Several Warblers were sitting in Terry's and Robert's dorm, supposed to be studying, but were talking instead. Regionals was only a week away and things were tense. They knew their songs by heart and they were working on the choreography, which was close to be completed, so they weren't very worried about screwing up. But it was still nerve-wracking to think about going up to stage to perform for hundreds of people. They had heard from Kurt that New Directions was very good, which some Warblers had witnessed by themselves via youtube.
The Warblers currently in Terry's and Robert's dorm had a made a pact. Regionals was something they wouldn't discuss tonight. They had agreed on forgetting it for the night and just have fun.
"So, wait, James, what exactly did those hockey guys say?" Thad asked, slightly panicked.
"Let's get physical, physical, I wanna get physical, let's get into physical…" James hummed, drumming on his legs with his hands.
"I really hope that wasn't what they said." Nathan said, laughing.
"Wait, what?" James asked. "I zoned out, sorry."
"I said, what exactly did those hockey guys say?" Thad repeated himself.
"Something about coming to Dalton to kick our faggoty asses." James said and shrugged, taking another sip of his coffee.
"Relax, Thad, they're not gonna do anything. We get shit like this all the time from other football team when we out-smart them." Terry said.
"It's true," Nathan backed him up. "Some idiot with a mohawk said he'd fuck my mom if I didn't watch my mouth. He of course didn't do anything, but he wouldn't be successful if he had attempted, though."
"It's not just football, it's soccer too." Frank added. "I sometimes get racial slurs yelled at me, but they're pretty rare seeing how most soccer teams have people of other color than white in their teams as well, and racism isn't very common these days."
"What do you do when people are disrespectful to you like that?" Robert asked, curious to hear what his friend had to say. It wasn't a secret that Frank was very proud of his orientation and there were more than one stories of him lashing back at people for being ignorant.
"I either come with a comeback or push myself even harder to win them so I can rub it in their faces. Though, um, you guys know Spencer Bradley, right?" Frank said and the guys nodded. "Yeah, he had just come out of the closet right before this one game and he was semi insecure about his sexuality then. Well, we had a game against some school and they apparently had heard about his sexuality and were being just plain disgusting. There was this one guy who was kind of like their leader or something, and he was the worst of them. I, along with several guys, yelled at their ignorant asses to shut the hell up, but they just laughed. So when the game started again, I tackled the so called leader, which resulted in him not being able to play. I got a card for it, but it was so worth it."
"Have I ever mentioned how much I appreciate you sometimes, Frank?" Blaine asked. Frank just laughed and they bumped fists.
"I don't know why, but I just get so angry when people are being hateful towards other people for something that shouldn't be hated and is something they can't change. I swear, if someone yells a racial slur mixed with a homophobic slur, you're going to have to chain me to the ground from keeping me from killing the person." Frank added.
"Well, that adds another thing to my list of things to keep on me all the time just in case." Nathan said. "Chains, duck-tape, red maker, a pillow, broom, band aids, a scarf, batteries and that thing you use to charge your ipod."
"You're forgetting flip-flops. You never know when you might need 'em." Terry added.
"I wonder if you can kill someone with a flip-flop…" James wondered aloud, stroking his chin. The Warblers shot him a look.
"You're so wonderfully weird, did you know that?" Nathan said and James just smiled.
"But to answer your question, I believe you can." Blaine said.
"Thad?" Chris called after Thad, who was walking towards the senior commons. Thad stopped and Chris ran the few steps that were between them, patting Thad's shoulder when he reached him. "I've got to talk to you."
"Can't this wait? The Warbler meeting is soon beginning and I can't be late." Thad asked.
"This should only take a minute." Chris said. He looked around himself to make sure they were alone before continuing. "So, you and Flint, huh? Please, do not tell me you're using him to get over Wes."
Thad swallowed and began to tense up. "U-um, I do like Flint, I really do, but I guess you could say I'm also not over Wes completely. To get over an obsession you must find something new to obsess about, right?" Thad said. Chris knit his eyebrows together in confusion. "Not that I'm obsessed about them or anything, i-it's just the easiest way to explain this situation."
"Thad, you can't do this to Flint." Chris said. "He's recovering from a heartbreak."
"And so am I!" Thad cut in.
"Do you realize how crushed Flint will be when he finds out you're just using him to get over Wes?" Chris said harshly. "Do you have any idea what you're doing?"
"What's with the accusing, Chris? Do you honestly believe I would do something horrible like this? I like Flint, okay? I really do. But right now, I also like Wes. Flint likes me back, Wes doesn't. So with the help of Flint, I will get over Wes." Thad said. Chris was about to open his mouth to say something but Thad lifted his hand as a signal for him to shut up and began talking again.
"And how the hell do you know that Flint isn't just using me as well? He's heartbroken and he might as well be still in love with this guy. Why won't you go yell at him as well? I don't know what the hell is the matter with you right now, Chris, but why do you keep talking to me like you're my mother? I-I know that you're only trying to help me or whatever, but the more you scold me, the more it sounds like you're judging me."
"I'm not judging you, Thad. I'm just honestly trying to help you. I really, really care about you. I freaking love you, dude. You've always been there for me and I'm just trying to do the same for you. I don't want you to screw this up, I don't want you to hurt someone or be hurt, I don't want you to be heartbroken. I just want you to be happy and what you're doing right now may cause you pain."
"Yeah?" Thad said coldly. "Well, try to do it more like a friend. I know you only mean good by it, but it just feels like you're jealous and like you're trying to keep me from being happy." Thad said and turned around to walk to the senior commons, seeing as how the meeting would begin in two minutes.
"Oh my god, Thad, are you kidding me?" Chris called after him. Thad didn't stop or slow down, he just kept on walking. "I'm trying to keep you away from doing one of the most irresponsible and dumb thing that will only cause you heartbreak and you call me jealous? Why the hell are you even on this council? You obviously aren't as smart as we think you are."
Thad stopped in his tracks and turned around. He walked back to where Chris stood and stopped right in front of him.
"You think this is easy? You think I like having this gut-wrenching pain in my chest knowing that someone I really like doesn't like me back? And then when I finally find someone else I can relate to and actually begin developing feelings for said person, my best friend tries to keep me away from him. How the hell do you think I feel?"
"Oh, believe me, I know all about pain." Chris said bitterly. "Yes, you are probably in a bad place right now, emotionally wise, but would you please just stop being a twelve year old girl and actually step up to your responsibilities? If I hadn't stopped you from telling Wes how you really feel, this council would be so fucked up right now we wouldn't even have the slightest chance at Regionals. The fact that I had to step up and tell you how to do your fucking job is just—"
Chris was cut off by a fist colliding with his jaw. After he suffered the blow, he himself completely lost it as well. He punched Thad as hard as he could, his fist hitting his nose, and blood exploded from it. Thad used his body to push Chris up against a wall and then punched him in the stomach. Chris doubled over but soon regained himself and kicked Thad in the leg. The next thing he knew, there was yelling around them. Chris managed to punch Thad one more time, hitting his eye, before he was pulled away from him.
Thad kicked and punched and fought against Terry, who was holding him back, trying to get back to Chris. Thad fought so hard Nick had to help Terry to keep him from getting loose. David and Trent were holding back Chris who looked a little tamer. Blaine, Kurt and Flint stood there as well, shocked and not sure what to do.
"What the hell is going on?" David cried. Neither of the boys answered, they just panted and tried fighting against the hands holding them back.
"Thad?" Flint piped up timidly. Thad's eyes landed on Flint's shocked and scared face and he stopped fighting against Terry and Nick.
Kurt's eyes were wide and he stood a step behind Blaine. It never crossed his mind, not once, that a fistfight would happen within the halls of Dalton. He never thought it would happen between two Warblers who were best friends. Thad had taken care of Chris, he had comforted him, sheltered him and protected him, and here he was, fighting him.
"I won't do the right thing to do, which is report this to the principal, if you talk this thing out. I'm not letting you go before you sort this out, whatever it is." David said.
"You had no right to tell me how to do my job." Thad hissed at Chris immediately after David said his words. Chris tried to shoot his arm forwards in attempt to get out of the grip, but it only made David hold him tighter.
"Yes I did. You could have ruined our shot at Regionals. You could have as well destroyed the Warblers temporarily." Chris replied. The Warblers shot each other confused looks.
"Thad, what the hell did you almost do?" Terry asked, but Thad ignored him.
"Has it never crossed your mind that I have limits? I can't count on one hand all the people I've comforted. Yes, you did give me your shoulder to cry on but before you did, you yelled at me and called me a hypocrite. Then after that, you yell at me some more. I just need you to be my friend, okay? How hard is that to understand? I'm allowed to make mistakes too. I'm allowed to screw up every now and then. I'm allowed to be confused about my feelings. And you know why? Because I'm fucking human. I'm not just some kind of superhuman who can take care of everyone else. I need to be taken care of every now and then, too." Thad said.
The room went silent. Those who Thad had comforted in the past felt slightly guilty. Chris stopped struggling and the anger ran off him. Trent loosened his grip on him but David didn't dare take the risk.
"I'm sorry." Chris said. He also looked like he was. "I forgot that, I'm sorry. But I still stand my point. I did all of those things because I care about you. I didn't mean for them to offend you and I'm sorry that they did. And… and thanks for being there for me. I'll do my best at doing the same."
"I know I was being stupid, I do. Thank you from, well, keeping me from doing that first stupid thing. You should just shut up about the second one, though. I know what I'm doing and I promise you, I won't end up hurting anyone." Thad replied.
"Alright," David said. "I guess you're not going to tell us what this is about and I respect that, so I'll drop it. This meeting will be pushed back by ten minutes. Flint, you go with Thad to the restrooms and clean up his nose. Trent, I expect you to take care of Chris. Nick and Terry, go get enough ice for the two of them. Kurt and Blaine, clean up the blood."
Terry let go of Thad and gave him a pat on the shoulder. "Thanks for being there for me and sorry for not being there for you." Terry said and walked away before Thad could respond. Nick gave his shoulder a squeeze and left as well. He looked over at Flint, who's expression was still shocked, and noticed the terrified look on Kurt. Blaine was rubbing his shoulders, trying to calm him down.
Flint didn't say a word, he just grabbed Thad's hand and led him to the bathrooms. He first spoke up when he was almost done cleaning all the blood off Thad's face.
"Why'd you do it?"
Flint wasn't looking him in the eyes, instead he was avoiding them and focusing on attending his bloody nose.
"He thought I was just using you." Thad said. Flint still refused to look him in the eyes, but Thad felt him tense slightly.
"Why did he think that?" He asked.
"I… I've, um, sort of been having feelings for… for Wes." Thad admitted. Flint froze for a few seconds before starting to clean up the wound again.
"Oh?" He mumbled. Thad could see the hurt in Flint's eyes and he felt as if though his stomach had dropped.
"I've had them for him for a while, a-and then we kissed, you know, in the party, and they grew stronger. Then Chris told me it was never going to happen between us and they disappeared a little. Then we kissed and I began having feelings for you. And… and now I like you both."
"Who do you like more?" Flint asked.
"You. At least I have a chance with you. What I feel for Wes is something that will never work out, thus it will never bloom. What we have is something that can turn into something magnificent."
Flint finally met his eyes. They didn't have the hurt look in them anymore. He bent down to give Thad a soft kiss.
"This may probably be one of the most fucked up relationships I've heard of. We're both using each other to get over someone else. Maybe it will last, maybe it won't. But I will sure as hell enjoy it while I still can."
My longest chapter so far. Whoo! It was so much fun writing this and it turned a lot more angstyer than I had planned it, but I really hope you will enjoy reading it as well.