nick reminded himself yet again that he was not going to let himself fall for Jeff. He wasn't going to read into anything, he knew there was no point in pining over a straight boy, he would only hurt himself in the long run. But he couldn't shake how perfectly matched their voices were.

'Cause you can't stop
The motion of the ocean
Or the sun in the sky
You can wonder if you wanna
But i never ask why

Jeff and Nick's energy was contagious and soon the whole room was up out of their seats, dancing along to the beat. Nick hadn't started dancing yet, so he was able to look around at the remainder of the class. Most of the group were still partnered up and dancing together, but Jeff and Nick remained at the front.

Nick watched as the pairs separate and mingle with others around them and couldn't help but smile that the two groups could get along so well.

One of the music students – Santana Lopez – and her partner who Nick remembered to be Brittany, came to the front of the room where Nick was standing, singing his way through the song, and Jeff was lost in his own world of dance.

And that's when Nick's smile fell.

He tried to keep the same energetic mood through his next verse, but it was hard when he had to watch the two girls dance either side of Jeff. It wasn't them dancing with him that had caused Nick's deflated mood, it was how Jeff was reacting to their dancing. He smiled brightly and gave them both seductive looks that were suitable enough for a classroom setting and rolled his body teasingly, causing all the girls in the room to giggle.

Ever since we first saw the light
A man and woman liked to shake it
On a Saturday night
And so I'm gonna shake and shimmy it
With all my might today

Nick was too busy scolding himself in his mind to get over his crush on Jeff and have fun that he didn't notice that the girls had left and Jeff was trying to get his attention. Giving up on flailing his arms from the side, Jeff did some sort of sideways moonwalk until he stopped in front of Nick.

When Jeff took his hand, Nick was taken aback and tried to fight against Jeff's grip, but his friend was very persistent and just tugged him to the open floor. It only took Jeff's I'm-pouting-but-still-smiling-in-some-impossible-way for Nick to cave. Before he knew it, he and Jeff were dancing together in the middle of their classroom and Nick felt stupid for his earlier bitterness.

And you can't stop
The motion of the ocean
Or the rain from above

Jeff spun Nick away from him and then pulled him back, commencing his fast foot work that Nick attempted to copy with Jeff's encouragement.

You can try to stop the paradise
We're dreaming of
But you cannot stop the rhythm
Of two hearts in love to stay
'Cause you can't stop the beat

Nick caught Jeff's eyes and he saw something in them that he didn't recognise. Their colour was intensified, but dark at the same time.

You can't stop the beat!

Jeff stood behind Nick, but slightly to the one side as he slid his arm around the smaller boys waist; Nick had to try his best not to react to the move, but it was hard not to.

You can't stop the beat!

After Nick had slightly recovered from Jeff's arm around his waist, he was once again thrown into the deep end when the same hand rested in a tight grip on Nick's hip. Jeff then grabbed Nick's hand and held it level with his own shoulder.

You can't stop the beat!

Jeff encouraged Nick to pick up the pace of his feet and soon they were both linked together as they danced out the final beats of the song. Nick placed his hand over the one Jeff had positioned on his hip and forgot about his determination to not let himself fall for Jeff. There was just one problem. It was too late.

Nick had already fallen in love.

You can't stop the beat!


I hope everyone is liking this!

Please leave a review and let me know what you think!

If you're interested, check out some of my other fics...I've written a multi-fic of Klaine which is complete, a teacher!Kurt fic that is in progress and a few one-shots :)