Two Steps Beyond
Part 157
The morning of the performance Blaine and Sebastian were slightly thrown when Nick, Jeff, and Wes came walking into the apartment without the girls. But after a brief explanation Jeff, told them the girls were all currently at their place getting ready. And that with the amount of time they were going to need to get ready they felt it best of they stayed out of everyone's way.
"They know this place is big enough, right?" Sebastian said.
"They know, but I think they need this bit of time alone." Wes replied.
"Makes sense. Is Rachel there as well?" Blaine asked.
"She arrived when we were leaving." Nick replied. "And she said Brody was on his way over so we should be seeing him soon. Now I know Cooper's been busy filming, but you said he was going to try and make it."
"He said that if everything goes as planned he will be there." Blaine replied. "I got the performance schedule from Dylan and he's got time since we won't be going on till about midway through the open round."
"If Coop's not going to be there, who's recording it?" Jeff asked.
"My brother." Thad said as he came walking around the corner. "They talked about it a few days ago once Cooper found out he'd be filming this morning. Now I can see the rest of you aren't dressed, but are we dressing here or at NYU?"
"At NYU." Blaine replied. "No reason to get dressed any sooner than necessary."
It wasn't long after the last of the guys arrived at the apartment, did they leave for NYU. Once they were outside, Nick gave Santana a call to let them know they were leaving and was told the girls were leaving as well and would meet them there. "So, Brody, Hunter, you guys ready to do this?" Sebastian asked.
"Without question." Hunter replied which was soon replicated by Brody.
"Good. Now, dear beat boxers, where are your lovely ladies?"
"They will be meeting us at NYU." James replied. "They got in late last night so they were taking advantage of being able to sleep this morning."
"Beat?"
"She's on her way as we speak from the text I received. Thad, even though you're not one of us?"
"Like the others, she'll be meeting us at NYU. Dave?"
"What?"
"Is Quinn coming?" David asked.
"Yes, she's coming but why are you asking me?"
"Because you see her more often and the girls aren't around to ask." Trent replied.
"Nice cover Trent." Thad said with a laugh which the others soon echoed. Knowing he was better off not saying anything else Dave threw his head back and shook it. The rest of the ride to NYU went relatively quick as the conversation quickly turned to their upcoming performance. While they'd always stretched before their vocal warm-ups, they knew they needed to do the type of stretching they'd been doing previous to all of their rehearsals.
By the time they arrived at NYU they couldn't believe how many people were there. Jeff and Blaine looked at each other as the campus seemed even busier than it would during a normal day. With Blaine and Jeff taking the lead, everyone followed them towards the theater. Upon walking through the doors they were met by Bryan. "Welcome to NYU!"
"Cute smartass." Blaine replied. "I'm guessing you're going to tell us where to go."
"I am and I can tell you that five beautiful ladies are already in the room waiting for you."
"Just for your information, all of those ladies are spoken for." Jeff told him.
"I figured as much, but I can still appreciate."
"That you can as long as it goes no further." Nick added.
"Which one is your girlfriend?"
"His would be the gorgeous Latina." Sebastian replied.
"Lucky man. Just go to our rehearsal room guys. Dylan thought you guys could use the space."
"Thanks." Blaine replied and soon they all headed down the hall. When they reached the room they found the girls all sitting in the middle of the floor. "And here I thought we'd get here first." Blaine said as he hung his garment bag up on the rack.
"We must've gotten the train just prior to the one you guys took." Rachel replied. "We haven't been here long."
"Bryan was right, you all look beautiful." Jeff told them.
"Thank you." Brittany replied. "Do you know when we go on?"
"Two hours." Sebastian replied. "So, we should probably get stretched. Do a quick run through sans vocals, then get dressed and do our vocal warm-up." After he spoke the guys all hung their bags up before beginning to stretch. As they did so, Santana came walking over towards Nick and sat down beside him.
"Was he like this prior to all your performances?"
"This is toned down. He and Blaine pulled no punches same goes for Thad and Dave. By the way, Jeff was right, you all look beautiful."
"Thanks. It was a godsend that Quinn came over because Britt's hair didn't want to hold a curl. So Quinn was able to help with that, while the rest of us did our hair. Have you checked your phone?"
"Yea, I take it she called you too."
"She did. We're supposed to get the video to them as soon as possible."
"Sounds like the same call Wes had with Brandon. All the Warblers can't wait to see it either. I'm pretty sure if it was within their power they all would've been here."
"I'd say that's a fair assumption.
Once they were done stretching they closed the door to the room and pulled the blind so that no one could see. Quinn also stood by the door to make sure no one tried to gain entry. After they finished their run through a bit of the nerves disappear as the run through went off without a hitch. Since it was now done, Quinn said goodbye to everyone and headed out towards the theater to meet up with everyone else.
When she reached the theater she could understand why the guys had reserved a block of seats. As she walked down the steps she quickly spotted Lexi and after some quick deduction figured out it was Cassie, Tasha, and Donovan with her. Her instincts were correct as Lexi immediately introduced her to everyone. "How are they?" Lexi asked.
"Ready to go. They've got nerves, but they're the good type. Is Cooper going to make it?"
"He's on his way actually. Filming went smoothly this morning. Do you know who the rest of these seats are for?"
"That would be girlfriends as well as members of the Columbia lacrosse team."
"The lacrosse team is coming?" Donovan asked.
"Yep. From what I've been told, they're almost as close as our boys are. So they are going to be here to show their support."
Meanwhile on the other side of the theater Kurt was walking down the steps with Chandler. "Thank you again for inviting me." Kurt told him as they found their way to their seats.
"Just because things didn't work out romantically, it doesn't mean we have to ignore the friendship we created. And I know how much you enjoy these things. From what I've heard the open round can often be entertaining because the talent level varies so much. Then once that round is over the school groups take the stage." Chandler then followed Kurt's gaze that seemed to have drifted. "Is everything alright?"
"I just thought I recognized someone. But I doubt she'd be here."
"One never knows, do you want to go say hi?"
"Not really."
Once all of the girlfriends arrived, Quinn made the proper introductions. She was just finishing up when Sebastian's lacrosse teammates showed up along with some of their girlfriends. "Now, Seb never said what you prefer to go by, is it Mrs. Anderson or Lexi?" Nate asked.
"Lexi is fine. It's nice to see you all here supporting them."
"We wouldn't miss it." John replied. "Plus Michael has other reasons for being here." While he spoke he gently nudged Michael who began to blush slightly.
"Yes, but right now I'm here to support Seb, Blaine, and the rest of the group."
"If you end up rooting for them later on we won't tell Dylan." Nate told him.
"Cute."
"Just do what Blaine did earlier this year." Lexi told Michael. "You cheer for your boyfriend but hope your friend does well. Blaine had to do that anytime Seb played Thad in lacrosse." While Lexi was speaking she could hear a bit of murmuring in the crowd and soon realized what it was when she looked up and saw Cooper making his way down the steps. "You got here quickly." She said after giving him a kiss.
"It helps that one of the producers needed to get back into Manhattan and was coming in by helicopter so he offered to give me a lift."
"That's one way to make an entrance." Quinn told him.
"Sure beats sitting in traffic. Have I missed anything?"
"No, the show is just about to begin actually."
"Crap."
"What?"
"I was hoping to see them beforehand since I got here early. Guess I didn't get here early enough."
"They look like they did before Regionals if that means anything." Quinn told him. "They're clearly in their zone."
"That does help actually, thank you."
Once they were all dressed the guys looked at each other and smiled. They clearly had an updated look but at their core they still looked like themselves. "Why couldn't our blazers look like that at Dalton?" Thad said as he looked at Beat, James, and Flint.
"Because these cost a bit more than those did." Flint replied. "But I'm with you, these do look good and they feel amazing. And you guys look great as well."
"Ladies?" Blaine called out since they'd yet to appear from behind the curtain. "You alright?" Instead of getting a verbal response they all walked around the curtain. "Wow! You all look incredible!"
"Yea, what Blaine said." Thad added since he was too shocked to say anything else.
"It's not too much, is it?" Santana asked.
"Not at all." Nick told her as he took her hand. "You girls look beautiful, yet sexy at the same time."
"Nick's right, it's the perfect way to describe you all." Brody said. "Are you all comfortable?"
"We are." Hailey replied. "We just hoped it wasn't too much."
"It's just right." Wes told her. "Jeff?"'
"I think you've all covered it rather well." He replied as he wrapped his arms around Brittany from behind. "Time to start our warm-ups."
They'd finished their warm-ups and were relaxing when Bryan came walking into the room. "You guys have about twenty minutes to go so it's best if you head down to the theater now."
"Thanks." Blaine replied as he took ahold of Sebastian's hand. "Ready to do this?"
"Blaine, you can't say that." Thad told him.
"Excuse me?"
"You can't say that."
"What Thad's getting at is you two better do your thing before we take that stage." Dave told them.
"Don't worry, we will." Sebastian replied. "We are creatures of habit afterall."
"What are you guys talking about?" Hunter asked as they began their walk down the hall.
"You'll see soon enough." Beat replied with a laugh. "Honestly, it's not a big deal it's just Blaine and Seb did the same thing before every performance we had and we always seemed to get good results."
"So you guys are superstitious?"
"I wouldn't say we're superstitious, but as Seb said, we are creatures of habit and we sort of need to hear them do their thing."
"Strangely, that makes sense."
Once they reached the wings of the stage they all couldn't help but shake their heads at the performance that was currently happening. "Please tell me all the competition isn't this bad." Nick said.
"They haven't been." They all turned at the sound of the response and saw Dylan standing there. "Looking good everyone."
"Thank you." Jeff replied. "So some of the other acts have been better?"
"They have been. Blaine so you know, Michael sent me a text and asked me to let you know that Cooper is here." Blaine thanked him before looking up at Sebastian and smiling. "Now, should I sneak into the audience to see you guys do your thing or am I good to watch from the wings?"
"I'd say sneak into the audience." Jeff replied. "That way you can get the full affect. Are the rest of the guys here?"
"They are. They've been helping groups get to the stage. But most are going to try and be here when you guys go on. One question."
"Shoot." Blaine replied.
"Why Warble On?"
"We couldn't think of anything else and Santana put it on a t-shirt last year." Jeff replied. "And for the most part, we're all Warblers." Dylan cocked his eyebrow at him. "Yes, even the girls, they are honorary Warblers." While Jeff was speaking the group ahead of them finished and the crowd was pretty vocal about what they thought of the performance. "Good luck! The crowd is feisty."
"Thanks!"
As the other group cleared the stage everyone was giving each other a once over before heading out. Sebastian took ahold of Blaine's hands and stepped close, closing the distance between them. "Ready to do this killer?"
"Absolutely!" Once he replied Blaine got up on his toes and gave Sebastian a soft kiss on the lips.
"Was that it?" Hunter asked as they headed onto the stage.
"That was it." Beat replied. "Simple, but something they did before every performance no matter how big or small."
"Do you know what started it?"
"Before Blaine's first performance back, his nerves were high so Seb just played things cool and helped him relax."
Once they were set up behind the curtain Blaine could feel Rachel tense a bit behind him. "You okay?" He asked as he took a look over his shoulder.
"Yea, I'm excited actually. I always wanted to perform with you guys."
"Well, you're getting your chance." Blaine then looked over at Sebastian who seemed to be having a similar conversation with Brittany. With a smile exchanged between them they looked around at everyone else who seemed as raring to go as they were. As the curtain rose the lights were still dim as they were introduced and it was pretty clear their entire cheering section had arrived.
"Kurt, are you alright?" Chandler asked as he noticed Kurt visibly tense beside him.
"Yea, just the name is all too familiar." Then once the lights rose on the stage, Kurt's eyes bugged out. "Oh my God! It is them!"
"Who?"
"The Warblers!"
"As in Blaine and the guys he went to school with?"
"Yep, look! This is going to be good!"
As the guys sang the opening notes, the girls were still hidden from view but once the lyrics started the girls appeared and the crowd immediately reacted. Then once the tempo picked up they clearly had everyone's full attention. Between the vocals and the dance moves the crowd was soon on their feet. And when Hunter did his tumbling run through the middle of everyone dancing, the crowd erupted. Since this was the type of reaction they were used to the guys were feeding off the energy the crowd was providing, taking their game to a whole new level.
"Damn their good!" Jess exclaimed as Quinn and everyone else around her smiled and nodded.
The first number was just ending when Chandler looked over at Kurt. "You were right, they are good!"
"Wait till the guys really show what they can do. While I might not like most of them, you can't deny they're talented." Just as Kurt's words were leaving his mouth, the harmonies the Warblers are known for started to fill the theater. When the first of the lyrics left Blaine's mouth, Cooper looked over at Lexi who was absolutely beaming.
(Blaine)
When I see your smile
Tears roll down my face I can't replace
(Blaine, Sebastian, Jeff)
And now that I'm strong I have figured out
(Blaine, Sebastian, Jeff, Nick, Wes)
How this world turns cold and it breaks through my soul
And I know I'll find deep inside me I can be the one
(Blaine)
I will never let you fall (let you fall)(Warblers)
(Sebastian)
I'll stand up with you forever
(Jeff, Nick, Wes)
I'll be there for you through it all (through it all)(Warblers)
(Blaine, Sebastian, Jeff, Nick, Wes)
Even if saving you sends me to heaven
It's okay. It's okay. It's okay.
Seasons are changing
And waves are crashing
And stars are falling all for us
Days grow longer and nights grow shorter
I can show you I'll be the one
While their second number was in stark contrast to their first, they were nailing their harmonies and their dance moves once more. It was pretty clear that they were locked in since they seemed completely oblivious to the way the crowd was reacting as they didn't let their emotions take over. They were about halfway through when Dylan made his way over towards everyone else as he wanted an even better view. "Please tell me you knew they were this good." Michael said softly as he continued to listen.
"I knew they were good but this….no. They're blowing everyone away." Michael then leaned over and kissed Dylan on the cheek as he could tell he was a bit stunned by what he was hearing and seeing. As the song closed out it was clear the crowd was eagerly anticipating the last song of their set.
La la la la la
La la na na na
La la la la la
La la na na na
[Blaine, Sebastian, Nick, Jeff]
Girl I've been all over the world
Looking for you
I'm known for taking what I think I deserve
And you're overdue
[Previous four plus Wes, David, Trent]
And if you listen you can hear me through the radio
In that bright white noise
What I been missing in my life
What I been dreaming of
You'll be that girl
You'll be that girl
You'll be
[Rachel, Brittany, Santana, Hailey]
Everything you want so let me get up there
I'm the baddest baby in the atmosphere
Tell me what you want so we can do just what you like
[All]
You make me feel that
La la la la la
You make me feel so
La la la la la
You make me feel that
La la la la la
You make me feel so
La la la la la
You, you make me feel that
[Thad, Hunter, Dave, Brody]
Get a little closer to me girl
And you'll understand
'Cause if you want a guy that knows what you need
Well, then I'm your man
[Previous four plus, Trent, David, Wes]
And if I listen I can hear you through my radio
In that bright white noise
What I been missing in my life
What I been dreaming of
You'll be that girl
You'll be that girl
You'll be
[Rachel, Brittany, Santana, Hailey]
Everything you want so let me get up there
I'm the baddest baby in the atmosphere
Tell me what you want so we can do just what you like
Ooh
Everything you know I'm flipping upside down
Take you 'round the world
You know I like it loud
Tell me what you want 'cause we can do just what you like
Their final number was everything they'd hoped for it to be as they were all clearly enjoying themselves while they performed. With the vocals going back and forth and everyone doing their thing it left people guessing as to what was going to be next. From the moves the girls were doing, to the five boys doing their unison backflip mid-number the crowd erupted each time as they'd done for Hunter's earlier tumbling run. To say they'd pushed the envelope was obvious and that no one competing in the open-class was going to come close to the standard they'd set forth.
As they took an extended bow, they all kept looking at each other as the crowd wasn't letting them get off the stage. "Look like you guys are going to have some competition." Nate said to Dylan in-between cheering for the guys.
"No kidding. If you all don't mind, I need to go head backstage."
"Going to congratulate them?" Michael asked.
"That I am. There is a good reason why they're the defending national champs." Before heading backstage, he stopped to talk to Cooper and Lexi before continuing on his way.
"What did you think?" Quinn asked the others as they finally walked off the stage.
"They're even better than James said and I always thought he was exaggerating how good they were. Clearly he wasn't."
"Jess?"
"After that, I don't think I'll be calling him Rick anymore."
"Beat fits him rather well, doesn't it?"
"It does."
Meanwhile on the other side of the theater Chandler looked at Kurt in complete shock. "That was…"
"Incredible, I know. They looked and sounded amazing! Don't even get me started on those crazy dance moves. I had no idea they could move like that, especially Rachel."
"Are you going to talk to them?"
"No."
Once they made their way back to their rehearsal room they were all jumping around the hugging each other. "That was unreal!" Santana said as she hugged Blaine. "I can't remember a time I felt like that performing."
"We were good, weren't we?" Blaine replied with a smile.
"Without a doubt killer." Sebastian said as he put an arm around Blaine. "And I'd say the crowd agrees. Dear elders, Brody, Hunter, how do you guys feel?"
"There aren't words to describe what we just did." Wes replied unable to wipe the smile off his face and from looking around the room everyone was feeling the same way. "Even with all the rehearsal, what we just did was…I don't have words."
"That's a first." David replied. "But I've got to agree with you, I can't put words to what I'm feeling either. The adrenaline is still flowing."
"Since this wasn't your thing, how are you feeling?" Rachel asked Brody as he wrapped his arms around her.
"Like everyone else. It was an unreal experience. I never expected the crowd to react like that."
"That only happens when you reel them in." Nick replied. "You can be good, but if you don't have that something special they don't react as well."
"While they were with us from the get go, they erupted when Hunter did his tumbling run." Hailey said.
"She's got a point." Jeff said. "They loved it."
"I'm glad they did." Hunter replied. "But from what they saw, we upped the ante for everyone else."
"That's without question." Dylan said as he and Bryan came walking into the room. "I'd venture it's a safe guess, no one is going to match what you guys did. That goes for both classes."
"Should we take that to mean you liked it?" Blaine asked.
"Do you really need an answer?" Dylan replied. "But if you want an answer, you guys were astounding! And since we had an idea of what you guys sounded like before, the girls blended in flawlessly. I never would've imagined adding them and you guys still staying true to who you are."
"We were able to because of the talent the girls brought to the table." Sebastian told him. "If they weren't as good we wouldn't have included them and they know it."
"You guys might want to keep an eye on your girlfriends." Bryan told them.
"Why?" Brody asked.
"I'm pretty sure there wasn't a guy in that crowd that wasn't attracted to them."
"Considering this group, they'll be well looked after." David told him. "But thank you for the heads up."
"By chance did you see my brother or Lexi?"
"I did as well as the rest of your friends since they were all sitting together. They were as blown away as we were. I know they can't wait to see all of you." Dylan told him. "But sadly, you guys are going to have to wait till the intermission."
"We can do that." Blaine replied. "If you see them, let them know we'll be coming out then."
"I will. We better get back to work. I feel bad for the rest of the acts because they have no clue what they have to live up too."
Song: Your Guardian Angel: Red Jumpsuit Apparatus
You Make Me Feel: Cobra Starship