Authors Note: Apologies for the update delay. This is the last full chapter I have written so please hang on in there. Ta x
"Shelley's pregnant"
"Oh"
Nick sat beside Jeff on his bed, his head resting on his boyfriends shoulder as he held his hand tightly in his own, fingers laced together until he couldn't tell whose were whose.
"and are you okay with this?" Jeff asked quietly.
Nick didn't reply immediately, lost in his own thoughts, "babe? You still with me?" Jeff prompted sending a gentle squeeze to his hand.
Breaking out of his reverie Nick looked up into Jeff's worried eyes before letting out a heavy sigh, "yeah, I mean they are married and she's a young woman, I should of expected it really."
"When did your dad call you?" Jeff asked, although he already knew the answer, it had to have been after breakfast judging by Nick's earlier outburst in the cafeteria and subsequent insular behaviour thereafter.
"Um, morning break"
"So are you going home to see them" Jeff asked tentatively knowing full well how Nick felt about his family life.
"God I don't know Jeff. I mean I should, its what he's expecting and I'm okay with it, at least I think I am, it's just he barely has time for me as it is and now... now it feels as though he's replacing me for good you know...?"
Jeff was dismayed by his reasoning, the hurt and insecurity rolling off of his boyfriend was physically tangible and he was gripping his hand so tightly his knuckles began to whiten.
"Listen Nick, you can't think like that. It's not true. Sure your dad can be a bit of a douche sometimes and yes he doesn't spend as much time with you as he should and yes he buys you stuff instead of making you feel loved..."
With a wry smile Nick looked over toward his boyfriend, "Not helping here sweetheart"
"Gosh, I know, sorry but honestly Nick this doesn't mean he's replacing you, all this means is that you get an awesome small person to play with and love and sing to and take to football games and..."
"Okay I get it" Nick replied with a small smile.
"I just... you know my mom left me and it just feels like my dad's going to as well."
"Oh baby come here" Jeff pulled him into a hug before dropping them back onto the bed where Nick buried his face in his boyfriends shoulder and let large silent tears fall.
Several minutes passed in which their breathing was the only sound and Jeff alternated between rubbing soothing circles on Nick's back and running his hand gently through his rumpled hair.
Jeff looked down at his boyfriend when he finally began to speak, "do you really think this kid will like me Jeff?"
"Are you crazy Nick" a small kiss planted on his head, "this kid is gonna love their big brother, you are smart, kind, all kinds of awesome and you have me, what more could they possibly want?"
Nick let out a wet chuckle before rubbing his eyes roughly with his fist and pushing himself up on his elbow so that he could stare at his perfect boyfriend.
"All kinds of awesome huh?"
"Well yeah" Jeff said with a smile, "Awesome. Smart. Hot" each word punctuated with a gentle kiss.
"Okay Sterling you're on your way to making me feel better"
"Oh yeah" said Jeff with a wide smirk, "just on my way?"
"Yeah but you've got a long way to go before I'm feeling fine and dandy" Nick purred with a devilish glint in his eye.
Smiling Jeff leant up and caught Nick's cheek in his hand, "then I guess you'd better clear your schedule Duval because we are not leaving here until you are positively beaming."
"Okay where are the terrible two?" Wes asked loudly over the noise in the common room, "I need to get this meeting started, everyone's getting restless and frankly I have so much homework to do it's not even funny"
"Jeff's not picking up" Kurt said matter of factly as he pocketed his phone earning him an irritated huff from Wes, "What? I can't help it if he doesn't answer" Kurt said incredulously, his shoulders shrugging, a look of boredom on his face which irritated Wes even more.
Blaine's eyes darted between his boyfriend and a simmering Wes before quickly standing and putting a calming hand on his shoulder, "Come on man, I'm sure they'll be here soon, Nick was kinda upset this morning."
"I know Blaine but this is Warbler business, this is sectionals, this is important"
"and Nick's your friend, he's important too Wes"
"I know, I know" he sighed pinching the bridge of his nose and closing his eyes tightly, a migraine gnawing at the back of his head, "five more minutes okay and then we start with or without them and so help me if they don't turn up at all they'll both be stood at the back, dance moves or not" Wes grumbled to himself before striding across the room to take position next to David in front of the fireplace.
Blaine slumped back into his seat, "someone needs some sugar" Kurt grinned with a nod in Wes's direction as Blaine rubbed his eyes tiredly with his hand.
"He's a bit stressed"
"No really? He hides it so well" Kurt chuckled, earning him a grin from Blaine before their attention was brought to two figures trying to sneak quietly into the common room and make their way across to where they were sitting without attracting the attention of a clearly pissed off Wes.
"Nice of you to join us" Wes shouted directing everyone's attention to the rumpled looking pair both of which were grinning broadly as they picked their way across the room hand in hand.
"Hey Wes, sorry we're late" Jeff smirked and waved pulling Nick along behind him just as Nick looked over with an apologetic smile "sorry Wes".
Wes rolled his eyes in frustration but a warm fondness took the edge off it being a glare, "Just sit down so we can start" in said in exasperation gesturing to the couch at the back of the room where Blaine and Kurt were shifting closer together to allow them room to sit.
"So is he pissed?" Jeff asked in a loud whisper as he stepped over Kurt's legs and dropped onto the seat, "Just a bit" Kurt scoffed in return although his attention didn't leave the front of the room where Wes was calling the meeting to order.
"Right settle down and let's get this started. Sectionals...", a loud cheer went up around the room cutting off whatever else Wes had been about to say.
"Okay okay, calm down" he smiled, gesturing with his hands for quiet, "yes, sectionals is upon us once again so I just need give you a bit of an update about what we're doing"
Kurt turned to Blaine and patted his leg proudly whilst granting him a mega watt smile, pride evident on his features knowing that it was likely that Blaine would be the soloist, Blaine returned his attention with a small smile and took Kurt's hand gently in his own; he loved being the soloist and yes he was insanely proud of it but he also knew that Kurt loved the spotlight and that many of his friends also deserved a shot at the title but he couldn't deny the rush of pleasure he felt when Kurt looked at him like he was made of gold.
"So as usual we have a two song slot"
Rumbles broke out around the room as they digested this familiar information.
"but...unusually we are going to do two upbeat numbers, try to keep the audience elevated and make us memorable. Now I know this is a different arrangement for most of you but the other two groups are our age too so we need to stand out and two high energy performances should give us the edge"
Kurt and Jeff simultaneously dropped their feet to the floor leaning forward in their seats intently listening to Wes with great interest, "so we have a short list of songs and thank you everyone who made a suggestion"
"No problem oh fearless leader" David bowed from behind.
"Well thanks to everyone but David" Wes allowed himself to grin over his shoulder at his friend, earning him a rumble of chuckling from around the room as they were all well aware of David's song choice.
"So two upbeat songs, lots of dancing, high energy, what do you think?"
"So what songs are they exactly" Kurt asked from the back of the room where he sat next to a vibrating Jeff who was barely containing his excitement at being given cart blanch to jump around a stage like a loon for two whole songs.
"Ah well they're not finalised yet but rest assured by Monday we will have our set list" Wes smiled around the room earning a few grumbles of disappointment.
Kurt flopped back against the chair in annoyance, "what exactly is the point of this meeting if he's not going to tell us what were singing?" he grumbled quietly to no-one in particular.
"Cheer up man, have a candy" smiled Nick shoving a bag under Kurt's nose which to everyone's surprise he rummaged through before shoving a handful in his mouth and chewing soundly; Blaine raising an amused eyebrow at Nick over the top of Kurt's head at the action.
"So we start rehearsals Monday, 6pm sharp"
"Be there or be square" David chipped in causing Wes to roll his eyes and shake his head.
"Okay that's it for now so have a good weekend and see you all here on Monday no excuses. Dismissed guys"
Kurt monitored Wes's movements from across the room as he made his way over to them, stopping to chat to groups of guys along the way. Blaine had moved round to sit next to Nick and they were chatting excitedly about the thought of two jumpy numbers instead of their usual one. Jeff was practically glowing with energy and was already sliding about behind the couch working out possible moves he could lay on Wes.
Kurt sat exactly where he had throughout the meeting although his arms were now wrapped around his waist and a frown played across his features; pushing himself abruptly up he strode across the room and intercepted Wes, "can I have a quick word?" he asked his startled friend who had turned around and found himself face to face with a stern looking Kurt.
"Yeah sure" said Wes gesturing toward an alcove by a large window, "what's up?"
Kurt's stance softened slightly and he let out a breath before looking his friend in the eye and dropping his voice to a quiet tone, "look Wes this is my first competition performance with you guys and I was really hoping you were going to give us the song choices today so that I had time to practice, you guys have a whole style that's new to me and I'm not going to be here at the weekends to practice so I really wanted to try and get some practice in at home, I know it's not the same but I just don't want to make a fool of myself."
Wes was about to laugh and tell him that he couldn't possibly mess up but the very real anxiety coming off of his friend changed his mind and he understood how uncomfortable it had been for Kurt to admit his insecurities to him, so he reigned in his chuckle and placed a comforting hand on his friends shoulder instead.
"Okay, I'll tell you what Kurt, I understand that you're anxious okay but really our style is very simple, we've got two songs, one of which we're going to be split into two groups for, kind of a sing off on stage and the other one hasn't been decided quite yet so don't worry. I know you can sing like a dream and I'm sure you'll have no problem with the dancing so don't worry about it, if you can side step, you can warble, we're not exactly flashdance here you know."
Releasing a soft chuckle of relief Kurt shifted his weight before Wes spoke again, "How about I text you the songs on Friday before anyone else? What do you say huh, preferential treatment. What's not to love about that?"
"You'd do that?"
"Sure, why not? It'll make you feel better and it'll annoy David which is always amusing so it's a win win for me" Wes grinned evilly casting a narrowed eyed glance at his best friend who was valiantly trying to copy Jeff's moves.
"Thanks Wes"
"No thanks necessary my friend" he smiled clapping him on the back of the shoulder, "how about we head over and try to calm down the blonde bombshell huh?"
"Yeah good luck with that, even Nick's not trying to stop him this time" Kurt smiled as Nick pointedly continued his conversation with Blaine although Kurt could see him casting fleeting glances in Jeff's direction whilst an amused smile pulled at the corners of his lips.
Wes was true to his word and Kurt heard his text alert sound from inside his bag as he drove home on Friday night, sitting in traffic he resisted the overwhelming temptation to peek only allowing himself to reach for his phone once he had pulled onto his drive and switched off the engine. Jumping out the car he headed toward the house a wide grin on his face as he sent a short reply to Wes before entering the house.
Burt sat at the kitchen counter, it was Friday, he had finished early and he was enjoying a blessed moment of peace with his magazine, a large mug of coffee in front of him and the muted sounds of music drifting through the silence only distracted by the back door opening and a figure drifting inside.
"Hey Burt"
"Oh hey Kidd"
Finn dropped his bag on the kitchen counter before pulling open the fridge and disappearing head and shoulders inside foraging for food.
"Finn. Carole will be home soon with pizza" Burt admonished as he emerged ripping a bite from a chicken leg.
"Sowwrry" he mumbled through his mouthful of food, "Where's Kurt?"
Burt chuckled at his stepson before gesturing upward with the pen in his hand, "in his room, been there since he got home"
"Okay cool"
"FINN"
"Uh yeah"
"Take your stuff with you" pen pointing in the direction of the dumped bag.
"Oh yeah sure, sorry Burt"
"No problem kid, better you hear it from me that your mom" said Burt smiling at his stepson.
"Yeah right" Finn agreed before shouldering his bag and pushing through the door again heading up to see his brother.
Taking the stairs two at a time as usual he threw his bag randomly inside his room as he passed before turning to Kurt's door; music he didn't recognise was drifting from the room loud enough to muffle his attempts at knocking.
"Kurt, hey Kurt"
"Kurt"
"HEY KURT"
Raising his fist to knock again Finn stood dumbly, his hand in the air as the door was tugged open and Kurt stood looking at him.
"Hey Finn" he grinned.
"Hey man"
Kurt stepped back so that Finn could cross the threshold and closed the door behind him, "so how's Puck?"
Finn flopped down onto Kurt's bed and watched as his brother reached for his stereo control and turned off the music.
"He's fine, gotta new girl on the go"
"What's new there" Kurt laughed.
"Yeah well you know what he's like"
"Sadly yes"
"So how's Dalton treating you dude?"
Kurt dropped down onto his dresser chair a genuine smile shamelessly lifting his features, "it's great Finn"
"How are the guys?"
"They're fine, Wes is bossing everyone around about sectionals, David's eating everything in sight, Jeff's just being Jeff and Nick's trying his best to keep him in line, so everything's normal really" he laughed affectionately.
"and Blaine?" Finn said with a smile, "everything okay there I guess, seeing as you're not watching a chick flick and eating ice-cream..."
Kurt stuck out his tongue petulantly before smiling again, "Blaine is wonderful Finn, as always"
"Okay, okay don't rub it in" Finn laughed, a smile shining in his eyes.
"So what's happening with you guys at McKinley? You got your songs down yet?"
"Hey no fair Kurt, we agreed not to ask each other that and you know I'm gonna slip up if you ask me" Finn pouted looking around as if he expected to see Rachel standing behind him with a judgemental look on her face.
Kurt laughed before holding his hands up in surrender, "Yeah I know but you can't blame a guy for trying Finn, you make it too easy"
"Are you guys ready then" Finn asked in interest his eyes flicking to the now silent stereo system.
Laughing Kurt stood back up and began to unpack the bag he had brought back with him.
"No. Not even close" he scoffed, "although I do know the song choices now so I can listen to them all weekend in time for Monday practice but no peeking Finn, I mean it"
"I get it dude, cross my heart no snooping, I promise" he replied hands raised in surrender "but man we are so behind we haven't even got songs yet"
"We never had the songs down Finn, it never stopped us being brilliant on the night though"
"Yeah I know" he smiled back, "kinda made it exciting didn't it?"
Kurt rolled his eyes and stashed his bag under his bed before lifting his bundle of laundry and turning toward the door, "is your mom back yet?"
"Nah, Burt's gonna yell when she comes back with the food"
"Well I've got to start this..." as he raised the bundle in his arms but if you like we can go through some songs later, try to find some suggestions for you guys?"
"Isn't that kind of a conflict of interest or something, I mean you could give me some duff stuff" Finn grinned.
"Suit yourself" Kurt shrugged, "you can take my help or you can sing whatever Rachel and Mr Schue decides to give you, it's up to you. We're gonna beat you anyway"
"Hey" Finn said in mock outrage before thinking about Kurt's words and conceding "yeah that would be great man thanks."
Hey babe Kx
Hey yourself beautiful. How's the grounding going? Bx
Surprisingly well thanx how is it at Dalton? Has Jeff stopped dancing yet?
Nah, he's made a groove in the carpet and we've left him to it. What are you up too? Bx
Going to sleep now. Spent the evening with Finn going over songs, he makes my brain hurt. -_- Kx
Aww poor baby xxx
Yes poor me Kx
What are you up to tomorrow? Bx
Well, let me see, my options are limited due to the whole grounding thing so I guess i'll just be hanging around the house, catching up on some reports, learning the sectionals songs you know riveting, exotic stuff. How about you? Kx
Same. Hanging with Jeff and Nick I guess, third wheeling it again! You really need to be ungrounded baby. I miss you and they mock me when you're not here.
Sorry about that honey but it can't be helped. I'll be back on Sunday.x
Hey Kurt did you say you were gonna be practicing the sectionals songs?
Ummmm. Did I say that. Shit. Kx
Kurt how do you know the sectionals songs?
I have my sources Kx
Baby...Bx
I'll take it to the grave. Kx
Kurt...c'mon that's not supposed to be common knowledge until Monday. Was it David or Wes?
It was Wes wasn't it?
Kurt?
Baby?
Was it Wes? Damn it David's gonna be pissed. Bx
Are you finished? Kx
Yes. Bx
Good. Yes it was Wes he was being a friend and no I won't tell anyone else until Monday. Kx
Even Jeff?
Kurt?
What's it worth Anderson? Kx
Excuse me?
What's my silence worth to you? Kx
Baby I can make it worth your while, you know I can ;) Bx
Gosh now you're making me blush. Kx
You're pretty when you blush. Bx
Oh hush.
Hey in other news we've had major break through here, Jeff has just stopped for food; Nick's trying to put out the smoke coming off his feet. Bx
Quick tie his feet together so he can't start again. Kx
I don't think that'll work baby, he'd just try again and face plant the floor. Bx
Still funny though right? Kx
I'll tell him you said that. Bx
From Jeff: Hey Hummel what's with the bad advice, do you realise they are seriously trying to stifle my awesomeness by tying my shoe laces together. Pouts Jx
Sorry, I know you're excited but seriously you need to stop now and the pout doesn't work on me, I own the pout, I invented the pout. Ask Blaine.
From Jeff: Man I thought you and me were friends Kurt and Blaine agrees, you officially own the pout. (pouts).
Hah, told you so Jeff :p
Thanks baby x Look after Jeff for me and I'll see you Sunday okay. xxx
Okay babe sweet dreams and I make no promises about Jeff... Bx
Note: I will try my very best to get another chapter up soon.