A/N: There's sad in this chapter. Just a little. At the end. But it's a good sad. Enjoy!

Chapter Thirty-Three:

"'You think he would have stopped blackmailing us just because he didn't go to school here anymore?' Jeff asked. 'He told us he'd destroy it all after Regionals.' 'Did he?' Blaine asked. 'I did.' Sebastian looked up from the couch at Nick and Jeff. 'I hope you're happy,' he said to them bitterly. With that, he stood up and whisked out of the room."

"He's gone," Blaine announced, walking back into the practice room with the tape recorder still in his hand. He'd put Sebastian's tie on over his head, a reminder of the man he loved who'd run away from him. Blaine pushed the play button on the recorder.

"Tell me the truth, what did you put in the slushee?" Santana asked.
"Rock salt," Sebastian said. You could hear the grin on his face. "But it's okay."
"Why is it okay? I just told you Blaine had to have surgery!"
"It's okay because I didn't put anything in this one."

Blaine's chin hit his chest as he hung his head. No one had ever told him what had happened during the rest of Michael week. Not Kurt, not Finn and Rachel, not even Trent when he'd come to see him.

"I just don't even…" Blaine eventually said.

"I know you're hurting, but you could do so much better than him," Trent said, patting his shoulder.

"Of course I could, I'm famous!" Blaine shouted. "I didn't want to do better than him, I wanted him! And none of you respected that, not a single one. Except Hunter, which is completely ironic, because he's the only one that wanted Sebastian for himself!" Everyone in the room had the decency to look ashamed, especially Hunter. "I don't believe you, any of you." He held his head in his hands. Something cleared its throat – actually someone. Blaine looked around, he'd recognize Sebastian's voice anywhere, and suddenly realized it was coming from the tape recorder.

"Blaine, I… I know I did some terrible things, but I want you to know that I'm sorry and I regret every one of them with the deepest sincerity. Even… even if you hate me for the rest of my life, I just want you to know that all I ever did was love you."

"I love you too!" Blaine yelled at the tape recorder. Sebastian seemed to have recorded a farewell message onto the tape before he'd left.

"I'm going away, you can tell the others they won't have to deal with me again. Tell them I'm sorry for what I put them through, tell them I'm sorry I talked them into cheating on their girlfriends, tell them anything you want, really. I was a little misguided… okay, a lot misguided last year. I know it might be hard to believe, but I did turn over that new leaf. I have no excuses for what I did, what I did to any of them, especially Hunter. Tell him I'm sorry too."

Everyone turned to look at Hunter, then back at the recorder.

"I… I'm going away now. I'll have gone already by the time you hear this. I don't deserve you, I never did. I don't know what I did to deserve even having these six months with you. It was heaven, but I guess it was too good to be true. Don't worry about me, not that you would, I'll be fine. You can have Nick and Jeff hook you up with Kurt again, looks like they were planning to all night. I… I just love you so much, B. I'll never stop."

There was silence. Everyone continued listening for almost a full minute, just in case he said something else. Blaine turned off the recording, tears falling down his cheeks.

"Blaine, we're really sorry," Jeff said, indicating Nick and himself.

"No, you were right," Blaine said, "to tell me, I mean. You should have told me last year. I… I could have helped."

"What, with one good eye, not able to leave your bed?" Kurt asked. "Blaine, Sebastian hurt you."

"I don't care what he did in the past," Blaine insisted. "You don't get it, any of you. Love is boundless. Nick, Jeff, how far would you go for each other?"

"I'd do anything for J," Nick replied automatically.

"Same," Jeff replied.

"Kurt?" Blaine asked. Kurt nodded. "I don't care what he did before. He was stupid, everyone makes mistakes. Bas and I have been dating for six months, and he has never given me a reason to doubt him. Yeah, he messed up, and I could have lost an eye, but I didn't, so forget about it. I'm sorry if any of you got hurt in the process, but… it's time to let it go."

"If Blaine can let it go, I can," Trent said.

"Same," Kurt said, solemnly. Slowly, one by one all the Warblers agreed, all except Nick and Jeff.

"Nicky?" Jeff asked, quietly. Nick shook his head, standing up from Jeff's lap.

"I'll be in our room," Nick said quietly, walking towards the door. Everyone was astonished, no one could remember the last time they'd seen one without the other.

"I Niff you," Jeff called after him.

"I Niff you too," Nick replied. He was gone. Jeff took a deep breath to address the fourteen people staring at him.

"He… he needs to forgive himself," Jeff said slowly. "We… Nick and I …" He shook his head. He couldn't say it.

"What?" Blaine asked, sinking into the couch next to Jeff. "It can't be any worse."

"It…" Jeff began. "I don't know."

He began to tell a sugar-coated version of Michael week to Blaine, leaving out anything that wasn't really necessary. Michael week had been traumatic for everyone, especially Nick and Jeff, if you remember back to Chapter 12 or 14 or something, I'm too lazy to look. After the story, Blaine dragged himself uselessly back to his dorm with Kurt and Hunter to keep him company. Jeff took his own slow walk to his own room, where Nick was lying flat on his back on their bed, staring at the boring white ceiling.

"Hey," Jeff said, sitting down next to him.

"Why," Nick said.

"Why what?" Jeff asked.

"Why can't I just let it go? Blaine turned out fine, and so what if he actually likes Sebastian now, it's none of our business," Nick said. "Yeah, I was an accomplice in the almost-blinding of Blaine, but I was just following orders, protecting the man I want to spend the rest of my life with."

"It's okay, Nicky," Jeff said. "We'll find Sebastian, we always do. And Blaine will take him back no problem, because they love each other, and we sort of know what that's like, don't we?"

"Sort of?" Nick asked, finally sitting up with a little smile.

"Yeah, sort of," Jeff said. "I mean, we are engaged."

"Yeah," Nick said, his smile growing.

"And you want to know something else?" Jeff asked.

"Hmm?"

"We're going to be spending the rest of our lives with each other. Why don't we start right now?"

"Why, Mr. Sterling, you're quite forward this evening," Nick said in a mock attempt at poshness.

"And that's why Blaine was Posh Spice," Jeff said. "Also, it's way past midnight, so evening is really moot."

"Shush and take your pants off," Nick replied.

When morning came, Blaine started packing up the dorm, they only had one day left and they were expected to be out, moved on with their lives. Hunter left early, he was going to find Sebastian and bring him back, very much the hero of our story.

Hunter knew, as did Jeff, where Sebastian would go if he was caught between a rock and a hard place. Home. Paris, or, in this case, Chicago, his father's house.

The drive was long, and it gave Hunter time to be alone with his thoughts. Did he really want to agree to an arranged marriage with Courtney, a woman he'd probably never even met, however lovely she sounded? Did he want to go with his parents' plan and attend West Point? Did he want to just disappear entirely? Did he want Sebastian or didn't he?

Very important questions.

It was by chance he actually did find Sebastian. Sebastian was wandering down the sidewalk in some suburb street, when Hunter passed him in his SUV. Doing a double take, Hunter pulled the car over and unlocked the doors. Silently, Sebastian climbed inside and they took off again, back to Ohio. About twenty minutes passed before Hunter said anything.

"Why do you do things?" Hunter asked. Sebastian didn't respond. "Seriously, why do you do things?"

"Why the fuck do you think?" Sebastian finally spat. "I am clearly unbalanced and not worthy of companionship."

"So you ran away," Hunter summarized. "Didn't even give a reason, just ran out like the coward you are."

"I am not–" Sebastian seethed, but stopped midsentence, trying to get a handle on himself. "I'm not a coward."

"Yes, you are," Hunter said. "You run, you always run. When you realized you had some feelings after all, what did you do? You ran to Scandals. What did you do when you came so close to baring your whole soul one night? You ran to Scandals. What are you doing here? Running. You do an outrageous amount of running. And all because you think Blaine doesn't love you anymore."

"He can't love me anymore," Sebastian said. "No one loves me, I'm a loner."

"You are loved, Sebastian, why can't you see that?" Hunter said.

"Because no one loves me!" Sebastian shouted. "Not my parents, not you, not Blaine, not anybody."

"Well, that is just boohockey," Hunter said. "First of all, I don't just take five hour joyrides to Chicago for my health. You're my best friend, and I don't see that changing. Secondly, Blaine is going nuts, so if you wouldn't mind getting out my phone and texting Jeff that I've found you, I'd appreciate it. Now, I don't know your parents, and I can't say for your dad, but from the way you talk to your mother, I'd say she loves you."

"The way I talk to my– what, do you just eavesdrop on all my phone conversations? And we talk in French 98 percent of the time, how do you even know what we're saying?"

"Je parle français très bien," Hunter said. "Maintenant, dis-moi pourquoi tu penses Blaine ne t'aime pas."
(I speak French very well. Now tell me why you think Blaine doesn't love you.)

"Il ne peut pas m'aimer," Sebastian replied, the French rolling off his tongue. It had been his first language, after all.
(He cannot love me.)

"Pourquoi?" Hunter asked.
(Why?)

"I don't fucking need a reason, Clarington, stop it," Sebastian spat, crossing his arms and looking out the window.

"Nick and Jeff told us about Michael week," Hunter said.

"I don't care if the car is moving, I am fully capable of jumping out without getting hurt," Sebastian said.

"And where are you going to go?" Hunter asked.

"Wherever the fuck I want," Sebastian responded.

"But you won't," Hunter replied.

"And why won't I?" Sebastian asked.

"Because you're holding my phone," Hunter said. Sebastian scowled at Hunter, then continued scrolling through Hunter's contacts to find Jeff.

"You know too many people," Sebastian said. "Are these in any kind of order? How do I alphabetize them?"

"Entre nous," Hunter said, then dropped his voice to a whisper even though there was no need. "Your boyfriend is cray-cray."

"Oh, hush," Sebastian said, finally finding 'Jeffrey Sterling' in Hunter's contacts, then typing a simple Mission Accomplished into the text message and sending it. Then he went back to sorting through Hunter's contacts. "Talk to Lisa often?" Sebastian smirked.

"Once or twice," Hunter shrugged.

"Disappointed that she's not your arranged wife?" Sebastian teased.

"You sure don't take long to warm up, do you?" Hunter asked. "And no, I'm not. Lisa's nice, but I trust my mother's judgment. Courtney will be lovely, I'm sure."

"Really?" Sebastian asked. Hunter didn't reply. "I'd say very-remotely-bicurious-Hunter-Clarington isn't ready to meet his future wife yet."

"Doesn't matter if I'm ready or bicurious, really," Hunter said plainly. "We are betrothed, and so we shall be wed."

"You haven't even met her," Sebastian insisted. "You don't know what she smells like!"

"What's that supposed to mean?" Hunter asked.

"You have to know what she smells like," Sebastian said. "You just do."

"It's none of your business," Hunter grumbled.

"It's your silly family tradition, and I'm not arguing with it," Sebastian said. "How long after you meet her is the wedding, dare I ask?"

"After my graduation from West Point," Hunter replied. "You'll be issued an invitation, don't you worry."

"What if I don't want to come?" Sebastian asked.

"Something tells me Blaine loves weddings."

Back at Dalton, Kurt and Blaine were packing up all of Blaine's, Hunter's, and Sebastian's things into boxes.

"You okay?" Kurt asked. Blaine didn't answer, just continued packing. "Probably stupid to ask. I guess I know how you feel." Still no answer. Sighing, Kurt walked to Blaine's closet and began folding his clothes so they wouldn't wrinkle. "What do you like about him?"

"We were in love, I don't need a reason," Blaine said.

"No, I'm sure you don't need one, but… I know you have one," Kurt replied.

"You're just trying to fish 'why him not me' out of me and I don't want to do this right now," Blaine said, frowning at the box in front of him.

"No, I'm not," Kurt said.

"I know you're different. You're very different from each other," Blaine said. "I like that you're different, it doesn't give me much room to compare. Like, as in literally, the only two things you have in common are cocks and a mutual interest in me. And you're both so tall…"

"So, from what I've gathered, you are into guys who are tall, have cocks, and are interested in you," Kurt summarized. "Seeing how short and adorable you are, that's every guy in the world. Except Thad."

"Kurt, please," Blaine sighed. "I don't know why him and not you."

"I didn't ask!" Kurt insisted.

"You didn't have to," Blaine said. "It was implied."

"How can you date someone who voluntarily wears two popped collars?" Kurt practically screamed, his high-pitched voice getting almost supersonic.

"I don't know, I never noticed," Blaine said, chucking a few more things into an "H" box before wrenching open Sebastian's closet and starting to fold all his clothes. "I was more focused on other things."

"Like what?"

"Like, I don't know!" Blaine sighed, very frustrated. He gave up on packing for the time being and collapsed onto Sebastian's bed. "Why are you asking?"

"Forget it," Kurt said, writing 'Blaine's Clothes' on the box he'd been packing. "Forget I said anything."

"Kurt, I love you to death, but Sebastian is my boyfriend now," Blaine said. "I don't know why, and I don't need a reason."

"I didn't ask for one!" Kurt exclaimed again. "Sheesh. For the record, I love you to death, too, but I'm seeing someone in New York, so I don't even care about you and Sebastian."

"You don't?"

"Well, obviously I care about you, that you're happy together, you're my best friend," Kurt backtracked. "But I don't care that you're not with me. I honestly want you to be very happy."

"I want you to be very happy as well," Blaine said.

Meanwhile, Nick and Jeff have been having sex in their room basically all day, on and off, interspersed with a little packing. They were each going home to their own respective families for a little while. Nick was going to be packing everything he owned and still wanted – he was moving out for real. All the stuff they wouldn't have room for in their shared room at Michigan would be stored in Jeff's parents' garage for a while until Nick and Jeff got their own place.

Eventually, Hunter got Sebastian back to school, and pushed him towards the door to their dorm, determinedly.

"I do not do anything for my health, least of all, take ten hour joyrides to Chicago and back. Now get your butt in that room and make up with your boyfriend," Hunter instructed with a sigh and a slap to Sebastian's head. Sebastian took a deep breath and knocked on the door.

Kurt answered it, didn't say a word, just looked at Sebastian and left. He didn't want to be in the way any more than he already was. He went down the hall to have a heart-to-heart with dear Trent.

"Hi," Sebastian let out as he stepped into the room. Blaine, who'd had his back to the door, turned around, and so fast that you'd have missed it if you'd blinked, had run across the room and jumped into Sebastian's arms. Sebastian almost dropped the Frappuccino he was holding to grab him.

Nothing needed to be said between them, everything was forgiven just by Sebastian's presence. Blaine cried his I-missed-yous and his I-was-so-worrieds into the crook of Sebastian's neck. Sebastian murmured his I'm-sorries and his I-love-yous into Blaine's ear, but none of it really needed to be said.

A few hours later, the Warblers were all back in the practice room as the sun set on their last day together: Graduation Party, Take Two. The night, as most nights do, eventually rolled to a close.

"I, Nick Duval, owe someone in this room a deep debt of gratitude. In fact, every person in this room owes this special someone a deep debt of gratitude. No, it's not Blaine, our fearless soloist. No, it's not Sebastian… I don't even know what we'd thank him for. And it's not Hunter, our dictator, or Jeff, our choreographer, and it's not Kurt, who showed us all individuality is just fine. Or even Trent, who, for four years, was the sunshine of this group. No, this person has been the backbone of the Warblers since our beginning, four years ago when eleven freshmen joined the ranks of Wes and four seniors to start what would become the number one show choir in the country. This man has been the core of every number we've ever done, and is the most essential person in this whole school. That being said, he is also the only person in this room who has never had a solo. Beats, this is your time."

"Really?" Beats asked, with a big smile.

"Yeah," Nick said. "As, uh, the longest running councilor in the room, on the last day this team of champions will all be together for a very long time at least, maybe forever, you deserve it, bro. I hope you have one planned, otherwise this just got really awkward."

"I've had it planned since I realized everyone else who slept with Sebastian got one and I hadn't," Beats said, pulling a tape from inside his blazer.

"That's everyone," Sebastian said. "Well, except Nick, and Hunter, and Kurt."

"And we've all had solos," Kurt said. "Did you really make them trade sex for solos?"

"No," Sebastian said, while Nick said, "yes." Sebastian rolled his eyes.

"I wasn't leaving you out, Beats, buddy," Sebastian said.

"I won't have it," Beats said. "I have been planning this moment for… okay, only a couple months, but I'm a little slow."

"Rock it, Beats," Nick said. The tape in the player started rolling, and a soft guitar came from the speakers. It was familiar in a depressing way.

Another turning point, a fork stuck in the road
Time grabs you by the wrist, directs you where to go
So make the best of this test and don't ask why
It's not a message but a lesson learned in time
It's something unpredictable, and in the end is right
I hope you had the time of your life

So take the photographs and still frames in your mind
Hang it on a shelf, in good health and good time
Tattoos of memories and dead skin on trial
For what it's worth, it was worth all the while
It's something unpredictable, and in the end, is right
I hope you had the time of your life

The Warblers were all getting teary-eyed, it was finally sinking in, this was the end. The end of their little close-knit family. The family they'd had that would hopefully blossom into friendships that would last them a lifetime. They would get together at odd times, during the summers or for Christmas; most everyone would get together for David's wedding, two years later, and, of course, Nick and Jeff's, the year after that.

It's something unpredictable, but in the end, is right
I hope you had the time of your life

A/N: The End.

Oh except there's one more chapter, lol. I'm trying to write it but mostly I just keep crying. Can't seem to get it right. I'm trying to end this and set up the sequel at the same time. Hard work. I'll do that, you leave me a review, and I'll see you in a few days with the end. K?

Samantha.

Next time: Weddings are happy things, aren't they?