Two Steps Beyond
Part 156
Even though the parents planned to only stick around for a couple of days, the decision had been made that they'd all stay in the city for the duration of the trial. With everything that had been going on, they felt it was best to stay close to their boys. Blaine was heading towards his Thursday afternoon English class when he was surprised to see his Dad walking towards him. "What are you doing here?"
"The verdict is going to be read this afternoon and your Mom and I thought you'd want to be there."
"Already?"
"Yes, already."
"Did Michael have to testify?"
"No. It was pretty clear the prosecutor wasn't going to put him on the stand unless he felt his case wasn't strong enough."
"Does Bas know?" Blaine asked as he headed with his Dad towards the parking lot.
"Alexander is picking him up as we speak. We had a feeling you'd want him there with you and he'd want to be there."
"That's true since Bas blames himself for what happened to me."
"None of what happened was your fault or Seb's. In all actuality, if anyone is to blame it would be your Mom and I along with Seb's parents."
"How so?"
"Let's not do this in the open Blaine. I'll tell you in the car." Throughout the entire ride over to the courthouse, Mr. Anderson filled Blaine in on everything that had happened, starting with the earliest detail. Mr. Anderson was surprised by how well Blaine had taken the news, since their actions technically brought on what happened to him. While Blaine said he could've done without it, knowing Trevor was finally going to pay for his crimes made it all worth it. Especially since he only ended up with a few scratches. "So, you're really not upset?"
"Not at all. Personally, I'm impressed that you went to such lengths since it's not really your style. It's totally Bas's Dad's style, but not yours. Never took you as one to bend the rules."
"Normally I'm not, but Alexander made a good case. If Trevor's Dad had gotten him off once before, honestly what was it going to take to finally put an end to this once and for all. He could be lead to believe that he was never going to have to pay for what he'd done. While it might've been selfish on our part to only want to protect you and Seb, had Trevor stayed away. Yet, I think we all knew he wouldn't and in the long run everyone would be made aware of what occurred." Mr. Anderson said as he pulled into the garage near the courthouse. "We just never thought it would occur so quickly after Alexander's meeting."
"Dad, who helped you guys pull it off?"
"Abigail."
"Abigail, as in Hunter's Mom?"
"Yes, Hunter's Mom. She was more than willing and had the connections to make it possible without it ever making its way back to Alexander or myself. But from what Alexander told me, we could've gotten quite a bit of information from Seb and Hunter."
"Thad as well. All three of them started to do crazy amounts of research into the trial after the orientation day confrontation. I can tell you, none of them were happy with what they found." Blaine said prior to getting out of the car. "If anything this whole situation opened their eyes to just how screwed up the justice system can be."
"That doesn't surprise me. I have a feeling all three of them are going to be magnificent lawyers."
By the time Blaine and his Dad entered the courthouse, Sebastian and the other parents were already inside. "Ready to do this killer?" Sebastian asked as he took Blaine's hand in his.
"Yes." Blaine said with a smile before they headed up the stairs.
"How's Blaine?" Mr. Smythe asked Mr. Anderson as they walked up the stairs behind the boys.
"A bit nervous but that's expected. Seb?"
"The same. But I told him from what I heard; there isn't any doubt that Trevor is going to be found guilty. So he not only will pay for attacking Blaine and Jeff, but he'll finally pay for hurting Michael."
"Blaine said that was most important to him. Also, I told him everything in the car ride over."
"I told Seb as well. How'd Blaine take the news?"
"He wasn't upset that technically we were responsible for what happened to him. He actually said it was worth it if it means Trevor will finally pay. What happened to Michael hit close to home for him since he'll never get that sort of closure. While Blaine is slowly coming to terms with what happened to him, he'll never have the satisfaction that those who did it were punished."
"Seb said something similar to me. Knowing they could help Michael get that closure when others can't means a lot to both of them."
When they walked into the courtroom, the two Moms were already inside along with Mr. Sterling. Blaine knew Jeff would want to be there, but unfortunately he was in a class that he really couldn't afford to miss. And knowing Hunter the way they did, he must've been in a similar situation. Blaine and Sebastian were about to take their seats when Michael came walking into the courtroom with his parents. From what they'd all been told, once the verdict in the current case came down, the consequences for breaking the previous deal with the DA's office would also be handed down.
Blaine and Sebastian were turned in their seats talking with Mrs. Anderson when they both looked towards the door and someone caught their attention. "I think it's safe to presume that's Hunter's Dad." Blaine said quietly and Sebastian nodded in response. Once they saw Mrs. Clarington give him a hug and kiss they knew their presumption was correct. After he sat down, Mrs. Clarington made the proper introductions and found out that Mr. Clarington had gotten into town the previous evening.
If the looks Trevor's Dad had given the parents on Monday were that of shock, it was hard to describe the look on his face once he spotted Mr. Clarington. The look Mr. Clarington gave him in return, was quite similar to the one Hunter had given Trevor after giving his testimony, Hunter was most definitely his Father's Son. Almost immediately afterwards, the former senator had all his attention on Trevor. It was pretty clear from the looks on everyone around him, that they had had the same feeling Mr. Smythe did and that things were not going to go in his favor.
Soon the doors were closing and the bailiff was asking everyone to rise as the judge entered. Once they were all seated Blaine took ahold of Sebastian's hand once more as he felt his stomach begin to knot. While the list of charges was presented one last time, for the first time that they could remember, Trevor looked nervous. The cocky grin he'd been sporting had disappeared and he now had a blank expression on his face.
Considering that jury trials tend to last quite a while Blaine and Sebastian both couldn't believe a verdict was already being handed down. When the jury foreman read that they'd found Trevor guilty on all counts, one side of the courtroom sighed in relief while the other couldn't believe what they were hearing. Once that verdict had been handed down, the judge dismissed the jury and moved straight into the sentencing portion of the hearing.
Before the judge began, the prosecutor reminded him of the terms of the previous deal Trevor had made with the DA's office and what would happen should he violate those terms. The judge acknowledged the prosecutor and began. While what he'd done to Blaine alone would've constituted jail time along with counseling, his violation of the previous deal brought forth the original sentence. The look on Trevor's parents face was that of shock as Trevor was sentenced to time in prison. Blaine and Sebastian both looked over at Michael who was smiling as were his parents. They were finally getting the justice they deserved in the first place. After Trevor was led from the courtroom in handcuffs, Blaine and Sebastian turned around to face the parents. It was clear they were all pleased with the outcome.
After they all walked out into the hall, Blaine's Mom wrapped her arms tightly around him. "How do you feel?"
"Relieved and happy." Blaine replied as she loosened her hold on him. "I'm glad to be able to put this behind me and move on."
"I think everyone feels that way." Mr. Anderson said. "Why don't you two let Jeff and Hunter know the outcome?" Blaine and Sebastian nodded as it was pretty obvious Mr. Anderson wanted the two to leave for a moment. It wasn't till they were a few feet away did they see why, Trevor's parents were approaching.
"Bas."
"I see it too, but we should probably just do what your Dad said and stay out of it. You call Jeff and I'll call Hunter." Blaine nodded and they each made their calls all without taking their eyes off of their parents.
"Is there something we can do for you?" Mr. Anderson asked as he slid his arm around his wife.
"We want to apologize for everything Trevor put your boys through." Mr. Jackson told them.
"Michael's family needs the apology more than we do."
"I know. I just needed to let you all know we're sorry. We truly believed he learned after what he did to Michael."
"You should've known he hadn't once he went after Sebastian." Mr. Smythe said. "It's pretty clear you were the last ones to accept what was going on with your son and because of that everything else happened. You should be thankful that he didn't catch Blaine off-guard like he did Michael."
"You're right, we hoped he'd learned but it was obvious he hadn't. So, I just want you all to know we're sorry." He was about to walk away when Mrs. Anderson spoke up.
"Hopefully your son gets the help he needs, because who the boys are; there isn't anything wrong with it. They shouldn't have to live in fear of someone solely because they don't agree with it." Mr. Jackson nodded and soon he and his wife walked off.
"Is everything alright?" Blaine asked once he and Sebastian walked back up to them.
"Everything is fine." Mr. Anderson replied. "Were you able to reach them?"
"We were and they are both thrilled."
"Now, are you boys heading back to school or are you heading home?" Mrs. Anderson asked.
"We're heading home since our last classes of the day are already in session."
"Do you boys have plans for the weekend?" Mrs. Clarington asked.
"We're rehearsing actually. It's our last rehearsal before the competition next weekend."
"From what Cassie has told us, it's quite spectacular."
"We think so, hopefully the judges think so as well." Sebastian replied.
"If it's anything like what you boys have done previously I'm sure they will." Mr. Sterling said. "Also, Megan couldn't stop talking about it after seeing you all rehearse. If they didn't have a performance next weekend she wanted to come out and see it in person."
"Well, you can let her know it is being recorded so she'll get to see it." Blaine replied.
"She'll be happy to hear that as will Ally."
By the time Jeff got home from school that day he was surprised to find Nick and Brittany both at home. "Who knew it would take so long to get used to seeing you at home when I get here." Jeff said as he set his bag on the floor.
"It's not just you, it's weird being here as well. I didn't realize how much the night classes were taking out of me till I don't have so many of them anymore." Nick replied as Jeff sat down next to Brittany.
"And what are you doing home already?" Jeff asked after giving Brittany a kiss.
"Lexi finished up early and they're all going out to dinner to celebrate so she told me it was okay to come home.
"Celebrate what?" Nick asked.
"Trevor was found guilty on all charges." Jeff replied. "Blaine called me after it was all over. His Dad picked him up today once they found out the verdict was being read."
"That's great news! He's got to be so happy."
"He's relieved." Jeff replied. "And thankfully Seb was able to be there as well with him when it was read."
"Why weren't you there?"
"I was in my computers class when my Dad sent me the text. I wish I could've gone but this is the one class I truly can't miss. From what Blaine said, Hunter was in a similar situation. Oh, and Mr. Clarington is in town and according to Blaine, Hunter is the spitting image of him."
"Nick."
"Yes Britt."
"Why are you reading about Hunter?"
"What do you mean reading about Hunter?" Nick looked at Jeff as he was completely confused all of a sudden as he had no idea where Brittany's question came from. Brittany then leaned over and handed Nick a piece of paper she'd been reading just prior to Jeff coming home. "Hunter's name is on this piece of paper." Nick took a closer look and then looked at Brittany and Jeff.
"You're right; Hunter's name is on here."
"What are you working on?" Jeff asked as he started to look at all the papers Nick had spread out all over the table.
"My history paper. We were all assigned an affluent family in New York history which included working on the family tree of said family and the influence they had and may still have."
"What does this have to do with Hunter?"
"His name is on the family tree I'm working on."
"Excuse me?"
"I just looked it over, Britt's right; his name is on here as are those of his sisters."
"Who are you studying?"
"The Rockefellers. If I'm reading this correctly, he's related through his Mom."
"Wow!"
"I'd have to agree with that reaction. I wonder if he'd be willing to talk to me or if Cassie would?"
"Why don't you give him a call? Heck, his parents are in town so maybe they'd even be willing to talk to you. You'll never know unless you ask." Jeff told him
"Good point, would you mind handing me my phone?" Jeff shook his head and tossed Nick his phone which was on his end of the table. "Britt, thank you! If Jeff would let me I'd kiss you right now." The enthusiasm in Nick's voice was contagious and brought smiles to Jeff and Brittany's faces.
"Why don't you wait till you have Hunter's answer?" Jeff said with a laugh. "If he agrees, I won't have any objections if Britt doesn't." Nick got up off the couch and began to pace the room while he waited for Hunter to answer. While this was going on, Jeff put his arm around Brittany and kissed her once again. "I think you just made Nick very happy."
"Glad I could help, but he would've seen it sooner or later."
"You probably helped in more ways than you could possibly know. Considering this paper is a huge part of Nick's grade, if Hunter is willing to help he's going to have access to information that isn't readily available." Once Nick walked back into the room, he began packing up his laptop as well has his notebook and some of the papers he had on the table. "Judging from what you're doing Hunter agreed to talk to you."
"Not only is he willing to, but so is Cassie as well as his parents. So, I'm going to head on over there so you two are on your own."
"Don't forget to call Santana on your way over and let her know how things went today for Blaine."
"Will do." Nick then leaned over and gave Brittany a kiss. "Thank you so much!"
"You're welcome! Say hi to Hunter for me!" Brittany told him.
"I can do that. Later guys!" Once Nick walked out the door, Brittany rested her head on Jeff's shoulder.
"What are we going to do?"
"I was thinking I'd call my Dad and see if he wants to grab dinner with us since I don't have much homework. And since the trial is now over, he'll be heading home."
"Okay, that sounds good."
By the time Nick returned home that night, Jeff and Brittany were already back and Jeff was working on his homework while Brittany was watching some television. "How'd things go?" Jeff asked after Nick sat down.
"Better then I'd ever expected and before I go any further, Blaine was right on his description of Mr. Clarington. There is no denying Hunter is his son. While they gave me quite a bit of the history that is also found in books, they gave me insight as to how the family still runs today. And since this was firsthand information, I actually recorded our conversation so I have the reference material to show my professor. Though, Hunter asks that we really don't share this information with anyone else. He likes to keep that part of his life private."
"That's understandable; it must be weird being part of a family with that much name recognition."
"It is according to him which is why he'd like to keep it to himself. But I wouldn't be surprised that after my recent visit with him, if he tells anyone it'll be Blaine and Seb. What did you guys do while I was gone?"
"Nothing too crazy, we went to dinner with my Dad before he leaves tomorrow. After that, we came home and you can see what we've been doing. Did you talk with Santana?"
"I did and she's thrilled. While she's happy for Blaine, she's ecstatic for Michael since Trevor is finally paying for what he did to him."
"I know that feeling well. You should also expect a phone call from at least your Dad after mine gets home."
"Why?"
"I should've told you, but after it happened I really didn't want to talk about it. During Blaine's testimony he had to talk about what happened to him prior to coming to Dalton."
"You're kidding?" Nick said as he ran his fingers through his hair, but one look at Jeff he knew he wasn't. "How'd he handle it?"
""It was hard on him, but he managed to make it through. The thing is, now my Dad knows as well. He was pretty shocked by the entire admission. And while he's going to try and leave it out, it might come out when he talks to your Dad how things went. But I let him know that we only found out a little while ago and that we were just as shocked. He said he had no clue Blaine had been through something like that."
"At least it proves one thing; no one was going to know about what happened unless Blaine wanted them to up until his testimony. But thank you for the heads up as I'm sure he's going to want to talk about it. One thing since you see Blaine the most next to Seb, how has he been since then?"
"The first day afterwards he was a bit quiet, but he was soon acting like himself again. But Seb said he'd let us know if there was anything we could do."
"Good, because if Blaine needs us, we need to be there."
When Sebastian arrived at school the next morning he was surprised to see Hunter waiting for him with a cup of coffee. "And what do I owe this honor this morning?" Sebastian asked as he took the cup from Hunter.
"Do you have time to talk?"
"I do actually since I left on time, what's going on?"
"Remember when I said I was going to talk to my Mom after court on Monday." Sebastian nodded. "Well, I found out a bit of information that I think you and Blaine need to know. But I didn't want to discuss it with either of you till after a verdict had been reached."
"You mean that your Mom helped our Dads put everything in motion." Sebastian said as they walked towards their first class.
"You know?" Hunter asked as he looked at Sebastian with a confused look on his face.
"We'd known the basics of what had happened but it wasn't till yesterday that we were given the complete details, that's when we found out your Mom helped. Our Dads felt it best if we didn't know till after the trial was over so we had culpable deniability."
"That makes sense. I honestly had no clue my Mom was involved."
"If it wasn't for the timing of the news coming out, B and I never would've guessed our Dads were involved. While it's something I wouldn't have put passed my Dad, the fact that B's parents went along with it surprised us both."
"Well, my Mom said if any of her kids were in similar circumstances she would've done the same thing. She was more than happy to help, but she wished it wouldn't have come to that."
"Our Dads wish it didn't either. But after seeing the look on Michael and his parents faces yesterday, I'm glad it did. They needed this. They needed Trevor to finally be held accountable for what he'd done." As if on cue, Michael came walking towards them along with Nate and John. "Someone looks to be in a good mood this morning."
"I am, thanks for noticing." Nate said with a laugh. "I slept really well last night."
"You're a goof, you know that." Sebastian replied.
"I know, but I couldn't help it. Plus, after hanging around him it's sort of hard not to smile."
"Guys, I'm not that bad." Michael replied.
"That's what you think. You are a grinning fool this morning." Sebastian told him.
"Do you blame me?"
"Not one bit man, you deserve this. Hopefully you went out and celebrated last night."
"We did. I think my parents are more relieved than I am if that's possible."
"I totally get that after seeing them yesterday and knowing how B's parents felt. It was good for them seeing that you got some closure."
"Speaking of, how's Blaine?"
"He's good, glad that this is finally over and that Trevor can't hurt anyone else in the near future."
"I'm glad, I'm just sorry he had to, well, you know what I'm talking about."
"We're sorry he did to, but he's okay."
"Are you sure?"
"Positive."
"Why do I feel like something else is going on?" John asked.
"Because there is." Sebastian told him. "Can we leave it at that?"
"Of course we can." John replied before looking at his watch. "Now, in slightly different news you guys are performing next weekend, correct?"
"We are. And while B and Jeff have been told some of the acts in the open category will have you shaking your head I have a feeling we'll make up for it." Sebastian told him. "Just wait till you see what Hunter here is capable of."
"And what would that be?" Michael asked.
"He's not going to tell you because you could tell Dylan and that would ruin the surprise."
"He's got a point." Nate told him. "From what they said during our little dinner party if they win they plan on competing against Dylan so no sneak peeks."
"But he's going to see you during the open competition."
"True, but who's to say we don't have a few changes in store for the finals." Hunter said before heading off to class.
"So you guys have an alternate routine for finals?" Michael asked.
"We've tweaked it slightly, but you'll have to wait and see."