A/N Thank you to everyone who reviewed, liked, and followed this story! I'm finally over my writer's block, so hopefully the pacing on this will pick up. If you haven't already, please go read my other two stories, A Bite of Klaine and A Second Bite, and if you like them, leave me a review!
Reviews are like Hershey's Kisses, Sweet and and to the point.
…
Tuesday's Warbler practice was canceled because David had gotten a detention for gluing Wes' gavel to the wall in the dining hall after the lead councilman had apparently slept walk with it and banged on the darker skinned boy's door.
As they made their way to practice on Wednesday, Kurt was still trying to figure out which of the Warblers was the one he had heard singing Teenage Dream. He had narrowed it down to Blaine, David, Wes, Nick or Thad. He secretly hoped it was Blaine. He still couldn't believe the other boy hadn't been angry when he'd told him about using the formula at his audition.
The two had actually worked really well together today. Blaine had a theory on why the formula only seemed to work on males, and they were going to test it out after dinner tonight. They were still discussing it when Wes called the meeting to order, looking forlorn without his gavel, and sending a glare towards his friend.
"Okay, today we're going to work on tightening up the movements for Hey Soul Sister. Everyone take your position. Kurt, you can observe for the first fifteen minutes, then join in."
The pale boy nodded and remained seated as the others took their place. Wes used a pitch pipe to get them all on the same note, and they began to harmonize. And then Blaine began to sing, and Kurt knew he'd found the boy whose voice had awakened his senses.
He was so enraptured by the voice he forgot to pay attention to the dance steps, such as they were. He tried to make himself study the movements the second time through, but his eyes continued to slide back to the dark haired warbler singing lead. After the third time through, he thought he had a rudimentary idea of the basic movements, and joined in on the fourth go through, adding his voice to the background harmonies.
The movements were easy, nothing like he was used to with New Directions. He'd had the passing thought that they didn't have to worry about him sabotaging their chances, because with these moves, the only way they could beat New Directions was if Rachel Berry suddenly came down with strep throat and pulled a hamstring. He thought about pointing this out, but felt that his position in the Warblers was tenuous at best. He didn't want to rock the boat.
…
The next few days were torture for him. On the one hand, he enjoyed working on their now combined project. The old adage that two heads were better than one certainly proved true, and the two quickly devised several ways to test the formula, and also decided to test them out with different types of pheromones. Things were great when they were so busy brainstorming.
But when they weren't working and he had time to think about other things, he found his mind occupied with him. His intelligent eyes, his perfect hair, his awesome ass. He could sit and listen to him just talk for hours. He was crushing, bad. But he couldn't do anything about it, all because of that stupid formula.
If he confessed how he felt, the other boy would just say it was the formula making him feel this way. He knew it wasn't, but how could he convince the boy that what he was feeling was real?
…
The day of Sectionals finally arrived, and Kurt felt more nervous than he had expected. He wasn't worried about messing up the dance moves or forgetting his harmonies. His eidetic memory assured that he at least wouldn't screw things up for the Warblers. He was nervous to face his old Glee club.
While he had never fully felt like he fit in with New Directions, he knew that their talent was definitely a match for the Warblers, if not better. Vocally, The Warblers had the advantage, but their so called choreography left much to be desired. New Directions may not be the best dancers, but they could out maneuver the Warblers any day.
When he spotted Rachel Berry sulking in the lobby before the competition, he felt a little guilty for hoping that her displeasure boded well for his new club. With a sigh, he set his petty thoughts aside and approached the short brunette as she berated the young man behind the snack counter about not having any raisenettes.
"Carb loading?" He inquired.
His former team mate turned and glared at him. "Puck got Lauren Zizes to fill your spot, but she won't go on without her damn candy." There was an awkward pause, and then the girl sighed dramatically. "Look, Kurt, I'm sorry about what I said to you last week. I should have realized how bad things were for you at McKinley. You were right, I was being selfish. Which is why I won't be having a solo today. Mr. Schue heard what happened between us, and decided I needed a lesson in humility, and that I need to grow up and act more mature. And he was right. So, again, I'm sorry."
"Apology accepted. I'm sorry you didn't get a solo, too."
"Thanks. So, I hope those Warblers are treating you right, and appreciate your talent. I mean, everyone knows you and I were the most talented singers in New Directions."
Kurt just smiled. "Thanks, Rach. I should get going, Blaine and the others will wonder where I wandered off to."
"Blaine?" She said, wiggling her eyebrows suggestively.
Kurt rolled his eyes. "He's just a friend. He's helping me with my research project."
"Uh huh, just friends. But you like him, don't you?"
"Goodbye, Rachel. I have to go. Break a leg!"
He could hear her giggling as he walked away. He spotted Wes standing near the hallway that lead backstage. The older boy was frowning at him. "I hope you weren't giving away our secrets, Hummel."
Kurt huffed. "No, I was just giving Rachel Berry the secret recipe for Dalton's award winning brownies. She was apologizing to me for acting like a diva. Besides, it's a bit late to give out our set list, as they'd have no time to rehearse, and we go on before them. Of course it wouldn't be the first time New Directions competed on the fly. We had our set list stolen last year at Sectionals."
Wes looked concerned by this. "Didn't you guys win your sectionals last year?"
"Yes, we did."
"And you did it without rehearsals?" The boy actually looked impressed in spite of himself. Kurt just nodded. "Well damn, they're that good? Do we even stand a chance against them?"
Kurt considered whether to answer or not. Would it be betraying New Directions to tell Wes what he had just learned? "Let's just say our odds have just gone up a little. Don't ask questions. I'll explain later."
…
In the end, they tied with New Directions. It was the best possible outcome in Kurt's opinion. But he also knew they would have to step up their game if they wanted to win at Regionals. He brought the subject up at the next Warbler's meeting.
"If we are going to beat New Directions at Regionals, we have to incorporate more complex dance moves. Mike Change and Brittany Pierce both have killer moves, and the others are no slouches either, with the possible exception of Finn Hudson."
Wes considered him for a moment before replying. "The Warblers have always been more about the vocal harmonies, with minimum choreography to detract from the purity of the a capella sound. To attempt to add in more taxing movement would detract from breath control and purity of sound."
Kurt sighed. He knew he was right, but how could he convince the others? He was the new kid, and he had only made it in to the group to begin with because he had unduly influenced them.
He was still thinking about it as he entered the lab that evening after dinner. Blaine noticed that the taller boy seemed preoccupied.
"Hey, what's up? You've seemed a little bummed since Warblers' practice."
Kurt sighed. "You know I'm right about our chances against New Directions at Regionals, don't you?"
Blaine nodded. "I've been telling Wes the same thing since I transferred here last year. He's more concerned with maintaining the Warblers reputation as a purist a capella group. I had to basically force him to agree to try some more modern songs that most people would never consider doing a capella."
"It's so frustrating." Kurt paced the lab. "I know we have the talent to win at regionals, if we put in the effort, but he won't even let us try." He slammed his hand down on the counter next to the cages holding the mice.
"Well," Blaine began, a considering look on his face. "We have ten weeks until Regionals. We'll just have to prove to Wes and the others that it can be done."
Kurt looked at him questioningly. "How?"
The darker boy smiled. "I think it's time for another test of the formula, with the cooperation pheromones. If we can get enough Warblers to show off their dance moves while singing, Wes will have to see that it is possible."
Kurt smiled at him. "You're a genius!"
