Two Steps Beyond
Part 121
When Rachel walked into the kitchen Saturday morning quite a few of the guys were already there and were drinking coffee. "Morning Rachel."
"Morning Wes. Guys!" She replied for reaching for coffee cup. "Are you guys the only ones up?"
"No. Blaine, Seb, Hunter, Thad, and your boyfriend are all out on a run."
"They're all crazy considering what we're doing today."
"If you're just figuring that out, I'm worried." Trent told her. "Because they've always been crazy."
"Alright, that was poorly worded. But I've seen them working on the finale so I don't know why they'd want to go for a run on top of that."
"That's because at least for Seb and Thad, a morning run clears their head. And since Blaine's with them I can only assume the same goes for him. As for the other two your guess is as good as mine." Beat told her.
"They're all out for the same reason as I've heard Brody and Hunter talk about how a morning run does the same for them. So, when do I get to meet your girlfriend?"
"So you've heard?" Beat asked as he cocked his head to the side.
"I did. Santana said she's beyond perky, but not to the point she wants to slap her."
"Yes she's definitely perky. And considering the mood Santana was in when they met that she didn't want to slap her it's a positive endorsement. I honestly don't remember ever seeing her like that. Whatever happened really pissed her off."
"Uh, I can shed some light on that." Dave said as he walked into the kitchen.
"And how is that?" Wes asked.
"Because Nick had me call my Dad in case things got out of hand."
"We're going to need more than that." Trent said.
"Ally and Megan were being bullied at Crawford. And after some discussion somehow they came to the conclusion that Santana could handle the matter better than either of them. So she went home and let me quote, confronted the bitch that was making the girls lives hell."
"How bad was it?" Wes asked.
"Logan and Jacob took them in the weekend before because both girls were barely sleeping. And if they stayed at Crawford they never would've gotten any rest."
"Why didn't they just turn the girl in?" Trent asked.
"Because they're both too sweet to ruin a senior's life." Santana said as she walked in. "So they weren't going to go to the faculty or their parents. Instead they turned to Nick and Jeff. And after Seb's game that night, Jeff and Britt rode home with Hunter and Nick came back to campus with me. After we got back, I called Ally who filled in the blanks that neither sister felt comfortable telling their brothers but were willing to tell another girl. So, without going into complete detail Nick and I talked and realized this needed to be taken care of in person."
"Why you and not them?" Trent asked.
"Because it takes a bitch to deal with another one."
"You're a bitch in the best way possible dear." Nick said as he walked into the kitchen before giving her a kiss on the cheek. "Coffee?" Santana nodded.
"So, that's why I went and not them."
"Should we ask how she reacted?" Beat asked.
"She denied everything. The fact that she was so adamant about it even her best friend who happens to be captain of their little glee club knew she was lying. Let's not even get into the fact that this girl thought she could sing and wouldn't let anyone else have an opportunity."
"Let me guess, you helped level the playing field as well." Wes said which caused a smile to creep to Santana's face.
"You might say that. And by the way, you and your brother look way too much alike. It threw me when I first saw him."
"What can I say, we look like our Dad."
"Santana." Rachel said as she crossed her arms and leaned against the counter.
"What, the girl doubted my singing abilities after Ally and Megan spoke of them. So, we had a bit of a diva off."
"Oh shit and we didn't get to see it." Beat said.
"No, there's complete video." Nick said as he handed a cup of coffee to Santana. "Logan and Jacob recorded the whole thing. The girl was awful. They cut her off before she finished her first song because she was modifying it too much. And she didn't even perform a second one after Santana blew her second song out of the park just as she did her first."
"Nick, you're beaming you do realize that, right?" Dave said.
"I might be, but once you see it you'll know why."
"How is it you saw it and the rest of us didn't?" Trent asked.
"That's because Ally sent me video of her performances right away. I didn't know of the complete video till that Monday when Jacob called to tell me about it. And Wes, you'd be proud. Since they held this little event at Dalton they played by Warbler rules."
"Glad to see tradition is still in place."
"Did you honestly doubt it would be?" Hailey said as she walked in. "You set a standard and the boys kept it. Morning everyone!" After they all responded Hailey took a seat on Wes's lap as she waited for the new pot of coffee to finish. "When are we heading over?"
"I think nine if I remember correctly." Beat said. "So, it's probably a good idea to start getting ready so we're good to go when the five of them come back from their run."
When they finally arrived at Cooper and Lexi's, Cooper couldn't help but laugh since they all arrived together. "So, are you going to be here all day Coop?" Blaine asked as the others headed upstairs.
"For the most part unless you'd like us to get lost."
"No, I just wanted to ask. Uh, where's Lexi?"
"Upstairs dressing the twins, why?"
"I just wanted to talk to her."
"Blaine, what's going on that you can't talk to me?"
"Coop, I'd talk to you if you were there when it happened but you weren't."
"This is about what that shit of an ex of yours did to Britt."
"Wait, you were home?"
"Yes, I was upstairs learning my lines. Who do you think was watching the kids when Lexi and Britt went out as they sure as heck didn't take them with?"
"Sorry." Cooper then put his arm around Blaine after he spoke. "It's alright. I didn't need to react the way I did. I was being playful when you really had no idea. How is she?"
"She's okay. She and Jeff spoke and I made her a sundae."
"Amazing how ice cream seems to fix almost anything." Blaine started to laugh as Cooper was right. "So, what did you want to ask Lexi or would you rather not tell me?"
"I was just curious if she knew what Tasha said to Kurt." Cooper started to laugh loudly, so much so his laughter echoed in the foyer. "Well, the next evening she came over and well, let's say she laid into him good. She said he looked scared shitless as she's never snapped on him like that before."
"Could he honestly blame her? I mean, he's lucky she didn't fire him."
"Exactly, I sure as hell wouldn't have shed a tear. But I don't think he's ever going to do something like that again."
"Do you know if Lexi said anything?"
"She kept her mouth shut. She vented to me, but her main concern was righting what he did. What he did ruined Britt's mood."
"We guessed as much. I just wanted to know if Lexi said anything incase Bas and I run into him again."
"Makes sense, but rest assured she didn't say anything. She let Tasha handle it." Blaine was just about to head upstairs when Cooper pulled him close. "Don't forget I'm counting on you and Bas when I leave after Thanksgiving."
"We know. But I better go. Britt's quite the slave driver."
"Go. And Blaine, if you guys need anything don't be afraid to ask."
"We know. Thanks Coop!"
When Blaine walked into the room the guys were all around the piano but the girls were nowhere to be seen. After setting his bag down Blaine walked over to the piano, but before he had a chance to say anything Jeff spoke. "The girls are with Lexi, they had a question."
"Alright, did you tell them?"
"He did and just when you think Hummel's going to stop doing stupid shit he does something like this." Thad said. "Though this time he messed with Britt instead of the two of you which isn't smart."
"Guys."
"Don't worry, we told them not to seek him out." Nick said.
"But if we see him, there is no saying what we might say." Brody added. "What he did was wrong and she's never done anything to him."
"At least that we know of." Beat said.
"Guys, it's Britt, you know she doesn't start shit. So, even though she should've said things to him, she didn't." Blaine told them. "But, since the girls aren't here. Why don't we get to work on the ballad as the four of them share parts with the rest of you. So, this is the only number we can work on without them."
The guys were about halfway through when the girl walked in, but none said as word as they just listened. "They really are good." Hailey said.
"That they are." Rachel said. "Anyone else notice those subtle glances between Blaine and Seb?" The other three all nodded. "No one can ever accuse them of not singing from their hearts."
"Sebby's like you Santana."
"How so?"
"Sebby puts his guard down around Blaine, like you do with Nick."
"She's right." Rachel told her. "You're much more relaxed nowadays, like Seb. And if I may be so blunt."
"I wouldn't expect anything less."
"It was pretty obvious you were thinking about him when you sang at Dalton that day."
"Why do you say that?"
"While you took the mic all serious, the instant you started to sing you got lost in the words of both songs. Just like Blaine and Seb are doing now. You had that same look on your face that you have when you and Nick are cuddled up. So, am I right?" As Rachel asked the last part she turned and looked directly at Santana.
"Yes, I was thinking of Nick when I sang. Happy?"
"Very. It's nice seeing you so happy."
"Guys, we've got company." James said as they finished. "How long have you been there?"
"Long enough to realize we're just window dressing for this number." Hailey said. "But, for such a beautiful number we don't mind. Right ladies?"
"That's correct." Santana replied while Brittany and Rachel nodded.
"Are sure?" Blaine asked as the girls walked towards the guys. "Because…"
"Blaine Anderson if you even think of changing this beautiful arrangement I'll kick your ass. You guys fit us in more than we ever expected." Santana told him as Nick slid an arm around her waist. "Got it?"
"Crystal clear."
"Good. So, are we going to do it again now that we're here or work on the other two numbers?"
"I say we do the ballad once more before moving on." Sebastian replied.
They ended up working on their vocals for slightly more than an hour before they decided to give their voices a break and get to dancing. "How are you feeling about the finale?" Sebastian asked Blaine as they took their spots for the opener while the girls put their heels on.
"Relieved considering how bad it sounded before."
"Me too. It actually sounded the way it was supposed to." As Sebastian spoke Brittany stepped behind him. "Are you taller this time around?"
"I am. Bigger heels."
"Question." Thad stated.
"Yes Thaddeus." Sebastian replied.
"Is this just a pure dance run through or are we going to try and add vocals since I noticed none of us were looking at their music while we were singing earlier?" Sebastian and Blaine looked at each other before looking at Brittany and then waving Brody over. While the four of them talked David hit Thad upside the back of his head. "What the hell was that for?"
"Trying to make things more difficult than necessary."
"We're going to need to do it sooner or later so I felt the question should be addressed."
"Wes, if they keep this up you are going to have to break things up." Trent said. "It'll be like the old days, you between the two of them."
"I doubt it will get that bad."
"Careful, we still have tons of stories we can share with Hailey." Thad told him.
"He's right, I'm sure we've barely scratched the surface."
"And that's how you get them to stop." Wes said with a smile. "So, what's the decision?"
"We're going to run through the number first and if it goes well, then we'll start to add vocals." Blaine replied. "But before we do that, Britt and Brody would like to run through the first two numbers."
"We can do that." Nick replied. With everyone else in agreement, the others took their spots once more and they got ready to begin with the backing track. Considering it had been two weeks since they'd all been together it was pretty obvious that all of them had been practicing. With neither Brittany nor Brody having anything to say they moved directly into the ballad.
While they'd planned to just run through the numbers without vocals, something inside of Blaine made him start to sing and the others all joined in. Much to all of their surprise they knew exactly where to come in and the ballad somehow went through almost flawlessly. Of course there would be things to fix, but for such an impromptu beginning none of them could've been happier. "You know if you wanted to sing you could've told us ahead of time." Beat said with a smile. "We would've been happy to start at the beginning."
"Sorry about that." Blaine replied with an almost shy smile as he wasn't quite sure why he'd started to sing.
"It's okay. Just next time let us start it. Coming in like that without music this early is a bit difficult."
"Yet you did it." Jeff replied. "And here we thought you guys spent your weekend out partying."
"Yes, we partied, but we worked hard too." Flint said.
"You can tell." Nick replied. "You guys sounded good. Heck, everyone sounded good."
"How'd everyone feel putting it all together?" Brody asked. "Do Britt and I need to tweak things?"
"Actually, I thought it all worked well." Thad said. "The movements didn't take away from what we were doing. We were still able to give them the strong backing they deserved."
"Since we now know we can sing it and dance, why don't we take it from the top and start properly." Sebastian said. "That is if that's okay with you B?"
"It's fine." Sebastian then leaned over and kissed Blaine on the cheek before they all took their spots.
"Santana. Britt."
"Yes Rach." Brittany replied.
"Did they put things together this fast last year because that was crazy?"
"They did. We'd have a day or two of practice and then one would start singing and everyone would join in just like what happened."
"Are you ladies done kibitzing so we can start?" Sebastian asked with a glance over his shoulder.
"For now." Santana replied with a wink.
Starting the number from the beginning helped the flow and the sound. And if the glances exchanged during it were any indication they were all clearly comfortable with it. As they finished Sebastian walked over to the piano and played a section of it which brought Blaine closer. "Did that part seem off to you?"
"I wouldn't say off, but the punch wasn't there."
"Maybe, do you mind?"
"Not at all." As they walked back all eyes were on them.
"What wasn't right?" Trent asked.
"It's not that it wasn't right, it just needs a bit more. When everyone comes in on that chord before it picks up it didn't have the pop it should've had considering the voices we have in this room. So, I'd like to take it the verse before and see if we can kick it up a notch."
"With dancing?" Brody asked.
"Yes." Sebastian replied. "That push is huge so if the dancing is the reason it's not there you guys are going to have to tweak it because it's essential."
"Got it." Since it was about mid-song, they walked through the beginning to get everyone in place. Also so that they'd have a better idea of what move came next. When they chord came this time around they hit it like they'd done earlier by the piano. With that being the section Blaine and Sebastian were concerned about they turned to the others after it was done. "So?"
"Much better." Blaine replied. "So, if it's alright with the rest of you how about we take ten and then come back and put vocals into the opener." Everyone agreed and went their separate ways.
"How do you do that?" Hunter asked as he walked up to Blaine and Sebastian.
"Do what?" Sebastian asked.
"Notice those subtle differences while you're in the middle of everyone."
"He's got an uncanny knack for it." Blaine replied. "From what I could see everything looked good, you?"
"Well, no one tripped and neither Brody nor Brittany yelled so I'd say it was a success." Hunter said with a laugh. "Though, we need to watch our spacing a tad since when Brittany and I were dancing we almost bumped Thad."
"Was that yours and Britt's fault or Thad's?" Sebastian asked.
"Probably both. But Thad and I have both talked about it so we're aware. And I saw the others doing something similar so I think it's just a case of slight adjustment."
"It's easily fixed." Brody said as he approached. "It's just a communication issue. And once that's done we're good. But at some point I'd love to record so I can get a better look since I'm in the middle of things."
"We did that a few times last year." Sebastian said. "We needed to be able to check ourselves if Britt wasn't around."
"Do you have camera here?"
"Cooper and Lexi have kids; of course there is a camera here. I'll go get it along with the tripod."
By the time Sebastian returned, he didn't only have the camera and tripod, he also had Jocelyn with him. "Uh Bas." Blaine said as he took Jocelyn from him. "I thought we were rehearsing."
"We are, but she kept reaching for me when I went to get the stuff and when I went to leave she started to cry."
"So you brought her with you."
"I did." He replied with a smile as he began setting the camera and tripod up. "Don't worry B; Coop said he'd be up in a few minutes to get her."
"I think she knows there are tons of cute guys in her house and wants to be around them." Santana said as she and Nick walked up to them. "Personally, I don't blame her." As Jocelyn reached out for Santana and took ahold of her hand that Santana extended, Sebastian and Blaine smiled at each other. "She really is adorable."
"We agree. If you see baby pictures of Lexi they look completely alike, except she's got her Daddy's eyes." Sebastian told her.
"While Braeden looks like Coop, but has his Mommy's eyes." Blaine added.
"Are they starting to talk yet?" Santana asked.
"Lexi says you can tell their starting to figure things out. Her and Coop are just waiting to see who says what first."
Their break lasted a little long than planned as Cooper came upstairs about ten minutes later. But they all made good use out of their time as they all gathered around the piano and began to sing. They were so caught in their current song they didn't notice Lexi and Cooper walk in. "Guess your sister is getting a concert, huh?" Lexi said as she walked up behind Sebastian with Braeden in her arms.
"That she is." Sebastian replied. "I hope you're not upset that I brought her up and not him."
"I'm not, he was content while she got upset when you went to leave. And while I could've calmed her down there was no need to if you were willing to bring her with. I just hope bringing her with didn't set you guys back."
"Not at all." Rachel replied. "It's fun to do impromptu numbers. Everyone can use a break now and then. Plus, we're going to start dancing next."
"How far have you guys gotten?" Cooper asked as he took Jocelyn from Jeff.
"Vocally we're doing really well as we did the first two numbers without music and have begun putting them together with the dance moves." Blaine told him. "The finale is still a work in progress and we're just about to start learning the dance moves for it."
"Well, if you ever need an audience just let us know."
"We just might take you up on that." Brody told them. "But now that they're here we should get to work." They all nodded and took to the floor while Blaine and Sebastian gave each of the kids a kiss before taking their spots.
"You might want to get them out of here Lexi." Sebastian told her.
"Alright, but any particular reason?"
"We're learning new dance moves which often leads to lots of cursing."
"Got it, we're out of here. Good luck!"
Once they were out of the room, Brody and Brittany got to work. "Now you all need to know that spacing in this number is crucial." Brody told them. "There is a lot of pass through amongst other things. So if your spacing is off, you could honestly end up hurting someone else. Since it's the finale, the guys asked us to bring it which we did."
"Could you give us a reference point as to how far you guys took it?" Thad asked. Brittany and Brody looked at each other and then noticed Jeff looking at them.
"Put it this way, it's as intense as what we closed Nationals out with last year and then some." Jeff told them. "But once you see it all together it's well worth it."
"Got it." Thad replied as they all exchanged looks. Hearing what Jeff said, they all knew this was going to be pushing their limits. It started off pretty easily, but as they reached the heart of the number the moves greatly intensified.
"Guys, you game?" Brody said as he looked at Hunter, Wes, Jeff, and David.
"Now?" David asked.
"Yep, I'll have Britt count us off." He replied as he took his spot. Once he was set Brittany counted it off and everyone watched the five of them do backflips.
"What the hell?" Beat exclaimed from his spot in the back. "I thought Hunter's tumbling during the opener was crazy. Damn!"
"Since when can you do that Jeff?" Trent asked.
"How long has it been Hunter?" Jeff asked with a smile, proud that he'd landed it.
"About a month. He's worked hard."
"That was just another example of why spacing is important. We can't have any of us knocking into anyone while doing that." Brody said.
"That definitely got the point across." Dave told him. "Add that with what we remember you all doing with the girls last time. We'll clearly watch our spacing. We don't want to get hurt, nor do we want you guys to get hurt."