Summary: Kurt Hummel, Blaine Anderson, Rachel Berry, Nick Duvall, Jeff Sterling, and Elliott Gilbert make up Pamela Lansbury, a rock/pop band that hit it big after their first single was featured on popular tv-show Sing. A little over two years later the band is still dealing with the pressures of fame, their differing dreams, their fans, "shippers", and finding love.
Author's note: So, a lot happens in this chapter and I really enjoyed writing it. Hope you guys like it.
Chapter Thirteen
"I'm here today with the boys from Pamela Lansbury. We're backstage at the moment with just an hour to go for their concert to begin. So, guys, how has it been so far? Enjoying yourself on tour? Maybe a little homesick?"
They were in one of the dressing rooms backstage during an interview that they hadn't even known they were doing until Santana with Dani's help were attaching microphones to them and Cassie was making sure they looked good. Kurt was sat at the far end with Blaine pressed to his side and he glanced up at their interviewer, Erin.
"We're definitely enjoying ourselves," Elliott said from the other end of the couch, "our first tour was a bit hectic and definitely nerve racking. It was the first one and we really had no idea what we were doing. But this time around we were more prepared for it all."
"And it comes down to just the fact that we are more comfortable with each other and with our crew and our sound and just everything about it," Nick added, "so, yeah, we're just having a blast."
"It sure looks like it," Erin said, "I caught a few of the videos your fans have put on youtube and the energy up on that stage is very palpable."
Jeff grinned. "Good," he said, "because we're having such a good time."
Kurt nodded in agreement. "It's the best feeling being up on stage," he said, "and even better that we get to do it together."
He saw Blaine turn his head towards him, so he turned to look at him, smiling to match the one playing on Blaine's lips.
Erin nodded. "And you've premiered a few of your new songs. So, what's the response been for those?"
"Really good," Blaine said, finally turning away from Kurt, "the crowds seem to love the new songs and they're very excited to get studio recordings of the songs."
"But you haven't recorded any of the new album yet, correct?"
"Nothing," Jeff said with a quick nod.
Kurt glanced down towards Jeff and then back at Erin who seemed to be communicating with Wes who was standing next to Santana right out of the view of the camera.
"One last question," Erin said, "and this was something your fans were begging me to ask. So, what is Klaine and Niff?"
Kurt froze. They hadn't gotten that question in a while but occasionally someone would sneak it in.
"Um," he said.
"They're ship names," Elliott said, "like mashed up names – couple names I guess. The fans came up with them. So Klaine is for Kurt and Blaine and Niff for Nick and Jeff."
Erin laughed. "And you don't feel left out, Elliott?"
"I'm not," he said, "there's all kind of names. Kelliott for one."
"So what's special about Klaine and Niff, then?"
She was looking straight at him and Blaine before her eyes went to Nick and Jeff. Kurt let out a breath.
"It's because we're best friends," he said, "Blaine and I are very close. We've been close for far longer than the band has even been together and the same can be said for Nick and Jeff. It's a little strange, but a few of our fans have convinced themselves that Blaine and I are in a romantic relationship and the same for Nick and Jeff. Of course there's nothing there."
He glanced at Blaine, finding him looking at him. Kurt gulped.
"Really?" Erin asked, "there is really nothing more between you?"
"Nothing," Blaine said, "we're really just good friends so of course they're reading into that.
Erin sighed. "Alright, then," she said, "I wish you guys all the best for tonight's show and the rest of your tour. It's been a lot of fun hanging out with you all back here and I hope we get to do it again."
They each stood up and shook her hand before the camera was finally turned off.
"Thank you again," she said, "it was awesome to meet all of you."
The camera man caught her attention and she walked towards him while a few of the crew helped them clip off the microphones.
"Well, I'm glad that's over," Nick said, "will the questions on shipping ever end?"
Kurt shrugged his shoulders. "They won't, probably, but avoiding them is probably not going to help."
"It won't," Dani said.
She was helping with Kurt's mic. It was her first day as tour manager assistant and so far Kurt had nothing bad to say about her. Dani was nice and friendly but kept mostly to herself. He imagined that she was just trying to get used to everything first.
"What do you mean?" Nick asked.
"Well," she said, "it's more suspicious, isn't it? If say suddenly you two started to hang out less or you distanced yourself. If you requested that questions about shipping be left out entirely. It would make it seem like there is something more there that you're trying to hide even if you're not."
"I get it," Jeff said, "and yeah, that makes sense."
Dani nodded. She finished with the mic and handed it off to the crew member that was collecting them.
"I should go see if Sebastian needs anything," she said, "he's been in a mood. I can see why you don't like him."
Kurt let out a quick laugh. "You have no idea," he said.
She scurried away and the five of them were on their own again. Wes and Santana seemed to have stepped out with Erin and the camera man, and the rest of the crew was going back to what they'd been working on earlier.
Kurt dropped back to the couch and Jeff sat down next to him, leaning his head on Kurt's shoulder.
"Kurt," he said in a whisper, "do you think Nick is acting strange?"
Kurt hadn't noticed anything different about Nick, but then he didn't pay him as much attention as Jeff did. He'd been preoccupied enough with trying to figure out how to keep messing with Sebastian without getting in Santana or Dani's way. He'd also been trying to think too much on what his dad had said about Blaine.
"I don't know," he muttered back, "do you think he is?"
"Yeah," Jeff said, "maybe. I don't know."
"I'd like to make a quick shout out," Blaine said, "to a few people in the audience who we don't get to see as often as we'd like. This next song is about family and home and it was written for all of you."
Blaine blew a kiss in the direction of where their parents were seated and ducked his head when he heard the crowd collectively go "aww" before they broke into cheers again. He coughed mostly to clear his throat because he was still a little bit sick, and then he grabbed his mic and motioned for Elliott to start playing.
Kurt had the first verse and he sang it with Nick before Blaine took on the second one. Blaine lost himself to the music and the adrenaline coursing through him due to the concert. They never followed any specific choreography but sort of knew where to move or stand at specific moments not that it made any difference. He and Kurt had the most liberty so they tended to just move around the stage with no care.
Blaine moved around towards the front, waving at their fans as he sang. He turned away after a while, walking back to a mic stand. He found Kurt across the stage, belting out his words before he walked back towards him. Kurt was beautiful on the stage, his presence so palpable and his excitement and his love of performing clear in every single one of his movements. His eyes shone and his smile was wide. Blaine moved towards him. They met in the middle and Kurt laughed while Elliott sang behind them, joined by Nick's voice moments later as they took on the chorus. For Blaine, the words were forgotten and he reached for Kurt's hand. It went with him willingly and laughing, Kurt let him lead him into a dance to the loud cheers of their fans and Elliott and Nick singing Blaine's parts.
Kurt's head fell back as he laughed, his mic pressed against Blaine's back and they twirled in the middle of the stage until Kurt pulled away to sing. He squeezed Blaine's hand before he was off again towards Elliott this time as the song came to an end and Blaine managed to sing the last few lines.
"Like Blaine said," Kurt said suddenly, "that song was for our families. We're so glad to have them join us tonight. And now, here's a new one, although I bet you've all already heard it by now."
The rest of the show was a blur of singing, dancing, running around the stage, and the crowd cheering for them until they had finished their encore and they were headed backstage.
"That was amazing, guys," Dani said, being the one right at the edge of the stage, "the dance you guys did during Home Is, brilliant."
"It was fun," Kurt said and Blaine nodded eagerly.
They walked, all of them talking over each other, back to the dressing rooms, the excitement from the performance still washing over them. Not even seeing Sebastian barking orders to someone on the crew could sour their moods.
PamelaLansburyonSing:
I was there tonight and oh my god, guys, you don't even know.
I already wrote up a pretty big post on just the entire concert in general but the Klaine dance just deserves its own post because it was just epic. Epic. I mean, no one saw it coming. It's never happened before. They sing this song every time. Home Is was never my favorite song of theirs. It's a bit cliché, I guess, but the way Klaine interacted during it gave it so much more meaning.
Blaine was so distracted by Kurt that he didn't even sing his parts. I've linked to previous performances from Roseland and from Foxborough and you can see the differences. Elliott and Nick were basically singing Blaine's parts as well as the chorus while Klaine was way too focused on each other instead.
And like, it was so intense. It was like I couldn't look away but at the same time I felt like I was seeing something I didn't or shouldn't be – like it was so damn intimate. Omg.
The heart eyes, guys. The heart eyes. And then for the rest of the show they just kept looking at each other or interacting maybe a bit more than usual.
It was just so amazing. Klaine is going strong and nothing anyone says can convince me otherwise.
Peaceandlove: Ugh, I hate how Klainers always try and make everything about their ship. So what if the boys danced. They're friends.
PamelaLansburyonSing: um, please get off my post. This is clearly a Klaine blog. Thanks.
NiffKlainer: I can't believe you got to experience this. Omg. It must have been amazing. So jealous.
AndersonHummel: They're sooo close, though. No one can deny how close they are friends or more.
Klainingtilltheend: Just imagine, guys, one day they'll be dancing like this at their wedding.
"So, the internet is blowing up with stuff about you and Kurt," Nick said and he watched Blaine closely, trying to see if he could get a reaction from him, "you should see your mentions on Twitter. Actually we're all being asked about it."
They were at the hotel bar. Wes had made Sebastian get their families hotel rooms for the night so they wouldn't have to make the drive back to Lima and Westerville, but they had all gone to bed leaving the rest of them to get drinks at the hotel bar. Wes, Elliott, and Kurt were sitting across the room at one of the tables and around the room the rest of their crew could be found.
"It's just going to fuel the fire," Nick said, "unless that's what you wanted to do."
Blaine shrugged his shoulders. "I just felt like it. I wanted to dance with him."
Nick nodded and he took a sip of his drink. "Sure," he said, "and I get that, but it looks different to the fans, you know."
"I know," Blaine said, "it's be easier if—"
"If?" Nick asked.
"If we were actually together, you know."
Nick took a long drink before he nodded. "I guess so, yeah. Like, um, back at Dalton. Jeff and I actually talked about it. We used to joke about how everyone just assumed we were together even though we were only just the best of friends? Well, sometimes we just made it worse. We pretended everyone was right. Kissed him once, even."
"I never heard about that," Blaine said, "the kissing?"
"May have been the year after you graduated," Nick said, "yeah, actually, I think it was. Sebastian was around by then."
Arms were suddenly placed around their shoulders and Kurt rested his head on Blaine's shoulder between the two of them.
"Are you two going to sulk over here or come join us at the table any time soon? Also, I stole Jeff's phone. Don't tell him. He's a danger to twitter. His addiction is too real."
Blaine laughed. "Give me his phone," he said, "I don't think I trust you with it either. The two of you and your little feud. Cassie is still mad about the sharpie on Jeff's face. It took her two hours to get it off."
Kurt rolled his eyes. "Yeah, yeah," he said, "but, no, come with us. I was telling Wes about the song you wrote and they want to hear it."
"Sing it with me?" Blaine asked.
Nick watched them. It was hard not to already picture what they'd be like together if they were really involved romantically. Their banter, their flirting, and just everything about them was just in sync.
He followed them over to the table where Elliott and Wes were waiting. Santana and Dani joined them a little bit later, the two of them looking a bit tipsy. Santana was leaning against Dani and Dani didn't seem to mind one bit. Nick was suddenly very aware of the real reason that Santana was alright with going on tour with them despite all her arguments against it weeks before.
"Kurt said you wrote a song?" Wes asked.
Blaine ducked his head and nodded. "Yeah, couple nights ago."
"And it has to be on the album," Kurt said, "I know we already have most of that figured out with the demos we recorded for Paul and whatever, but this song is perfect."
"Let's have it then, gay ones," Santana said.
Dani nudged her and Nick watched Santana smile fondly at her before they both sat down.
"Is my guitar around?" Blaine asked.
"I have mine," Elliott said, "behind the bar."
Nick watched Blaine go to fetch it and saw how he dodged Sebastian. For his part, Nick had been trying his hardest to avoid Sebastian. It wasn't proving to be too difficult with both Wes and Santana around. They seemed to be keeping him busy or Sebastian was out to prove himself. Nick supposed that he was well aware of the threat to his job.
"Okay," Blaine said.
He pulled the guitar out and put the strap around his shoulder and even before he started playing the new song Nick could tell that it had been inspired by Kurt.
It feels a little bit like remembering
A ghost appearing before me
Fully dressed wearing your smile
And oh, I want, I want
Memories are scalding water
And I just want, I want
I can't help wanting
Oh how long now, how long
For something
And oh, the crinkles 'round your eyes
They tell the story of your life.
I want I want I want
How long now, how long
For something
We can be something
I used to think it wasn't true
But there you are
And here I am
And I just want, I want
I can't help wanting
We could be something.
They sang the song together, their voices lifting and falling in all the right places and Nick wasn't sure if he was the only one to notice but it felt like something was changing between Kurt and Blaine who at some point had turned their gazes to each other.
Wes, Santana, and Dani broke out into claps that he joined in moments later with Elliott.
"That was great," Jeff said, appearing next to him suddenly, "I love it."
"Definitely should be on the album," Wes said, "we'll have to make a quick video recording of it or something and send it to Paul and the rest of them but yeah, it's great."
Kurtismyfavorite:
OMG. I can't – oh, gosh, I don't even…um…I – wow, so, something pretty epic just happened.
#did that really just happen #ashnklfabcknlx #is this real life? #klaine
Kurtismyfavorite:
I see the numbers on the inbox growing. I do. I just need to – omg, I can't process this. Oh my.
#just need room to calm down #omg #just met the boys #what?
Kurtismyfavorite:
Okay. Okay. So, you know how everyone thought that Pamela Lansbury were all going to go home with their families after the show and so no one was even bothering to go to their hotel because it's basically pointless in Ohio? And just like people were stalking their parent's houses instead? Well since Louise and I drove two hours to see them we ended up getting a hotel room totally last minute and since Louise's aunt works for Hilton she got us a room free of charge. We didn't realize the band had rooms here until we literally ran into Cassie their stylist and omg she's so nice!
So anyway, we figured the crew might just be staying here and not the boys so we weren't like looking for them or anything but we figured we'd take advantage and go to the bar and then we realized that a few of their security people were there so we went in trying to be all casual and lo and behold there they were and mid song, too!
Louise is trying to upload what she got on her phone but omg, you guys, this song was so Klaine. It was just – and they were singing it together and like it's a new song and you can just tell Blaine wrote it and omg I don't even know. I still can't…they were standing so close and staring at each other. The heart eyes, guys, the heart eyes!
#klaine has killed me #blogging from the grave #when did my life become this? #klaine #pamela lansbury
Kurtismyfavorite:
Second post…I just. I had to jump around the room and try to calm myself down. So, okay, we approached them after a bit and they were so nice. Kurt and Blaine give the best hugs and Nick was nice enough to take pictures of us with them and then we did a selfie with Nick and they all signed a few things for us. I don't even remember what we talked about. Omg. I just, I can't believe this night went like this.
#still flipping out #pictures to come
Author's Note: That was the full poem/song as adapted from the actual poem I wrote and I'm not sure that I like it too much, but it is fitting. There was lots of Klaine in this chapter and there will be a lot of things happening in the next one as consequence of this chapter.
I also really liked the idea that a fan would leak that song and just the Klaine heart eyes while singing it...so that fan fun. Next chapter shouldn't take too long to be posted. I think I have a scene or so left to write.
thanks for reading.
I'm on tumblr at inawickedlittletown if you'd like to follow me there. I usually post writing progress updates there.
Hope you all enjoyed this and thank you for reading.