IMPORTANT AUTHOR NOTE
Not so important actually (read on, you) but, as every fanfiction writer, I am shamelessly addicted to reviews and it broke my heart to notice that no one reviewed on last chapter. Really, I'd like to say things such as 'if you don't review, I won't write' but yeah... I love writing this too much for that. Anyway, it would be REALLY TOTALLY AWESOME if you would review. I'm already using capital letters, sooner or later I will go on my knees without embarrassment (okay, a little). Okay, now lets pretend I didn't just say all of this and go back to MC.
Disclaimer: I do not own Glee, and the quotes above the chapters belong to the show. I do not own the songs. I do own the main character, though.
Song(s) used: Uhm. Ahum. ...
Naked
"Being a part of something special makes you special."
Sebastian paced around angrily in the room, his hands folded behind his back, his brow furrowed deeply. The smirk was far gone from his lips, his tongue constantly moving, muttering thousand silent curses while his green eyes stormed furiously. In contrast to his temper, his face was deathly pale. His hair messy, not a single trace of gel to be found in the long brown locks. He was wearing his Dalton uniform, but had loosened the tie and the jacket was hanging over the back of a chair, his shirt half open, out of his pants.
Her brother didn't even acknowledge her – he hadn't for a good hour. The waiting was unbearable, but they couldn't do something else. She was sitting on the couch in the hallway, in front of the room of the Dean. Her hands were clenched into fists, lying defeated on her legs. In a useless try to look more mature, she had chosen to wear the navy blue dress, together with the leather jacket – and sneakers, because she wasn't going to walk on heels for the Dean, not after all the crap that that woman had put the Warblers and her through. Most of her hair, that had grown quite long in the past months, reaching a little over shoulder length, had escaped the pony tail in her neck, hanging in front of her eyes, but she didn't bother the pull the locks behind her ear.
"Bas, I think –"
"No, definitely not. I'm not going to let that happen."
"And what if –"
"Don't even think about that."
Silence.
Both the Smythes almost literally jumped in the air when Hunter suddenly stormed out of the room, his face dark. Before either one of them could reach him or even say anything, he slowed down a bit and turned partly. "Just fuck off," he snapped, his voice threatening, but his posture tired. His shoulder were hanging and his fists were clenched weakly. Without waiting for an answer, he basically ran towards the exit, leaving the siblings dumbstruck behind.
Just when Sebastian opened his mouth, the door was opened once again and the tired face of the Dean appeared. She put up a fake smile and gestured the two of them to come in, which they did, after a shared look and a hesitant glance over their shoulders. Though both the brother and sister rather would follow their friend, the best choice was to have the long dreaded talk with the Dean. So they came inside the room and sat down on the chairs in front of the desk, Sebastian crossing his arms while she again rested them folded on her legs.
"The Warblers are disqualified," the Dean stated after a moment of silence.
"We did not cheat!" the siblings immediately protested, Sebastian grabbing the arms of the chair while Marie-Claire moved to the edge of her seat. In both their green eyes flamed the same anger, but the Dean in front of them – a lady from in her fifties, named Charlotte Gray – did not even blink.
"Hunter Clarington has been in court and the Warblers have been found guilty," she went on talking in a steady voice, though it didn't escape Claire that she didn't directly look at them. "They are disqualified and their victory has been given to the former Nationals winners, the New Directions. We can find it lucky that this is the only punishment the Warblers have been given. However, after the events of last year, the school counsel has decided that the Warblers are more trouble than they do good and we have decided, after a long time of consideration, that the show choir of Dalton is to be disbanded."
"You cannot do this!" Marie-Claire replied furiously while Sebastian turned deathly pale beside her, not saying a word. "We did not cheat! The Warblers are innocent and I don't care what kind of bullshit the court has come up with, it is a lie." She shook her head, not able to believe what was going on.
It was only a few days ago that she had called Sebastian in the hallway of McKinley, the same evening as the Sadie Hawkins dance – the same evening she had suddenly seen Trent in the public school, the usually bright guy walking around, constantly staring over his shoulder in some kind of paranoia. Following him, she had heard his conversation with Blaine, Sam and Finn. It had been that moment she contacted her brother, feeling like a mess, probably also sounding like a mess, because the Warblers were her home but the New Directions had turned into her friends and she didn't want to lose faith in either one, but there had to be a lying side. Sebastian and Hunter had picked her up, the two boys mostly concerned for her – she must have been a mess, but she couldn't even remember – but the latter also seeming upset. Still, the three of them were mostly angry. Marie-Claire had soon realized she couldn't not believe the Warblers, her family. So, Blaine and Sam had to be lying, or – as she told herself, hoping it to be the truth – badly informed.
Her hope had quite faded away when Sebastian and she had made some harsh comments on cheating and some remarks on their newfound attitudes, but Hunter had only weakly laughed with them, his eyes far too serious to only consider the accusation wrong. Sebastian had noticed as well and as soon as he had parked the car at Dalton, he had just asked his best friend what was going on.
The answer had been a running off Hunter. After that, they hadn't spoken much to the boy, only seeing him when he had to leave for another day at court. Sebastian, as co-captain, had felt obligated to go as well, but Hunter had – in that one minute they saw him – pleaded him not to go. And her brother had listened. Marie-Claire had been called ill at McKinley and stayed at Dalton all the days, having emergency meetings with the Warblers and contacting the Dean and the school counsel. The boys and she had dealt with the disgusted looks being thrown their way, all having the faith that the court case would prove their innocence, because they were innocent. Trent hadn't been mentioned the whole time. Betrayal was something that hurt badly, especially when it came from a brother in arms.
And now the Dean told Sebastian and her that the Warblers would be disbanded.
"Ms Smythe, please calm down," the Dean said soothingly, but there was a hard line at her jaw proving she had difficulty with something. Her grey eyes stood coldly. "There is nothing you can do about this and you will be glad to hear the counsel has decided these events won't have any consequences regarding your stay here at Dalton."
Sebastian snorted. "Are you kidding me? You are honestly going to pretend like you have nothing to do with this shit?" he asked unbelieving. Marie-Claire glanced at her brother, not knowing what point he was trying to make. "Mr Gray, do you think I wouldn't know when a needle is being pressed in my ass? When my friends are being injected by one of my best friends? When you very own show choir is on drugs? This is ridiculous."
"As I recall, Trent did know this," the Dean responded coolly.
Sebastian made a disgusted sound. "Trent is a traitor. I have no idea what he thinks he is doing or saying, but it sure as hell isn't the truth. It is one person against about twenty others. Who would you trust?" The Smythe relaxed his tense body a little, sat back crossing his arms once again, glaring at the Dean.
She now stared back emotionless. "Trent is a respected student at Dalton and a part of the student counsel. He is a senior who has done nothing wrong in his entire school career and he has always spoken the truth. I put this against a boy about whom has been rumored that he has done some shady things the last year and a boy who is a newcomer at Dalton and –" She stopped herself, hesitating and showing doubt for the first time. "Who is a newcomer at Dalton and has anger issues."
Sebastian's eyes widened. "Oh."
Marie-Claire had followed the conversation with interest, the crack in the Dean's mask not escaping her. She turned towards her brother and gave him a critical eyes, wondering what had dawned upon him. "What?" she prompted. "What is it?"
Her brother shook his head. "I get it know. Hunter, right?" The Dean's face paled. "No, no, I understand, Ms Gray." He spoke the last words with venom, then remained silent for a while, obviously thinking about something. "I know what is going on with him. I even think … I have a very good shot at the truth. Which means that Dalton is in a very tight corner." The green eyed boy raised an eyebrow. "I won't say anything…"
The Dean sighed relieved.
"… if the Warblers are to exist," Sebastian finished, a twinkle in his eyes.
What followed was an intense stare between the older, stricken woman and the younger, composed guy. Marie-Claire still sat next to them, glancing at both sides, wondering what the hell they were talking about and why they couldn't just stop their mysterious shit to inform her a little. She wasn't about to interrupt though, because what she could understand was that her brother was blackmailing the Dean into having the Warblers and this was a good thing, she supposed.
"Mr Smythe," the Dean started hesitantly.
Sebastian raised a hand, his glare deadly serious. "I'm not messing around. It is not their fault and you can't blame them for something they didn't do. I won't tell anyone the truth, but only if the Warblers can keep up the tradition."
Mr Gray silently nodded after a moment of silence. "You don't give me a choice. But, I warn you, Mr Smythe, you can not take this any further." She wrote something down on her notebook, putting thin glasses on her nose. "I do have to ask you to not contact Hunter Clarington, though. You cannot see him, nor talk to him. He is going to be the first student in Dalton history to be expelled."
"But…" Marie-Claire started, but Sebastian cut her off.
"He has made a mistake, Ms Gray, but so has the school counsel. You can't pretend like you have no hand in this at all. It's not all Hunter's fault and I know that, so do the Warblers, so does Marie-Claire, so do you. To send him away would be a stupid decision, he would have all the freedom to begin a court case against you, and he'd probably win. Also, I don't have to tell you what that might do to Dalton's reputation. It's bad now, but it can be worse." Claire had heard her brother angry before, but he had never spoken with such authority. Though she had no idea what was going on, Sebastian certainly had, or he was bluffing, which was a good possibility as well. His tone was threatening and perfectly in control. She noticed that the Dean was impressed and taken back.
The woman didn't look directly at Sebastian. "I suggest we speak with the two of –"
"My sister can hear everything what is going on," Sebastian protested smoothly. "I will tell her anyway and she is old enough to know when to keep her mouth shut. Especially if that's going to keep Hunter at Dalton. Ms Gray, I suggest the Warblers can decide over his fate, just like what happened to me last year."
Ms Gray frowned. "He has done them nothing wrong. There is no way where the Warblers would want him away from Dalton."
"Exactly my point," Sebastian smirked. "Ms Gray, it was a pleasure talking to you, but as I now can see it, nothing has changed, has there? The Warblers are disqualified, yes, but the group will keep existing, Hunter and I will keep leading this and my sister stays here at Dalton. Am I right?"
A hard look appeared in the eyes of the Dean. "You are," she answered carefully, accepting Sebastian's hand, shaking it firmly before offering hers to Marie-Claire. A displeased expression was on her face, but the Smythe took her hand anyway, smiling a bit too broadly. Sebastian had nicely informed her that everything was going to be okay – in a way. That was all she needed to know now.
Walking out of the room, into the hallway, she turned her head towards her brother. He didn't look at her, instead was busy with his phone, texting several people separately. Claire noticed he was contacting some of the Warblers, though not through the group chat. She raised an eyebrow, shooting a look full of questions at Sebastian, who just shrugged and ignored her. She huffed. "Sebastian, what is going on with Hunter?" she prompted.
He slowed down a bit, putting his phone in his back pocket. "A lot of shit," he answered vaguely, but when he saw her look, he quickly added some information. "Nothing that has to do with drugs or steroids, I promise you. Look, I'll explain, but first we need to fix things with the Warblers, because it's getting out of hand. They are wary and now think others have used steroids."
"Which we didn't, of course," Nick suddenly appeared, walking next to Sebastian while Jeff came on the side of Marie-Claire, winking at her, his goofy smile still plastered on his face, even during the current events. "Most of the Warblers are in the choir room, Bas," the brown haired Warblers informed his co-captain. "David is giving an interview right now, with Flint as back-up. Thad and Luke are talking to the student counsel, James is checking up on Trent – doing nothing, I swear, just making sure he is okay, since some of the Warblers looked pretty murderous – and Meatbox is keeping an eye on the others in the room. Hunter…" He looked at Jeff and nodded.
"We have found him, eventually," Jeff started reporting. "Henry is making sure he is okay. He isn't in his room though. We looked there first, of course, but he didn't even go there after his talk with the Dean, though he did pass by the door. We think he hesitated, but eventually went on walking. His door is locked, we couldn't get in at first, but Henry managed to get a key from the janitor and we looked around, but there was nothing much important to find. A normal teenager dorm room, though a bit too tidy. We couldn't find a passport or any papers, which means he either has them at his house, with him or somewhere else locked up. Anyway, since there was nothing to find, we tried to find him and found out he went outside…"
"Which he isn't allowed, we heard," Nick added. "Did you bring the voice recorder?"
Sebastian got a small microphone out of his pocket, showed the boys and smiled. "It worked perfectly, didn't it?" he asked. Jeff gave him a thumbs up, while his sister made a helpless gesture. The older Smythe smirked. "The Dalton Academy Warblers have a quite advanced espionage system, MC," he told her. "We managed to record the conversation Hunter had with the Dean – as well as our conversation. Both didn't learn us much new, though we could handle faster now Nick and Jeff learned everything the minute we did."
Marie-Claire shook her head unbelievingly, licking her lips. "You guys are crazy. Sebastian, now I get where you get your blackmail material from. I thought I was good, but…"
"You have much to learn, sis," Sebastian grinned. "This wasn't just for blackmail, though. Ever since the Klaine affaire three years ago, when Blaine suddenly left Dalton, the Warblers decided they wanted to keep up to date to what was happening to their members and studied some spy movies and series for a while. It clearly worked, but I don't use it for blackmail. Not even now – I didn't hear the conversation with Hunter, I just already knew what was going on." They headed towards the choir room.
Nick grinned. "Sebastian texted us even during blackmailing the Dean – he does have some skills, but most of it was team work. We arranged a meeting in the choir room. David and Flint are telling the news that the Warblers indeed are disqualified, but will keep on existing. They won't give any news about Hunter. Thad is explaining the 'fake' situation to the student counsel, together with Luke. The truth will only be revealed to the Warblers," he said mysteriously.
Marie-Claire sighed and rubbed her temples. "And to me, I hope. Because I sure as hell don't understand what is going on. The 'fake' situation is the steroids stuff?" The guys next to her nodded. "The truth, we will find out, but it has something to do with Hunter and probably some kind of illegal deal with the school counsel, otherwise Bas wouldn't be able to blackmail them." Her brother smiled proudly. "The news is being dealt with, the student counsel is, that probably to prevent escalating rumors?" Again the boys agreed. "The meeting is to finally tell us shit."
Sebastian put an arm around her, pulling her close. "That's my sister. I taught you well."
"Science of deduction, my dear Watson," she responded smugly.
When they entered the choir room, it was chaos. Warblers – and non-Warblers, somehow – were shouting at them, there was a freshman crying, Meatbox was standing in the middle trying to keep everyone calm, while Thad and Luke entered loudly announcing their talk had been successful and that they hadn't lost their VIP rights yet. Sebastian threw his hands in the air, while Nick sided next to Jeff.
David came walking in as well, shaking his head darkly. "We need a gavel for this."
Thad nodded, standing next to him with his arms crossed. "And Wes."
"Or us," Flint and Meatbox suddenly spoke up, winking at Sebastian, who gestured to them to do whatever they were thinking about. The two boys grinned at each other. "Shut the fuck up damn assholes!" they shouted at the same time.
That got the attention.
Sebastian immediately jumped on a table – something that even sharpened the attention, since Blaine had done this all the time, too. "Bless non-cursing Dalton boys," her brother smirked. "You are so innocent. First order of business. Non-Warblers, get the fuck out of here. We know every single person in the group and we sure aren't with thirty." He glared at some of the boys, who quickly ran away. Satisfied, the co-captain of the Warblers and current person in charge nodded.
Marie-Claire looked around in the room. Most of the Warblers were sitting down now, either on the ground or on the couches. She settled down on the table Sebastian was standing on, having a nice overview. The other guys were all in front of them. Sebastian looked at them sternly, the serious look on his face sobering all of them up. Claire counted quickly – Hunter wasn't there, so that made fourteen boys, excluding her. Everyone was present. She glanced at her brother, noticing that he was studying the boys, checking if they were trustworthy. They both knew the boys were. She stood up, closed the door and sat down again.
"The Warblers are disqualified," Sebastian announced. A soft muttering was the only reaction, but the boys quickly fell silent again. She loved them for this, keeping their emotions in control and having faith in what was to come. It was an attitude she missed with the New Directions. "Everyone, everyone, thinks we have cheated by using steroids. Which, as you all know, isn't the case. None of us did that. Hunter, neither." He remained silent for a while. "But I'm going to ask you to keep up the lie."
Now everyone was indignant, to say the least. Some of them looking murderous, others whispered, their lips moving in a way that looked suspiciously like 'Trent'. Rick, a respected member of the Warblers, as they actually all were, but a slightly less controlled one, made the move to stand up, but David pulled him back, shaking his head.
Sebastian sighed. "I don't know why Trent has decided to betray us like this. I'm going to ask you all, though, not to treat him rudely. Ignoring is allowed, we can't possibly treat him the same as first and he won't be a Warblers again anytime soon, but there is going to be no blackmailing, bullying, threatening or anything like that. We – I – have learned that lesson last year. We could see this as payback. We aren't going to fight against the decision of the court, instead respecting it. The Warblers will go on with singing and dancing, and next year we, you, are going to make a spectacular come-back. Now, going back to the lies and the truth. We didn't cheat consciously, however, we did cheat in another way."
Marie-Claire's head snapped up and her green eyes pierced her brother.
"Hunter was paid to come to Dalton to lead us to a Nationals victory. This is against not only the school rules, but also those of the show choir competition. It is considered more gravely than using steroids. This is why I ask you to keep silent about it and accept our treatment. Hunter can get a lot of crap for it, as well as the school and not to mention the Warblers in general, even though we didn't know it."
There was more to the story. She saw it in the eyes of her brother. He purposely ignored her, though, and she knew that she would have to wait a little longer, until after the meeting. The other Warblers, resentful as they were, seemed to agree with Sebastian. Some of them nodded, though other just sat quietly.
"We don't know who went to the judge to get us disqualified." A lie, Sebastian. But she appreciated the fact that he wanted to protect the New Directions – her show choir. Every single person in the room was aware of the fact that no one else than Blaine Anderson, former soloist and respected student of Dalton, had turned them in. "They showed a video of Hunter having an anger attack. We all know he deals with some anger issues and he has probably been on the edge because of his illegal contract with the school. The pictures of our changed faces weren't photo-shopped – I think we can just congratulate ourselves on the fact that our military academy training showed off." No one laughed at the lame joke. "Trent was the last part of the evidence. As I said, I – we – do not know why he has done it, but he has had his reasons and we should at least leave him alone."
David stepped forward. "I have handled the journalists and I am going to ask you to not speak to them. No answering, not even going obvious information. If they stalk you, contact me and I'll deal with them. Apart from that, I want to say I want to go on with the Warblers and accept that we are disqualified. I stand beside Sebastian and Hunter."
Thad rose from the couch. "The student counsel will tell a softer version of the steroids story to all the other students. Some of the teacher and the whole student body believe the steroids to be true. The only persons who know the truth are the ones in this room, Hunter and a small part of the school counsel. Please don't use this information for your own good and don't gossip about it. I also stand beside Sebastian and Hunter."
Nick walked towards the table and stopped in front of it, turning around. "We know where Hunter is and have decided to give him some space. Just don't stalk him with questions or go to him more than often. It's hard dealing with all this shit for him, too. I stand beside Sebastian and Hunter."
Jeff jumped up, clapping his hands. "Only thing left to do if to decide on one thing. Whether Hunter can stay in the Warblers, or not. The Warblers have been given this decision and please treat it with the same carefulness as last year with Sebastian. Just think about it and stand up if you agree that he can stay." He smiled brightly. "I stand beside Sebastian and Hunter."
Flint, Meatbox and Luke immediately rose, standing beside Sebastian – who had jumped off the table –, David, Thad, Nick and Jeff. Marie-Claire was a bit slower, though not due any mind struggles, but just her interest in the situation, but moved next to the boys as well. Luke and James followed, Henry too, Rick, and it took only a few minutes for all the Warblers to stand up, look at each other and voice what they had been thinking all along.
"Once a Warbler, always a Warbler."
The next thing she knew, David and Jeff burst out in a song – which sounded suspiciously much like One Direction, again – and she was being dragged out of the room by Sebastian and Nick. Quickly, she figured out they had to be going to Hunter – she recognized the look in her brothers eyes.
"Where is he?" she and Sebastian demanded to know at the same time.
Nick waved with his iPhone. "Not sure where, Henry saw him going into a bar, but then he had to come back for the meeting. I think Hunter is still there though, he's probably drinking all his trouble away," he answered vaguely. "I'll drive us."
Sure enough, they soon sat in his car, Sebastian shotgun and she in the middle in the back, biting her lips when thinking about the terribly confusing situation. Fake stories, true stories, the truth was a secret, the shameful lie they tried to keep alive. "Are you going to explain the Hunter deal to me?" she questioned her brother, her eyes piercing his.
He nodded slowly. "I'm not exactly sure what is going on myself. He just let some things slip and the Dean only made me more certain of what is going on. First things first – Hunter is older than we think. He isn't a junior, but probably got kicked out of school as one, a few years ago. He is twenty-one right now."
Well fuck. She had been dating with a guy five years older than her.
"I think he got expelled due an anger attack – it would seem logical. Anyway, it wasn't a military academy, as we thought, and he never performed in a show choir. He did have something to do with music, though, I'm not sure what, but it caused Dalton to make a deal with him. They wanted him to lead the Warblers to a Nationals victory and paid him for it – which is, of course, prohibited, and also Dalton isn't allowed to have students older than twenty, so the deal was illegal. Hunter stressed a bit because of it and I think there is something else going on, something that caused him to have more panic attacks, but yeah, I don't know that," Sebastian finished the explanation.
"So in short, Hunter got kicked out of school, then, while he was twenty-one, got paid to go to Dalton, got some stress, something got discovered by Blaine and Sam, so they warned the authorities and suddenly we get disqualified for using drugs? That's bullshit," she concluded angrily.
Nick coughed. "Trent betrayed us and lied."
Sebastian's look darkened. "I have no idea why he would do that."
"I do," the other Warbler answered. Now he had the attention of the Smythes. He shrugged. "It's nothing more than a theory. But you know, the Warblers did change. After Blaine left, we were betrayed and could do nothing right. Then you appeared, Sebastian, and took control, changing us – song choice, attitude, choreography. Apart from all the trouble that came with it…" Sebastian winced, but Nick gave him a pointed look. "… for which we already have forgiven you … it was hard for Trent."
"Why?" Sebastian prompted, rubbing his eyes gently.
Marie-Clair e snorted, suddenly the whole theory becoming brighter and more clear. "Don't you get it?" she asked, glancing at Nick, who nodded sternly. "Trent isn't … the most athletic guy, or the most standard. Though there is a no-bullying policy, it doesn't mean that there aren't cliques. I know for sure that Trent couldn't belong in another clique, he just doesn't fit. That's why he had the Warblers."
"Then why would he betray us…?" Sebastian sighed.
She frowned. "The Warblers changed. His best friend left him, suddenly, for a boy he had just met. Trent stayed behind, alone. Haven't you noticed that he doesn't quite belong in a certain couple in the Warblers? Every Warblers has a side-kick, it seems. David and Thad, Nick and Jeff, Flint and Meatbox – Hunter and you, even. Trent got around with all of you, was good friends, but Blaine, his side-kick, left. Also, your whole performance attitude changed. More intensive dancing when you joined, Sebastian, and that got even more intensive when Hunter joined. Trent has a hard time keeping up with that. He liked the former Warblers, with cheesy songs and just some hand clapping and swinging, the classy schoolboys – not the powerful performers you are now."
"That's right," Nick joined in. "And I think he has gotten some troubles, lately. Maybe he knew a bit of what Hunter had done, maybe he just had some problems at home, but he has gotten more distant. Then, he started talking to Blaine again. He really misses him and after the eye incident and the trophy incident, Blaine doesn't talk to us anymore. Trent couldn't take that, approached Blaine again, and probably got caught in the not-so-true cheating affair. He just wanted to help Blaine, I guess, and wanted him back as very good friend…"
"… so he did the only thing he thought that would get their friendship back …" she added.
"… and betrayed the Warblers," Sebastian understood.
Their show choir group suddenly seemed even more screwed up than the New Directions.
"We're here," Nick said softly. They were standing in a dark alley, in front of a dusty café, the neon-lighted name not readable due broken and missing letters. Outside, a few guys were smoking, guarding the door. Sebastian and Nick sided next to Marie-Claire.
"Look, I didn't want to take you," Sebastian whispered in her ear. "But Hunter likes you. He loves you, I don't know. Anyway, we need you to help us get him back." She nodded.
Claire understood what her brother was talking about. She could still remember that time when Trent – ironic it had been him – called her to fix things for the Warblers, talking to Sebastian. Maybe Trent had wanted her to bring the old Warblers back, she realized now. She hadn't done that. She had fixed her brother. He had been a mess, on the edge of a breakdown, realizing he had send two people in the hospital. They had visited Blaine and Karofsky then, though the two didn't know that, since they had been sleeping at the time. Sebastian then had told her he wanted to quit the Warblers and leave Dalton. She had been able to convince him otherwise. And now the same needed to be done with Hunter.
They could easily walk into the café. Inside, the air smelled like alcohol and smoke. It was the very opposite of Scandals – no gaybar, of course, but also no dancing people, just some guys sitting in small groups, talking to each other. The constant sound of a jukebox mixed with laughter and conversations. Though the bar had looked shady from the outside, it actually seemed quite nice.
"There he is," Nick said relieved. He glanced hesitantly at Sebastian. "I'm not sure if it's my place to be here, you know. He is my friend, but yeah … your best friend and Claire's…" He fell silent, looking expectantly at her.
She rolled her eyes. "My something. Dalton's gossip goes much faster than our relationship," she informed the boy. "Let's keep it at special friend and occasional date and my brothers best friend, that makes us close enough."
Sebastian nodded. "Can you wait for us in the car?" he asked Nick, his voice suddenly sounding very tired. His green eyes showed his discomfort. She couldn't blame him – she wasn't sure in what state Hunter was. Sebastian had been slightly drunk and a bit aggressive when she had tried to fix him. An aggressive, drunk Hunter was certainly not something she wanted to meet. Nick gave them a thumbs up, petted Sebastian on the shoulder and pulled her in a quick hug, smiled at her and whispering a short pep-talk in her ear.
"Hunt…?" Sebastian approached his friend carefully.
The shorter but more muscled guy winced. He didn't turn around. "Bas, what are you doing here?" he asked with a rough voice. His right hand clenched a bottle of beer, his other slid from the table on his leg, his fingers digging in his skin.
"Setting some things right," she answered for her brother, quickly glancing at him.
Hunter groaned and turned around slightly. "Who else did you bring to the pity party?" he questioned accusingly.
"That's my text." She studied him. On his skin were some droplets of sweat, his face pale and his eyes bloodshot. He looked even more exhausted than the days before, if that was possible, and his clothes were a crumbled mess, just as his hair. The composed gentleman was long gone. "A better question is, what are you doing here?"
Hunter shrugged, raised the bottle. "Drinking my sorrow away," he answered poetically. His piercing eyes focused on her, seemed to read her very thoughts. "Dalton abandoned me. The Warblers abandoned me…"
"Don't you dare say that," Sebastian snapped. "We did far from abandon you." He smashed his fist on the table, attracting some attention. A barman came forward, but the Smythe didn't notice him, staring intensely at his best friend. "Some blackmail makes miracles, Hunt. The Warblers had your future in their hands and you know what we decided? To let you stay. Not only as Dalton boy, as Warbler, but I'm quite sure as captain too. I explained to them that you had a deal with the school counsel and their reaction? Once a Warbler, always a Warbler. We've decided to let the competition pass to keep you in the Warblers. We could just tell the authorities, but we didn't."
"Fuck!" Hunter shouted suddenly, standing up and trying to get away.
Sebastian and Marie-Claire grabbed him the same time. "Don't be stupid, Hunter," she said softly. "You want to stay with us, I know that. The Warblers forgave you and want you – you can't ask more than that, can you? Come home."
For the first time, the siblings saw Hunters mask crumble. The one of the control freak captain had broken down long before, but now his angry cover fell, too. His jaw relaxed, the flame in his eyes weakened. His body calmed down. Sebastian stepped forward, pulling his friend in a hug. Hunter leaned against his chest, his eyes falling shut, though he remained on his feet. Marie-Claire stepped forward, smiling. She put an arm around the boy and then, leaned forward, not daring to look at Sebastian, instead focusing on Hunter's peaceful expression. Her lips briefly touched his, planting a soft kiss on his warm mouth before pulling back.
"Come home."