Title: Fall- back
Chapter nineteen: Sectionals
Rating: T
Summary: After the war Harry moves to Lima, Ohio to try and live a normal life as just another invisible teenager. You know what they say about best laid plans, though. KH/HP
Disclaimer: Anything you recognise…. Isn't mine. Though I probably wish it is. Now I'm sad.
AN: Sorry. I swear I'll do better next time. Or at least have a chapter out sooner. So, Happy New Years, I suppose? Even though it's February already. Whatever.
I've got legitimate reasons for being so damn late with posting all the time though: I'm in college. I commute to get there four days in the week. Classes run from 8.30 AM to 8 PM. I'm fricking tired. Add to that the fact that my mum's recovery process from having had surgery is going way slower than any of us had expected, meaning I've got a household to partially run. Then there's my demanding internship every Tuesday and my actual job working in retail every Friday evening, Saturday and Sunday. Oh, and I tutor a few nights per week. I keep myself too busy. I've decided to cut myself some slack at the end of February, though: I've booked myself a week in London. By my lonesome. Just getting some peace, quiet, and a hell of a lot of shopping done. Because I'm worth it.
Anyways, as a sort of peace offering this chapter is longer than usual. I hope you enjoy it. Let me know what you think! (Which you guys have never stopped doing even though I'm super lame. You guys are awesome!)
On with the story!
The next day, the tension in the choir room was so thick it could have been cut with a knife. Mr Schuester had just announced that he would be using other glee club members for Sectionals than the usual suspects.
Rachel's mouth had dropped open in outrage, Finn had shrugged, Santana had straightened in her chair. Artie had made some kind of approving gang sign no one really understood and Puck had smirked triumphantly.
Kurt had grabbed onto Harry's hand immediately, hopeful that his chances at a solo were finally more than zilch and had started whispering to Mercedes in rapid words and squeals. Harry privately thought Kurt would make a better Parselmouth than he himself did, but didn't have much of an opinion on their director's dramatic announcement.
Tina and Mike had taken it silently, but the glimmer in Tina's eyes was unmistakable. Lauren had just grunted. Brittany was too busy braiding her own hair into various twisted knots Harry thought she'd never be able to comb out. Sam had done some sort of impression that went straight over Harry's head.
"Now," Mr Schuester said, completely ignoring Rachel's sputters for once, "we've got three songs to choose, rehearse and perfect and only a little more than a week to get them right. We're going to need a solo and either a duet and a group number or two group numbers. I've got some ideas for both, but I'm up for suggestions. "
Here, he paused for a bit, looking around at his students. Then he continued: "It has recently been brought to my attention that I use too many 'old' songs and that I need to let you guys have some more input. So lay it on me; suggest away."
Immediately, the group began shouting their suggestions. Instead of trying to be organised their director tried to follow along to their called suggestions by writing them on the board as fast as he could. In the end, no one could read what he had written down.
"I can't believe I got a solo," Kurt breathed out next to Harry, completely ignoring the salad in front of him, his fork hanging somewhere between his mouth and the table.
Harry smiled at his boyfriend before gently taking his fork from him and placing it next to his plate, lest he accidentally hurt someone with it.
"I can," he said. "Your voice is amazing. Frankly, I'm shocked you didn't get one sooner."
"My boo's pretty awesome," Mercedes beamed at them, completely ignoring the silently fuming Rachel next to her. Mercedes had been a bit bummed at not having gotten the solo herself, but was happy for Kurt, figuring he deserved the time to shine just as much as she did. Rachel, on the other hand, had thrown a fit. But no one really paid attention to her hissy fits anymore anyway.
"Thank you," Kurt said softly. He seemed to suddenly realise he wasn't holding his fork anymore and looked down at the utensil next to his plate in confusion. Harry hid a grin in his hand. Mercedes giggled.
"Pretty great song selection, too," Tina supplied from next to Rachel. "I can't wait to hear you guys do 'Kryptonite' up on that stage. It's going to be great!"
Harry grinned at her. The song was one he had suggested himself and Mr Schuester had decided that the guys would sing that song as their second number, right after Kurt's solo. The girls would dance and provide harmonies in the background. Kurt was still debating with their choir director about which song to sing, though everyone had agreed it should be a musical song. The third song would be a group song in which they all sang. They had chosen 'Dog Days Are Over', highly featuring Mercedes (another reason she wasn't too bummed at not getting the solo) and Tina.
Even if Blaine's stories about the Warblers were true and they were like rock stars at their own school, Harry was still quietly confident they could beat them. And if not that, than at least give them some serious competition.
The week leading up to Sectionals went by in a haze of classes, song and dance rehearsals and many evenings of Harry amusedly watching Kurt pace the length of his basement bedroom (with the door open to adhere to Burt's rules) as he worried about his solo. The last night before Sectionals Harry couldn't watch it any longer so he took Kurt to the movies to help him relax. Amazingly, it worked. The morning after though, he was a complete wreck.
"But what if I black out?" the countertenor asked in a sudden panic.
"You won't," Harry assured him, "You've known this song inside and out for years. You're going to nail it."
"And if you do forget the lines," Rachel (who had finally got rid of the duct-tape she had had sealed to her lips the entire week, Harry already mourned the loss of silence) cut in, "I'll be ready to step in at a moment's notice."
Kurt's eyes narrowed. "Thanks Rachel, that's just the encouragement I needed. Now I have an even bigger reason to do well up there."
Harry hid his grin while tying a perfect Windsor (The Gryffindor tie had been good for something, at least. ). If Kurt hadn't wanted to do well before, he did now. Rachel folded her arms and stalked off in a huff.
Mr Schuester chose that moment to enter the dressing room. "Alright guys, the curtains are about to open. If we don't take our places now we're going to miss The Hipsters."
The group filed out, making their way down to the auditorium. On their way down the steps they passed the Warblers. Harry searched their faces, but didn't have to look for long. Blaine sat half-turned in his chair, one leg tucked beneath him and waving madly at him and Kurt. He was a stark contrast to the other blazer clad boys, who were rigid in their seats and staring straight ahead at the stage. A blonde boy and a dark- skinned boy flanked Blaine and were giving him odd looks at his behaviour before glancing over their shoulders at Harry and Kurt who by now had let the rest of their group pass them by.
Good luck!, Blaine mouthed at them, grinning wildly. Harry did his best impression of a Malfoy smirk.
You too, you'll need it, he mouthed back in jest. Next to him he could see Kurt chuckle.
Blaine adopted a mock wounded look and playfully stuck out his tongue. The Asian boy next to the blonde boy looked at him with plain disbelief written all over his face. Harry laughed shortly and he and Kurt finally made their way down to their seats, studiously ignoring the looks on the faces of the rest of the New Directions members.
"Who was that?" Mercedes hissed at Kurt as they sat down. The rest of the club did their best to try as if they were not listening in.
"A friend," Kurt replied briefly, fixing his attention on the stage, where the curtains were beginning to part.
"He's a Warbler!" Rachel spit out from behind them. Harry really started to miss the duct- tape. "You two had better not be fraternising with the enemy!"
Harry shushed her. "Be quiet, they're about to start."
He sat back in his chair, ready to watch the Hipsters perform. Next to him, Kurt did the same. Rachel spluttered a little in indignation, but she was ignored.
So, apparently, the Warblers were rock stars. And Blaine was amazing. And in deep trouble for not mentioning he was their lead singer sooner.
"You didn't tell me Blaine sang lead!", Kurt rapidly whispered at him as they made their way backstage.
"I didn't know!", Harry replied in a similar fashion. "He never told me. You're the one he went shopping with thrice in the last couple of weeks, didn't he mention anything to you?"
"Not a thing."
"Cheeky bugger," Harry said, shaking his head. They were the only two on stage, behind the curtains. Kurt was supposed to do his solo and in the meantime Harry and the rest of the boys would run back through the hallways to reach the other side of the auditorium so they could do the back entrance- thing, which was apparently some kind of New Directions tradition.
Suddenly, Kurt looked nervous again. "I can't believe I'm about to do this."
"You'll be fine," Harry smiled at him. "No, you'll be better than fine. You'll be amazing."
"Thanks," the nervous boy smiled, "But I'd prefer to get through this performance before judging it."
"Oh, pishposh," Harry replied in a manner eerily reminiscent of his old Transfiguration professor. "You're going to do great, and I'm going to listen to your beautiful voice from the other side of the auditorium, occasionally pausing to send smug looks to the other boys."
At Kurt's raised eyebrow he continued: "None of them have amazingly cute boyfriends with fantastic voices."
"That's because all of them are straight!" Kurt exclaimed with a grin on his face.
"Or so they claim," Harry rebutted, before quickly stepping forward to peck Kurt on the lips. "I've got to run, the lights are dimming again. Good luck."
"You're not supposed to say that," Kurt hissed, "You're supposed to say-"
"Break a leg. I know, love. Go ahead and splinter those bloody bones."
"Oh, just go."
"I've got to admit," Puck commented as Kurt's voice soared through the auditorium, "Hummel's got a pair on him."
Next to Puck, Artie snorted.
"Lungs, I mean! A pair of lungs," Puck quickly corrected, ignoring the way the other boys snickered around him.
"Of course that's what you meant," Harry drawled, eyebrow raised. "And Kurt claimed all of you were straight. Hah."
"Wait dude, we totally are," Finn said, seemingly needing to set the matter, well, straight. Next to him, Sam nodded furiously. Mike didn't seem to care about his sexuality being in question, instead choosing to focus on his stretches. Harry quickly copied this action, figuring it was a wise move. The rest – bar Artie- followed. In the auditorium, Kurt's voice launched into the next verse. Though they would never admit it, all boys quietly sang with him under their breaths.
"…my mad existence, I kept my promise, don't keep your distance…."
Harry groaned as something in his thigh seemed to snap as he stretched. It didn't hurt, so he figured it was just something that happened during stretches. He wouldn't know. He had never really needed to stretch his legs for Quidditch, as his knees and arms did most of the steering in the air. That, and his runs the previous year with Ron and Hermione hasn't exactly been for fun. There were usually Death Eaters nearby, or angry goblins chasing them for breaking into a vault. Fun times.
"….They are illusions
They're not the solutions
They promise to be
The answer was here all the time
I love you and hope you love me….."
Harry decided he could probably listen to his boyfriend sing forever. He had heard Kurt practise the song in his room at least a thousand times, and while amazing, none of the times he had sang it had sounded as good as it did now. He also decided Kurt wasn't allowed to ever worry about performing again. Around him, the other boys had stopped their stretches. They all got up and took their positions at the auditorium doors.
"Have I said too much?
There's nothing more I can think of to say to you
But all you have to do
Is look at me to know
That every word is true."
The music tapered off and behind the auditorium doors the boys glanced at each other, then simultaneously seemed to grin as the opening notes for their song started playing. Showtime.
Blaine was shocked. No, 'shock' wasn't the right word for what he was experiencing right now. He was in awe. Blaine Anderson, junior member and lead singer for the Warblers, was in awe. Kurt could sing. No, not 'sing', he knew Kurt could sing. He didn't know that Kurt could sing. There was a difference. Two seats over, Wes couldn't seem to believe it either.
"A countertenor?", the Asian council member furiously muttered to Jeff, who looked like he would rather be anywhere else than where he was sitting at the moment, "Do you have any idea how rare that is?"
"Er, pretty rare?" Jeff guessed, throwing a panicked look in Blaine's direction. They all knew how scary Wes could get when things didn't go exactly the way he had planned them.
"No, Jeffrey, pretty rare is finding a piece of metal in a tuna can," Wes sniped. Jeff cringed at the use of his full name. "A countertenor is as rare as…. as…I can't think of the right simile, but it's extremely rare. Where did they get that kid?"
"Lima," Blaine supplied helpfully. Wes just gave him the evil eye. Right then, the opening notes to the next song started and the boys trained their eyes on the stage again. The empty stage. What the…?
Suddenly, the spotlights swivelled and were aimed at the back of the auditorium. The two doors their opened with a slight bang. Wes turned incredulous eyes to the back and Blaine had to hide a grin in his hand. The bus ride back to Dalton was going to be hell, but the look on Wes' face made it all worth it in advance.
"I took a walk around the world
To ease my troubled mind
I left my body laying somewhere
In the sands of time"
The mohawked boy singing the opening lines seemed like a perfect fit for the song. As Blaine watched, two lines of boys dressed in black with only a tie as a coloured accent - Kurt would have had a hand in that- descended the stairs, marching in perfect sync. A blonde boy with rather large lips took over the next few lines:
"I watched the world float
To the dark side of the moon
I feel there is nothing I can do, yeah "
While not the perfect fit for the song, the blonde boy sang with a pleasant voice and hit the last note surprisingly well. The boys on the stairs stopped somewhere halfway down and turned –again in perfect sync, how the hell did they do that?- to face each other. The tallest boy in their group took over the next few lines:
"I watched the world float
To the dark side of the moon
After all I knew it had to be
Something to do with you "
During the last line the boys had started their march down the stairs again, and on the 'you' they stopped dead in their tracks and turned their heads to the special ramp all the way at the wall. Blaine and the rest of the Warblers followed their lead immediately, wandering what was about to happen. They were answered pretty much immediately when another door opened and a boy in a wheelchair came rolling down at top speed, singing the next few lines:
"I really don't mind what happens now and then
As long as you'll be my friend at the end"
Blaine focused his attention on the rest of the boys again, but found he couldn't. The boys were gone. They had somehow used the few seconds the boy in the wheelchair had pulled the attention to himself to make their way on stage and form a perfect formation. Blaine was starting to feel nervous. Then, Harry broke out of the formation as the boys started to dance.
"If I go crazy then will you still
Call me Superman
If I'm alive and well, will you be
There holding my hand
I'll keep you by my side
With my superhuman might
Kryptonite"
Harry's voice sounded smoother than Blaine had expected beforehand. His normal speaking voice was quiet, polite, and at times a little hoarse. The way he sang the lyrics to the song was completely different. His voice still sounded a little raw, but in a way that drew him in to the song. He told a story with his voice and Blaine was pleasantly surprised at his performance. This was a far cry from the polite boy who occasionally landed him on his ass in the ring. Okay, more than occasionally, but still.
Before he could think on it more the boys started alternating lines and the choreography seemed to get more fluent yet more chaotic at the same time, with Kurt –who had re-joined the boys when they made their way on to the stage- taking the first two lines:
"You called me strong, you called me weak,
But still your secrets I will keep
You took for granted all the times
I never let you down
You stumbled in and bumped your head,
If not for me then you would be dead
I picked you up and put you back
On solid ground"
From out of seemingly nowhere – though Blaine had seen them sneak on stage during the last line (sang by Artie, whose voice Blaine decided he really liked)- the New Directions girls had joined the boys, each flanking a boy and pulling them into an insane choreography – did that Asian guy seriously just flip that blonde girl in the air?- while all members sang the chorus:
"If I go crazy then will you still
Call me Superman
If I'm alive and well,
Will you be there holding my hand
I'll keep you by my side
With my superhuman might
Kryptonite
Yeah!"
For the last chorus, the girls suddenly dropped to the ground. Simultaneously, the music stopped and the boys all adopted army- like stances; legs spread a little apart, hands clasped behind their backs. The only sound heard was the voices of the boys as they sang the last chorus:
"If I go crazy then will you still
Call me Superman
If I'm alive and well, will you be there
Holding my hand
I'll keep you by my side
With my superhuman might
Kryptonite…"
As the last sung notes tapered off, Blaine felt a sense of impending doom press down on him. He didn't dare look at Wes. Next to him David had sunk down in his chair, his head in his hands. Blaine could understand his feelings very well: The New Directions still had another song to perform. They were screwed.
"You were incredible!" Harry breathed into Kurt's neck as he lifted him off the ground in a suffocating hug, vaguely reminiscent of Mrs Weasley. They were waiting in the hallway after having just finished their third song, "Dog Days Are Over". The judges were busy judging their performance, but somewhere deep down Harry really thought they had won.
"He's right, you know," Blaine's voice sounded from behind him. Harry let go of Kurt and they turned to look at him, noticing a few other Warblers loitering nearby. "You were great. Wes is still cursing your voice. He's beside himself with nerves."
"Thanks," Kurt breathed, grinning ear to ear. "You were pretty amazing yourself."
"Thank you," the blazer clad said. "Not good enough though, I don't think. You guys nailed it."
"I suppose we're about to find out," Harry idly commented, "The judges are leaving their room."
The words hadn't fully left his mouth yet when Mr Schuester already came barrelling around the corner and shooing them back on stage. Harry chuckled when he saw a very nervous looking Asian guy do the same to Blaine.
Once the groups were gathered on stage, the third place was easily announced. The Hipsters, for all their effort, just hadn't been able to cut it. Harry smiled at them as they passed them by, then caught Blaine doing the same from across the stage. The boys caught each other's eyes and grinned. Moment of truth.
"And the winner is…"
Once again; thank you guys for waiting so damn long for this chapter. I love you guys for still being with me and this story. Please let me know what you thought. I'll make sure to pack my laptop when I'm going on holiday so I can read your reviews, PMs or whatever else you decide to send me. You guys are amazing.
So, thoughts?
Till next time!
-Robin.