Two Steps Beyond
Part 103
When Sebastian awoke the next morning he was surprised to see Blaine sitting up in bed. "Hey." He said softly since he was still waking up, as he rolled over and curled up against him. "Why are you up already?"
"Couldn't sleep." Blaine's response caused Sebastian to gaze up at him. "Go back to sleep Bas, I'll be alright."
"Not gonna happen." Sebastian replied as Blaine began to absent-mindedly run his fingers through Sebastian's hair. "You know, you don't have to tell them. They wouldn't know you've changed your mind."
"Really, and how am I to explain to Beat and Dave why I asked them to come, besides saying I just wanted to see them."
"You could tell them there is something you wanted to tell them, but since Trent can't make it till next weekend you've decided to wait."
"That's a thought, but I could've texted them not to come if that was the case."
"Did you hear back from Jeff?"
"I did. He said he and Britt will be here. And told me there was no need for me to apologize for interrupting their weekend. He'd rather Britt hear what happened with the girls around."
"So you told him that you're telling the guys?"
"I did. He told me to relax as nothing will change with the guys. How can he be so sure?"
"Because it's the guys we're talking about. They care a lot about you B. Personally, I think they're going to adopt Nick and Jeff's philosophy in all this."
"And what's that?"
"That you're one to the strongest people they know and nothing is different. All while their tolerance for ignorant assholes has always been low, it's basically non-existent now. And they've looked into numerous groups to see if there is anything they can do."
"Really?"
"Yes really, there isn't anything the guys wouldn't do for you."
"For us Bas."
"Now, I'm pretty sure I know the answer, but you sure you're okay telling Hunter and Brody what's happened."
"Yes. While I feel bad the rest of the guys had to wait, I wasn't ready to tell anyone before."
"Okay, just checking. Now, are you going to go back to sleep or are we going to get up?"
"I'm going to stay up, but you can go back to sleep."
"Not happening like I already told you. So how about we take advantage of both being up?"
"Are you saying you're not satisfied after last night?"
"Oh, I was more than satisfied which is why I want more."
Since the guys had taken it upon themselves to cook that morning, Santana ended up being on door duty each time it rang. Most of the usual Sunday crowd was already there and they were relaxing in the living room when the doorbell rang again. Santana looked around the room and couldn't help wonder who it was. But got up from her seat and headed to the door. Upon opening it she was surprised to see Dave and Beat standing there. "Um, can we come in?" Dave asked. Santana nodded as she opened the door wider. Once they were both inside she gave them each a hug.
"I had no idea you were coming. I've missed you!" She said as she let go of Dave.
"I've missed you too. Everyone in the living room?"
"Of course."
"Didn't you miss me?" Beat asked after they exchanged hugs.
"No, but that's because I see you more often. Care to tell me what you guys are doing here? I thought everyone was getting together next weekend."
"We are, but Blaine sent a text yesterday asking if we could come over today." Dave replied. Santana nodded at the response as she had a good idea what Blaine wanted to talk to them about. They'd all just sat down when Blaine, Sebastian, and Nick walked into the room.
"I see almost everyone is here." Blaine said as the three of them took a seat.
"Who are we waiting on?" Rachel asked.
"That would be us." Jeff said as he and Brittany walked into the living room. "Hope we haven't kept you waiting."
"And the lovebirds appear." Thad said with a smile.
"Cute." Jeff replied as he and Brittany walked around to take their seats.
"Got to say, didn't expect to see you two."
"Well, here we are. Though, we're not sticking around all day." Jeff said as he wrapped his arms tightly around Brittany. "Is Trent coming?"
"He couldn't make it so I'll fill him in next weekend."
"What's going on Blaine?" Beat asked. Blaine glanced over at Sebastian who gave him a reassuring smile, before taking his hand in his. Sebastian knew that while this was something Blaine wanted to do, it wasn't going to be easy for him. Especially since he wasn't sure how Rachel and Brittany were going to react. He could only hope they'd take this bit of information as well as Santana did, but he didn't want to get his hopes up.
Blaine had just begun to talk when Santana looked back over her shoulder and gave Nick a kiss as he wrapped his arms around her. He knew that even though she already knew what he was going to say, hearing it again wasn't going to be easy. And knowing the guys, they'd have questions like he and Jeff did.
The look of shock on everyone's face caused Blaine to paused momentarily, it wasn't till he felt Sebastian rubbing his back gently did he continue. He wasn't even halfway done and Rachel and Brittany were both crying. If it wasn't for Brody and Jeff holding them, it was almost certain they would've run over and grabbed ahold of Blaine. Much like when he told Jeff and Nick, Blaine could see not only concern in his friends' faces, but anger as well. As Blaine finished, Sebastian kissed him softly on the cheek as everyone took in what he'd told them.
"Blaine, I…we…had no idea." Dave said as he looked around at everyone.
"No one did." Blaine replied softly. "It wasn't something I was comfortable telling anyone up until recently. But with everything that is going on, I felt now was the time."
With that said, the guys started to ask tons of questions, while Jeff and Brody tried to calm their girlfriends down, neither of them took the news well. Brittany couldn't believe that anyone could do that to someone, while Rachel was honestly in shock.
Once Blaine had answered their questions, the conversation slowly moved onto what was currently going on. As Thad and Hunter were discussing something, Sebastian leaned over Blaine's shoulder and whispered in his ear. "Told you." Blaine looked back at Sebastian and while he expected to see a smirk, he was greeted with a reassuring smile. While Sebastian might've said I told you so, he meant it in the nicest way possible. Sebastian, Nick, and Jeff were all correct in how they thought their friends would take the news.
After glancing down at his watch, Sebastian got up from the couch to go and check on brunch which they'd put in the oven. He was just closing the oven door when realized he wasn't alone anymore. "I take it that's what you and Cooper were talking about last weekend." Hunter said as he refilled his coffee cup. Sebastian nodded in response. "Now the way Cooper acted at the precinct makes sense. While he was mad about what was going on, you could tell there was more going on."
"There was, he was afraid." Sebastian said as he leaned back against the counter. "The thought of anything happening to B again was almost too much for him."
"The same could be said for you, I could see it in your eyes when you came home that night. While you wouldn't be going through it a second time like his family, anything happening to him scares you. Now I know why you were so worried when he got back late last Friday."
"Now you know everything. It's why I wanted to keep Kurt away from him. The last thing B needs is to deal with his crap on top of everything else that's going on."
"Neither of you need to deal with it. How the two of you live your lives shouldn't matter to anyone else." Hunter told him before taking a sip of his coffee. "The fact that people choose to act that way, I still don't understand it. It's not like Blaine was hurting anyone."
"Yea, well sadly it happens and there is nothing we can do about it."
"The fact that you and Blaine are living your lives the way you choose, you are doing something. You're not letting them have an impact on your lives. Now, one question before we go back in."
"Shoot."
"Is what happened the reason Blaine learned how to box?"
"Yep. He wanted to be able to defend himself if anything happened again."
"Well, he was able to. Now I understand why he looked so proud of himself when I arrived."
"I'm pretty sure Trevor got the brunt of all the frustration B's ever felt for someone telling him he was wrong for being gay."
When Sebastian and Hunter came walking back into the living room, Sebastian had to find a new place to sit as Rachel and Brittany were now sitting on either side of Blaine. "You were gone too long." Brody said with a laugh.
"If it was anyone else, I'd have them move." Sebastian said as he sat back down.
"Good, because we're not moving till it's time to eat." Rachel replied.
"Now, I know it's not something to talk about." Thad said. "But since we're all getting together next weekend…"
"I'm going to tell Trent when he arrives Friday night and Wes already knows." Blaine told him. "Hell, Wes knew before anyone."
"And here we thought you were just his favorite." Dave said.
"He was." Beat said with a smile. "But now we know it wasn't just favoritism involved. Wes truly was keeping an eye on him."
"Was it really that noticeable?" Blaine asked.
"I wouldn't say it was noticeable, but we could all tell he got his guard up more than usual when people he didn't know came near you." Thad replied just as they all heard a beep coming from the kitchen. "Guess we'll have to continue this over brunch."
By the time they'd finished, everyone was expecting Brittany and Jeff to leave, but they stuck around. At one point Blaine and Jeff walked away from everyone to talk. "I'm sorry."
"What for?" Jeff replied.
"Ruining your weekend."
"Blaine, you didn't ruin anything. We did all our celebrating yesterday and Friday. All we were going to do today was relax." The look Blaine gave him brought a smile to Jeff's face. "Alright, maybe we weren't going to just relax. By the way, thank you for all your help. She was really surprised."
"You're welcome. I think I can speak for the others as it was our pleasure. Was her surprise worth it?"
"How'd you know?"
"Well, Santana mentioned helping her get ready and we know Lexi went shopping with her. Plus Cooper mentioned some of what she bought."
"Oh, she definitely surprised me."
"Well, sounds as though your weekend was everything you'd hoped for."
"It was. How's it been having Nick and Santana around?"
"Fine. We only heard them the other morning prior to going for a run. And before she got here Friday, Bas put some ground rules in affect."
"Ground rules?"
"Yea, basically told Nick they had free roam when we weren't here. Just stay out of the kitchen and our bedroom. And told him where things were stashed if they got caught up."
"You might want to check your supplies, who knows how busy they got when you two were gone. They definitely make the most of their weekends and this weekend more so."
"Why?"
"Because unlike you and Seb, we can't always have our way with each other."
"Enough said."
When they came walking back over everyone looked at them. "What was that about?" Nick asked as they both sat back down.
"Nothing." Blaine replied. "Have we decided what we're going to do the rest of the day?"
"No." Sebastian said. "We started talking about those auditions the guys recorded."
"And here we thought we listened to some bad ones last year." Thad said. "I'm surprised they let some of them finish."
"If you listened closely, they tried to stop some." Dave said. "But obviously the guys didn't listen."
"Makes one happy we graduated." Beat said.
"Us graduating after winning Nationals is what set up all these auditions." Blaine said. "I can't even imagine filling eight spots."
"Me either. Logan said having to hold auditions for a week was horrible. He and Jacob swore their ears were going to start bleeding." Nick said.
"They couldn't have been that bad Nicky."
"They were." Jeff replied. "I'm pretty sure half the guys that auditioned were tone deaf. And here we thought we heard some bad ones last year. I don't think we heard anything near as bad as what they did."
"True, but at least they had more than enough good ones to fill our spots as well as the Junior Warblers." Sebastian said. "Speaking of groups, how are your sisters doing?"
"They're irritable." Nick replied. "They keep asking for help."
"Why don't you help them?" Thad asked.
"Because the help they want can't be done over the phone." Jeff said.
"How so?" Dave asked.
"They wanted advice on how to get better, yet how can we give advice based off only what they say."
"They've got a point." Sebastian said. "Are they at school?"
"Yes, why?" Nick said.
"See if you can get ahold of them."
"Bas, what are you thinking?"
"If they want advice, tell them you want to see what they're working with."
"You want them to perform on camera in front of all of us?" Jeff asked.
"Yes. It's the only way you'll be able to properly help. And if they decline, they have no reason to be upset if you can't help."
"Seb's got a point." Beat said. "I'd be curious to hear after everything your sisters have said."
"Alright, I'll give them a call." Nick said as Jeff and Sebastian got up off the couch.
"What are you two doing?" Santana asked.
"Getting the webcam."
"Should we even ask?" Rachel said from her spot opposite them.
"Nick and Jeff's sisters joined Crawford's glee club." Brittany told her. "And according to Megan, they need lots of help."
"I didn't know Crawford had a glee club. Wouldn't they have competed?"
"Once you hear them, you'll see why they don't compete." Thad said. "They're pretty bad."
"Yet, due to the Warblers winning last year, Ally and Megan think they can help turn them around with a little help from their brothers and their friends." Santana added.
"They want us all to help?" Dave asked and Santana nodded. Just then Sebastian and Jeff reappeared and began setting things up while Nick finished his phone call.
"Guys, fair warning, the girls are totally boy crazy." Thad said to Brody and Hunter.
"Is that so?" Hunter said.
"Completely." Beat replied.
"You're talking about our sisters." Jeff said.
"We know and you know it's true." Dave said. "There is no way they don't notice Brody and Hunter."
"Okay, you've got a point."
"Well, our timing couldn't be better. They actually have practice in ten minutes. Ally said they'd get the cam set up."
"Did you tell her we're all together?" Blaine asked.
"Nope. So they're going to freak." The smile that crept to Nick's face caused Blaine to shake his head. "What, you know it's true. Think about it, how many times did our sisters just happen to have their friends over this summer when we were either at my home or Jeff's."
"All the time." Beat said. "That's why Jeff can't deny what Thad said."
They only ended up talking for about five minutes before Ally called Nick who was logged in. With Megan beside her the girls reacted just as the guys predicted and flipped when they saw they were all together. "You didn't say everyone was there." Ally told her brother.
"You didn't ask. And if you listened when we talked, you'd know we spend each Sunday together. Plus, if you want critique, all of us need to be here as we all have different expertise.
"Who's that sitting next to Brittany?" Megan asked.
"That's our friend Hunter. And don't even think about it, he's too old for you." Jeff replied to his sister.
"And next to Dave?" Ally asked.
"That's Brody, Rachel's boyfriend." The two girls looked at each other before turning back to the monitor.
"We really appreciate this guys, just be gentle with the criticism."
"Would you expect anything else?" Sebastian replied with a smirk.
"You're kidding, right?" Megan said.
"He'll be nice." Blaine said before glancing at Sebastian. After the rest of the girls walked into the room, Ally and Megan told them what was going on. And the girls were all thrilled that the guys were willing to help.
"Do us a favor, keep it simple." Thad said. "Just sing." The girls nodded and soon set up in a way they were on all camera. Once they began, the guys all just looked at each other. While there was clearly some potential, right now they were listening to a train-wreck and that was putting it nicely. By the time the song was over, they all exchanged looks. "That was bad." Thad said once Sebastian muted their mic.
"Reminds me of what we heard last year." Dave added.
"Reminds me of glee club before Mr. Schue took over." Rachel said and Santana looked at her. "You know it was bad."
"No complaints here. What are you guys going to tell them?" Santana said and soon all eyes went to Blaine.
Why are you looking at me?"
"Because you're the only one of us who won't come across as rude." Nick said. "Jeff and I have given our opinions once before and they don't like them which I why I don't get them asking for our help."
"Unmute it." Blaine said as he sat up slightly, while still leaning against Sebastian.
"What did you think?" Megan asked.
"Honestly?" Blaine asked and both girls nodded.
"It's wasn't good."
"We know, but how do we fix it."
"Simplify the arrangement." Jeff said which got him a glare from his sister.
"Jeff's right, you girls are trying to do too much. After awhile it just sounded like noise, not singing."
"But that's how the arrangement came." The guys all looked around.
"Are you telling us you girls don't write your own arrangements?" Sebastian asked and they nodded. "Put your captain on." The girls nodded and went to get her.
"Bas."
"Don't worry B; I'll be nice, promise."
"This should be good." Dave said which caused Thad and Beat to laugh. Once an older girl came into frame all eyes were back on Sebastian.
"Megan and Ally said you guys wanted to talk to me."
"We do." Sebastian said. "Is it true what the girls said, you don't put together your own arrangements."
"It is, why?"
"Those arrangements you're trying to do are too complex for you guys. They need to be simplified. You need to master the basics before attempting half of what you're trying to do. How else do you think the Warblers sound the way they do. They work to their strengths."
"Bas is right."
"So you expect us to learn how to arrange?"
"It would be a good idea." Blaine said. "But until then, we'll do you a favor. Have Ally or Megan send their brothers a copy of the song you just did and we'll simplify it for you."
"Couldn't the Warblers do that for us instead of you guys?"
"They could if they weren't already working on their set list for Sectionals. That's why they don't have time to help you guys. They replaced eight people this year, so they're working extra hard. They've got a championship to defend this year. But if you don't want our help, that's fine. Put Megan and Ally back on so their brothers can say goodbye." The girl just looked at the camera as the guys all exchanged looks.
"Fine, we'll accept your help."
"God she's a bitch." Santana whispered into Nick's ear. "No wonder Ally's nicer to me."
"You should hear what she thinks about her."
"Did you say something guys?" They all shook their heads and glanced over at Nick who mouthed an apology. "The girls are sending it now." Once she walked away Ally and Megan appeared.
"Thanks guys."
"You're welcome." Jeff replied. "Depending on how it's written we should be able to get it back to you today since we're all here."
"Jeff's right, we'll get to work on it right away." Blaine told them.
After saying their goodbyes and ending the call they all looked at each other. "Blaine, why'd you agree to help?" Brody asked.
"I'm not doing this for the whole group; I'm doing this for Megan and Ally. For us to strip an arrangement down for them will be easy. And maybe once they realize simpler is better, they'll realize how much work the guys put in to sound the way they do."
"So, you're doing this so they leave the Warblers alone." Dave said.
"In a way. Logan and Jacob have enough on their plates this year that they shouldn't have to deal with the Crawford girls being bitchy. And we all know the only reason they are pushing the issue is because of Megan and Ally. It's as though they feel entitled to the help."
"That would make more sense if Nick and Jeff were still there." Hunter said.
"True, but after dealing with them last year, they'll try anything to get some help. And Megan and Ally don't deserve to get the brunt of the frustration for the Warblers saying no."