DUDES

I am SO SORRY for the huge gap in updates. To say I have been busy recently would be a bit of an understatement. I have literally had no time to do anything, in fact there is still a whole bunch of stuff I have yet to do.

I have planned out the next 5 chapters of YDOYD (yes, there are plenty more to come, and it's going to get pretty full on from here on) so they are coming, they just may take a bit longer to be written than usual.

I have also recently been having real problems with replying to reviews - is deciding to be a pile of wank and not letting me reply to them the normal way, so I've been having to send messages and some of you have that disabled so generally I'm a bit peed off about it. So if you didn't receive a reply to your review and are wondering why it is because of that. Stupid website.

So, anyway, sorry again about the huge delay and to any of you that have been patiently waiting - hopefully this and future chapters will be worth the wait!

Liz xxx

Chapter 33 - Race

"Seriously dude have I told you enough times already how awesome you are?" Gabriel laughed, taking his pen off the page again. We'd been sitting here for at least ten minutes and he hadn't written anything.

"I gather it went well then."

"Um – yeah." Another laugh. It was so nice to be able to talk to him like this – to have someone else to burble to. "It was amazing."

"Mission accomplished then." He went to return to his work, but I prevented him yet again, unable to stop.

"You know I didn't actually realised how much I loved Blaine until that night. I mean, of course I knew I loved him – but spending nights like that together really puts things into perspective."

"Kurt…"

"And I know that he loves me too, which is just incredible,"

"Kurt…"

"Oh my gosh I'm so glad you came up with that idea!"

"KURT!" I was jolted upright by Gabriel's shout – I looked at him confused before the realisation hit that he'd been trying to say something for a while.

"I'm sorry, I'm rambling, you don't want to hear-"

"-Kurt, seriously, shut up." I laughed, covering my mouth with my hand so I couldn't say any more. "I think I've met someone." Instantly the hand flew away.

"What? Oh my Gaga that's brilliant! What's his name? Tell me EVERYTHING!" Leaning forward I saw his cheeks flush crimson and his eyes look down at the table. "Gabriel you can't just tell me something like that and then not spill the goss! I'm dying here!" Finally he spoke.

"His name's Eli. He works at the coffee shop down the road from here. I saw him a couple of times and thought he was cute but never did anything about it. Then yesterday after I said goodbye to you and Blaine I went there for a latte, and he asked me out." A squeal erupted from my mouth that made several of the students around us turn and shoot annoyed glances. Gabriel flushed a deeper red.

"Gabriel! That's fantastic!" When are you going out?" My friend was about to reply when he suddenly looked upwards at something behind me. I went to enquire but then felt a tap on my shoulder and turned round to see Blaine, looking as dashing as ever.

"Oh hi Blaine Gabriel was just telling me that-"

"-Is it ok if I borrow Kurt for a couple of minutes?" I was surprised at the interruption, and also the fast pace Blaine was talking. Gabriel nodded – probably quite glad I wasn't going to embarrass him further and I stood up, feeling a hand take mine and lead me away.

"Blaine Gabriel has a boyfriend! His name's Eli." I chatted excitedly as we marched through the library at quite a brisk pace, for once not questioning why I had been taken away.

"That's great, good for him." I could see my boyfriend wasn't really in the mood to chat, so stayed silent until we reached the archive room, at which point he lead us inside and then shut the door behind.

"What are we-?" Before I had time to finish the question I was up against the wall, Blaine's tongue wedged in my mouth.

"Nngh."

"Do you remember this room?" Blaine asked when we eventually broke free, kissing up and down my neck as he spoke so my breathing escalated to way beyond library levels. "This is where I first realised that I loved you." The combination of his words, and the way his tongue was skilfully making its way across my collarbone, was making it incredibly hard to talk. So I just grunted and murmured instead.

"I love you Kurt. Oh God I love you so much and I'm never going to let you go." At this Blaine's hands suddenly went down my trousers and I yelped out, pushing him away so no more noises would come out.

"BLAINE!" I certainly wasn't upset – far from it – I wanted nothing more than to take him right there and then. But we were in a library. A library full of students and with very thin walls. "What are you doing?" My boyfriend sighed.

"I'm sorry." He leant forward, resting his forehead on my collarbone but with his hands still wedged under my waistband – which wasn't as awkward as it sounded. "I just…I miss you." I laughed, making him look up. Oh Gaga he was beautiful.

"No, seriously! Things like yesterday – we never get to do stuff like that anymore. I hate that. And the way you did it all for me. I just want to be with you every day." Suddenly lust took over again and Blaine attacked my lips. This time I relented and let him push me further against the wall, our bodies pressed together so his hands dug into my thighs.

"Blaine Anderson – are you horny?" I asked with a smile when we paused for breath.

"Maybe. er, yes. Is that a good thing?"

"Hell yeah."

Fifteen minutes later Blaine and I emerged from the archive room looking slightly more ruffled than when we'd entered. When I returned to the table Gabriel's eyebrows raised almost off his head, but thankfully he didn't ask any questions. I said we'd postpone our session until later and would see him at the athletics meet tonight, walking off with a grin the size of Texas plastered across my face.

The house cup tournament was coming to an end.

Whoever had organised it had done a great job of making it fair - with events that held the individual strengths of each house. As a result, with only the athletic event to go all of us were pretty much tied, Darwin just a few points ahead. The thought we could actually win something of huge importance was incredibly exciting - although to be honest I was just hoping for Darwin to lose so Xavier could have the smirk wiped off his face.

I met Scott with Artem, Stefan and Wes at the track - all of us ignoring the secular way everyone else had chosen to sit, but still wearing our house colours with pride. David was competing in the high jump and 100m for Wordsworth, so I was secretly cheering him on. Wes however had taken it to a whole new level, clapping like a proud parent every time his name was mentioned on the tannoy and pointing him out to anyone that would listen.

"Hey." I said cheerfully when I reached them, receiving smiles from Artem and Stefan and an excited wave from Wes. Scott however, seemed less enthusiastic.

"Where's Douchey McDoucheface?" He asked with a sarcastic look on his face.

"Gabriel is on his way." I replied pointedly, slightly upset by the cool reception but still sitting down next to him.

"Oh. Thought you two were practically joined at the hip now." I jerked my head left again.

"Listen - I don't know what your problem is with Gabriel, but I suggest you stop. What has he ever done to you anyway?"

"Nothing." Scott mumbled angrily. "Just taken away my best friend…" At this my annoyance disappeared. He didn't... Looking back at him I saw his gaze had dropped to the floor and he was playing with the already frayed end of his Wordsworth tie - something I knew he always did when he was stressed.

"Oh Scott." My best friend looked up and saw my smiling face, his cheeks immediately flushing with embarrassment. "Why do you think anyone would take me away from you." He shrugged, still not looking my way so my heart ached even more. "You're an idiot. A complete idiot." I continued, turning to the side to face him. "But that's why I love you. Why else would I run around completing quite frankly ridiculous pranks with you?" Finally a smile cracked across Scott's face. I wrapped my arms around his side and hugged him tightly.

"Look at all the friends you have. Obviously we're all crazy to hang out with you - but we do. Gabriel doesn't have anyone. And he wants to be my friend. So that's why I'm hanging out with him. Not because I got tired of you." I'd said the words quitely into his ear and received a hearty pat on the shoulder in thanks - as we drew away we were both laughing and balance was restored.

"I see why you hang out with Gabriel though." Wes suddenly said, bringing himself into the conversation now it was open again. My brows furrowed in confusion.

"Why?"

"Well - he's gotta have some pretty high profile contacts, what with his-" Suddenly the Wordsworthian stopped. I looked at him pointedly to continue, curiosity pricking like a spinning wheel, but he signalled behind me and I turned round to see Gabriel happily trotting towards us. Darn it.

"Hi!" The smile on his face made me sigh – I'd been wanting to press Wes for more information but knew it would have to wait until later. The every growing mystery of Gabriel's past would continue to be so for a while longer.

"I see you smartened yourself up," he said to me as he sat down in the space to my right. For a second I looked at him confused, before he grinned and I flushed a deep red.

"Oh, um, yeah, of course."

"What is this?" Scott leapt to attention, pushing all his amniosities aside in favour of getting the gossip. I groaned, not wanting to go into graphic detail but luckily was saved.

"Oh, it's nothing. Kurt was just stressing about finals. It really got to his hair." He laughed and I shot him a thank you look, before launching into more discussions about what he should wear for his date with Eli.

It seemed like the whole school had come for the meet – there wasn't a seat free in the stands. Because of the amount of events there would be several going on at a time, so we trained our eyes to the high jump area and waited for David to do his thing. Every few minutes or so Scott would glance towards the huge screens that dictated the results of the running events with a grin on his face – I didn't want to ask but felt it had something to do with a prank.

"Where are you going to go then?" Another question tumbled out of my lips and Gabriel laughed nervously, not used to all the attention.

"Um, I don't know, we haven't really decided."

"Oh! You should take him to that Italian restaurant! The one we went to!" Suddenly both of us paused. Despite our new friendship the subject of 'that date' hadn't really been broached until now. I suddenly felt incredibly awkward.

"Oh, um, sorry…" Mumbling an apology I shifted closer to Scott, but Gabriel laughed again.

"It's ok – that's a good idea. You liked it didn't you?"

"Yeah…"

"I'll make sure to ask him." Jeez. It was still hard to get used to this new guy in front of me.

"Hey! Dudes! Look!" Suddenly Scott elbowed me hard in the side – I was about to protest when he pointed towards the screen and I followed his hand to see a message flashing across it.

Damien Dubrisque is a loser

"Wow. That's original." I said, laughing as I spoke. Scott beamed, obviously pleased with his work.

"I had to bribe the tech students twenty bucks for them to do it. Totally worth it though." I shook my head, looking back towards Gabriel who was also trying to reign in laughter.

"Hey, wait…" Abruptly the excitement fell from my best friends voice – I glanced back and saw him now looking rather annoyed. Laughter had begun to ripple about the crowds and I returned my gaze to the screen to see the message had now changed.

Nice try Macleod. Who is also a loser by the way.

"Damn that Damien!" I saw Scott get out his phone, obviously now going to send a pretty irate text to his tech friends and thunked my hand against my forehead. Gaga almighty.

David was doing pretty well in the high jump. It looked like he might win, or at least come second. Not that anyone was paying any attention. Apart from a few devout fans every eye in the stands was trained solely to the screen, where a full-scale war had developed.

Damien thinks he's cool. He's not

Scott thinks he's funny. He's not either

Damien enjoys playing with long sticks

Scott enjoys showering with other men

Damien cried during Titanic

Scott knows exactly which part I cried at because he's watched it so many times

And so it went on. How the organisers hadn't managed to shut down the operation I'd never know. Every time a new message appeared everyone would cheer – Scott's expression changed from victorious to livid so many times he was beginning to look bipolar. It was certainly entertaining, but once the final event drew near a ceasefire was called and everyone settled down to watch the climax of weeks of competing.

As the points stood, Darwin were currently one point ahead of Wordsworth, with Wilde and Dahl tied for third place. Whoever won the last race, the 100m, would effectively be winning the competition for their house. Wes looked like he was going to puke.

"David's gonna be fine." I said, placing a comforting hand on his shoulder.

"This is so stressful. I don't think I can watch." As the Wordsworthian put his head between his legs I looked down at the runners, who were now limbering up for the race. David seemed pretty confident – from what I'd heard he was in with a good shot. Wade was running for Wilde and the other two runners from Dahl and Darwin were also wearing expensive looking sports clothing, of course finished off with their house colours.

"This is it." Gabriel muttered, mirroring my exact thoughts. All joking and fun aside, this is what every Dalton student had been working towards for the past few weeks. Even if we hadn't competed ourselves, we were a part of this. I suddenly got the urge to look for Blaine, who had been beside every Wordsworth athlete before their performance, supporting them every step of the way like he'd done with everyone. If there was anyone that deserved to win, it was him.

"Would the starters please take their positions." The voice of the race judge boomed out of the tannoy and hush descended across the stands, perhaps even quieter than it had been for the fencing. This was the whole school, on tenterhooks. Anticipation weighed in the air like a humid hum. I watched David slip his feet into the blocks, glancing down at the floor before slowly bringing his head up to look towards the finish line – his goal. What on earth was going through his head right now? I couldn't even begin to imagine.

"Set…" The runners rose to the starting position in unison. Every boy held their breath.

BANG

The starter gun flashed and they were off. Suddenly noise erupted, hundreds of voices cheering for their competitor, for their house. The four bodies whizzed down the track, arms pumping and feet smacking against the hard surface. Putting all loyalties aside I found myself on my feet shouting Wades name, my heart pounding as he inched closer and closer to the line. It was close, incredibly close – every runner was within touching distance of each other. David seemed to be edging away and then suddenly it was all over. All the runners crossed the line and for a second I had no idea who had won, who would be bringing the cup home to their house. My eyes flashed towards the screen, Damien and Scott's earlier pranks now completely forgotten in favour of seeing the points total change to the final result.

1st Place David Wo

2nd Place Wade Wi

3rd Place Theo Dar

4th Place Drew Dah

The results of the race appeared and cheers rang out from the Wordsworth camp. So David had won. Wes was ecstatic, jumping in the air and hugging a poor unsuspecting Stefan to oblivion. But what did that mean for the total? I waited with baited breath for the tallies to change, for the tech guys to complete their final (and unpaid) task. Suddenly they appeared.

3rd Place – Dahl 134 points

2nd Place – Darwin 136 points

Wilde 136 points

1st Place – Wordsworth 137 points

The Wordsworth stand erupted. Scott practically jumped on me, whooping so loud I felt like my ear drums were going to burst.

"WE DID IT! WE FREAKIN WON!" I laughed, jumping up and down with him and feeling his excitement reverberate through me like an electric shock. David had been mobbed by the other Wordsworth competitors – the Wilde ones looked downcast but were still happy to see their W team mates succeed. The only people not celebrating were the Ds. Suddenly a loud clattering sound echoed round the track and I looked to see Xavier having a major tantrum in the middle of the track, throwing chairs about and swearing at the top of his voice. Oh awesome.

"Somebody's not happy about losing." Gabriel said with a smirk – I clapped him on the back in agreement before another thought made me stop. Head Boys… Blaine.

"Gotta go"

Breaking away from my group without another word I pushed through the crowds of celebrating students and thundered down the steel steps of the stands. I didn't quite know where I was going so headed for the biggest crowd I could find and eventually somehow made my way onto the track, where David had been hoisted high into the air and was currently singing some kind of demented victory song, I was sure was probably a tradition I had yet to hear of. My eyes frantically scanning the mêlée I dodged flying arms until finally I spotted my boyfriend surrounded by ecstatic Wordsworthians, also being swamped like a God. As soon as our eyes met he instantly began to break towards me, me doing the same so we almost slow-mo ran towards each other. When we finally collided our bodies slammed together so I nearly fell over – I was about to squeal some kind of congratulations when lips met mine in a fierce kiss and I squealed in a different way, jumping up so my legs wrapped around Blaine's waist and he grabbed hold of them, twirling me around in celebration.

"YOU DID IT!" I exclaimed when we broke away, my grin stretching from ear to ear. Blaine looked like he was about to burst with pride, kissing me again before laughing.

"WE DID IT!" With the sound of the crowd reverberating around the ground like a wave, I wondered if I'd ever felt this happy at McKinley - if a school had ever been as united in joy as this. So what Wilde had come joint second. So what we'd lost.

I wouldn't have had it any other way.