Two Steps Beyond
Part 172
With an early arrival in New York, the Warblers didn't waste much time and quickly got to rehearsing even though they were all tempted to explore the city. But since some of them had been through this before they knew there was time to sight-see after they rehearsed. They'd never forgive themselves if they lost because of lack of preparation. They'd been in the ballroom rehearsing for almost two hours and were so caught up in what they were doing that no one noticed that they had company. It wasn't till Jacob told them to take ten did they spot the guys at a table. "How long have you guys been here?" Logan asked after chugging a bottle of water.
"Long enough to tell you we're impressed." Blaine said. "But also long enough to see a few kinks in the show."
"Yea, we know if you're talking about that one section in the finale." The guys all nodded.
"We might be able to help." Sebastian said.
"How is that?"
"Our choreographer will be here shortly."
"Wait, are you saying Brittany is coming?" Jacob asked.
"She is." Jeff replied. "It seems Lexi wants you guys to succeed so she's agreed to let Britt leave work early so she can come by before her show. And Brody will be by once he's done with classes which should be in an hour or so."
"How long do you guys have the room for?" Thad asked.
"For the duration of our time here. It's one of the reasons we booked here and not one of the other hotels. They were able to guarantee us a space for our use the entire time we're here." Logan said.
"You know if it was an issue, I'm sure Lexi and Cooper would've offered up their home." Blaine said. "It is where we did all of our rehearsal."
"We appreciate that but we didn't want to intrude." Jacob said before reaching for his bag. "And this is for you guys." He said as he preceded to hand Blaine the arrangements for their songs. Jacob was about to ask a question when he looked to the side and saw Beat over talking with the guys. "Before this goes any further can we just thank you now."
"What for?" Nick asked.
"Just being here." Logan said. "It really means a lot to us."
"It's our pleasure." Blaine told him. "Now, what would you guys like us to do?"
"Well, we need to take a bit of a dance break so if you guys could listen while we sing it would be greatly appreciated."
"We can do that." Nick said. "By chance do you guys have video of you dancing?"
"We do, why?" Jacob asked.
"So Jeff could send it to Britt to look at before she gets here." Jacob nodded and proceeded to pull out his laptop and hand it to Jeff. Once Jeff got to work after Jacob told him where the file was, Logan and Jacob told the guys what they were going to be doing next. The older guys couldn't believe how lucky the guys were to actually have a piano in the room. And not just that, it was actually in tune which made Blaine and Sebastian happy since all too often rehearsal pianos weren't in perfect tune.
For the rest of the morning they continue to work on their vocals over the dancing since it was decided that if Brittany needed to change anything to make it run smoother better they have fresh legs to work with. They were just coming back from lunch when Brittany and Brody came walking into the ballroom. All eyes quickly fell upon her as she was dressed to work. After setting their bags down, Brittany and Brody grabbed Logan and Mitch who had done the choreography and had asked them to teach it to them.
So that Brittany and Brody could get a handle on things, Jacob pulled up the backing track they'd been rehearsing to. While they were working, Sebastian took the arrangement from in front of Blaine and began talking with Jeff. If the looks on their faces were any indication, something wasn't sounding right. And after pointing out a few sections to each other they showed it to Blaine who agreed. "Do you have a digital copy of the arrangements?" Blaine asked Jacob.
"Yes, why?"
"I need you to send it to my email." Blaine said as he got up from his seat. "Bas, Jeff?" The two of them nodded and got up as well. "Thad, guys, you keep an on eye on things, and we'll be back soon."
"Jeff, what's going on?" Brittany said as they stopped.
"Something doesn't sound right to us so we're going to head back to Blaine and Seb's. We shouldn't be long, promise." Jeff then walked up to Brittany and gave her a kiss before whispering something in her ear. "Can you do that for me?"
"Got it. I love you!"
"I love you too! We'll be back soon."
No sooner had the three of them left the ballroom did Logan walk up to Jacob. "What's going on?"
"I wish I knew. Blaine asked me to send the arrangement to his email and then the three of them left. They didn't say anything else, but judging from the way they were acting, they heard something they didn't like. Tell me again, why we didn't send this stuff to them?"
"I think it's because we didn't hear anything wrong. But we should've guessed something was wrong when things weren't syncing up. Britt, what did Jeff ask you to do?"
"We're supposed to run through the first two numbers but leave the finale alone. So, ready to get to work?" Brittany then crossed her arms over her chest. Those that had been Warblers the previous year knew that look all too well and began to stretch while the new guys looked up and quickly took to stretching. As the Warblers began to stretch, Brittany walked over the guys and waved Brody over as well. While they spoke, Thad quickly got on his phone as Brittany wanted an actually video camera to tape rehearsals. But since he didn't want to interrupt Blaine, Sebastian, and Jeff he called Hunter who he'd hoped was still at home and not yet out running errands for Blaine's birthday.
While the finale had the biggest kinks, there were a couple of spots in the first two numbers that Brittany and Brody wanted to smooth out as their transitions weren't the smoothest. The way they were breaking the routine down, the guys were shocked. But those that had worked with Brittany before remembered doing this on more than one occasion. On numerous occasions, Brittany or one of the guys helped members of the Warblers with certain moves that were giving them issues. Having this sort of one on one was something that had been missing during their rehearsals.
They were just about to run through the tweaked opening number when Hunter came walking into the ballroom with a video camera and tripod in hand. "Hunter!" Brittany yelled out as she ran over towards him. It was a good thing he had quick reflexes otherwise the two of them would've gone tumbling down as she'd jumped into his arms right after he'd set his things down. "Thank you!" She said after giving him a kiss on the cheek. "This is really going to help."
"It's my pleasure." After he responded Brittany grabbed the camera and tripod and went to set it up while Hunter headed over towards the guys. "She's giddy."
"Yea, she loves doing stuff like this." Nick said. "Thanks for helping out. We didn't want to bother Blaine, Seb, and Jeff who are working."
"On?"
"There's a glitch in the music." Thad said. "But knowing the three of them, it'll get worked out. Hopefully it won't screw the guys up too much considering all the practice they've done."
"Well, if they are as talented as you guys are it shouldn't be too much of an issue unless they completely change the arrangement. But I don't see that as something they would do."
"Have you already gone out or were you just heading out when Thad called?" Dave asked.
"I was actually waiting for the elevator when Thad called." Hunter replied. "So, I should probably get going. Don't want to have to come up with an excuse for leaving once they come back. I will let you guys know how the shopping goes."
"Good luck!" Beat told him.
While they were all talking Mitch leaned over to Logan. "What was going on over there?"
"What do you mean?"
"Brittany jumping into that guy's arms. She'd just kissed Jeff a little while ago and then…"
"They're friends, really good friends. If you remember from the video, Hunter was Brittany's dance partner. They formed a bond from what Jeff said."
"Isn't Jeff worried?"
"No, he knows Brittany loves him and he knows Hunter would never cross that line. I mean, if you're truly good friends with someone you'd never move in on their girl. And in this case it would be pointless considering how Brittany feels about Jeff. No guy would stand a chance of getting between her and Jeff."
"Good point."
They were midway through their run through when Blaine, Sebastian, and Jeff came walking back in. The rest of the guys crowded around the table as Blaine pulled out his laptop. "So, were you guys right?" Nick asked.
"Like usual, Bas heard why things weren't working. Their backing track doesn't match up with the arrangement. Somehow there is an extra beat in it which is what is throwing off their timing. So we made a slight tweak and all should be good."
"Where was the difference?" Beat asked. And the next thing they all saw was Jeff pulling up synthesized versions of the two tracks before overlaying them on each other. "How the hell did you hear that Seb?"
"Chance. I was reading the arrangement as the backing track played and they didn't mesh. Then once I showed it to Jeff and Blaine we realized that's why the dancing wasn't matching up."
"How did that happen?" Thad asked.
"We don't know and right now that's not our concern. We need to let them know so it can be fixed." Blaine said as he looked towards the floor. "Where'd the camera come from?"
"Hunter brought it over." Dave said. "Brittany wanted one and we didn't want to bother you guys."
"Where is he then?" Sebastian asked.
"He came and went pretty quickly." Nick said. "He had some errands he needed to take care of but said he'd call us later." Sebastian and Blaine both just shrugged their shoulders which made their friends happy as they didn't have to cover for Hunter. It was shortly after that did Logan and Jacob come walking back over.
"So, what did we screw up?" Logan asked.
"You guys didn't screw up." Blaine told them. "But we found the problem and fixed it. Britt, Brody, could you come over here as well?" Once Blaine called them over, Logan called Mitch over as well. They then proceeded to show them the issue with their previous backing track.
"How can we fix this?" Jacob asked.
"It's easy." Brody replied. "From what Blaine just showed you, the problem isn't in the arrangement, it's the track. So we just have to smooth out the sequence before and after to compensate for the lone added beat."
"You make that sound so easy." Mitch said.
"That's because it is. Have everyone set up for the finale and we'll fix this. You guys pick up stuff pretty quick so it shouldn't take long." After they all walked away Jeff looked over at Brittany who winked.
"I think having Brittany and Brody here for them is a godsend. Brody even has me convinced this is going to be easy when I know it's not going to be."
"Nice to know I'm not the only one feeling that way." Thad said. "The dance sequence around that part isn't simple."
"True, but it's better the problem was with the track and not the arrangement." Dave said. "That would've caused serious issues."
They were still at work when Brittany had to leave for the theater. After a brief conversation with Brody, Logan, and Mitch she went and said goodbye to the rest of the guys before walking out with Jeff. During the latter part of rehearsal Brittany had gone into choreographer mode so that she wouldn't be exhausted for her performance that evening. While the guys rehearsed, Blaine and the others took it upon themselves to order dinner for the guys knowing they didn't plan on stopping for too long. "This is a bit like déjà vu, isn't it guys?" Beat said as they carried dinner in to the ballroom.
"Are you talking about all the times Cooper brought food to us?" Jeff said and Beat nodded. "We were lucky because we would've done what they are doing. But you can't keep going without food in your stomach. One needs food for energy."
No sooner did they set everything down did all the eyes on the room fall upon them. Right after the words dinner break left Jacob's mouth did the guys race towards the tables where they'd set everything out. "Once again, thank you." Jacob said after taking a bite. "We had no idea it was so late."
"We know the feeling." Sebastian said. "So go, relax, and enjoy." Jacob smiled and headed to go sit with the guys as the older guys grabbed their food and got settled on the floor as well.
"How are they?" Jeff asked once Brody sat down.
"They're good. And I'm pretty sure they finally have the new sequence learned. But we all know the true test will be tomorrow. I told Logan as well as Jacob that after dinner they should probably do a run through with lyrics to make sure it's still all in sync."
"Good idea. And as they've told us, thank you." Blaine said. "I don't know what they would've done without you and Brittany today."
"Logan and Mitch are good, but fixing that section would've been difficult. Since we'd only learned it, it was easier for us to come up with a fix. But working with them isn't much different than working with you guys. We also smoothed out part of the routine that Beat's protégés were having issues with."
"Thank you." Beat said. "While Logan and Mitch had changed it a few times for them, they still weren't comfortable. That's one of the things they were talking to me about when we arrived. Yet they didn't want to keep asking for Logan and Mitch to change things."
"But without them, the numbers fail." Thad said. "We know that all too well and couldn't have been more thankful to Brittany last year for taking that into consideration."
For the rest of the week, the guys were in and out of rehearsals as the all had things to do for their upcoming trip. Though for the most part, no more than two were missing on a given day. On Friday, the Warblers were all thankful that they didn't have to perform too early in the day nor did they have to wait till the very end. Plus with their set performance time, Brittany was going to be able to see them perform which was something she wanted since she was going to have to miss finals the next day.
"Nicky!" Santana called out as she came walking out of the bedroom with her towel wrapped around her.
"He'll be back any second." Jeff told her. "Is there anything I can do for you?"
"Unless you helped Nick with laundry the other day, no." Santana said. "Could you just ask him to come to the bedroom when he gets back?"
"I can do that." After he answered, Santana went walking back into the bedroom just as Brittany came walking out into the living room. "You look cute." He said after giving her a kiss. "I like this look on you."
"It's just a t-shirt and shorts Jeff." Brittany replied as she wrapped her arms around his neck.
"I know, but you look cute. Were you girls able to get another t-shirt for Hailey?"
"We were. Santana dropped two off for her at their hotel yesterday on her way home. She's got a navy one as well as a red one like the rest of us. And before I forget, the last of my stuff is in your suitcase."
"Cool. What about Blaine's birthday present?"
"It's in Santana's. And don't worry; it's not wrapped so we don't have to worry about security messing it up. Santana said she'd wrap it once they got there when she wraps the gift she and Nick got him."
"Now, has Lexi said anything about plans for Blaine's birthday?"
"Just that after we get back she and Cooper are having Blaine and Sebby over for dinner to celebrate."
"So nothing about what Seb has planned?"
"Nope. Whatever Sebby has planned is a mystery to her as well as I heard her asking Cooper if he knew what Sebby had in store for Blaine since they were going to be on vacation. Maybe Quinn was right and we should ask."
"It's tempting but it's nice knowing for once we can all finally surprise the both of them. And as long as Blaine is happy, Seb will be as well. That is unless our plans royally screw what he has in mind." The last part of Jeff's words were heard by Nick as he came walking through the door with breakfast for all of them.
"We just have to think positive Jeff." Nick said as he set the bag down. "Where's Santana, I figured she'd be up already?"
"She is up, but she's waiting for you in your bedroom." When Nick got a mischievous look on his face Jeff just shook his head. "Not going to happen right now buddy. She can't find something that was in the laundry I'm guessing since she said I could only help if I helped you with laundry, which I didn't."
"I know what she's looking for. Why don't you two take this two the kitchen and we'll be there soon?" Jeff and Brittany smiled and Jeff grabbed the bag before they headed towards the kitchen. As they headed one way Nick headed the other. Upon walking into his bedroom he found Santana stretched out on the bed her bra and panties. "Looking like this I might not want to have breakfast."
"Well, you're going to have to wait because I'm starving. Plus if memory serves me correctly, it hasn't been that long." Nick smiled and walked toward the dresser and opened the drawer. He then proceeded to toss Santana her t-shirt. "How'd you know?"
"Both were in the wash and Britt's wearing hers. I hope I guessed correctly that you wanted the red one."
"Did the red bra give it away?" Santana replied before pulling the shirt over her head.
"That, and Britt's wearing the blue one." As he spoke Santana pulled on her shorts. "Are you sure Cassie doesn't mind you not coming into the office today?"
"Positive. I've got things I can work on from here and at the theater. She also said if anything comes up she'll let me know. I definitely lucked out in the boss department."
"That you did. It's as Hunter described, she can be a hard-ass, but she's got a heart of gold. So basically as long as you don't screw her over and still get your work done she doesn't mind letting you do these little things."
"Exactly." Santana said as she put her shoes on. "Now let's go eat."
Knowing the nerves the guys had, Blaine and Sebastian as well as the others told Logan and Jacob that they would meet them down in the ballroom before they headed over to the theater. "How did Logan sound this morning?" Sebastian asked as they walked into the hotel.
"Good, but he said the younger guys are pretty nervous."
"We were nervous last year as well. But it's better they are feeling it now and not when they get into the wings."
"True." Blaine replied as they headed towards the ballroom. They were halfway down the hallway when they spotted Wes and Hailey. "Nice to see you both could make it."
"We got into town yesterday afternoon." Wes replied. "How have things gone?"
"There were interesting but things are better now."
"So we've been told." Hailey said. "Brandon told us last night at dinner that all of you were a big help."
"We didn't do much, but we're all glad we were able to help. By the way, cute shirt."
"Thanks, Santana brought it by last night."
"Have you ladies considered the boys request?" Sebastian asked as he spotted Jeff, Nick, and the girls walking towards them.
"You'll just have to wait and see Seb."
"Wes, did she bring it with her?"
"Don't know as I didn't look in her suitcase." Wes replied. "It's rather full since we're all leaving on Sunday."
"True. You know you guys could've stayed with us."
"We know, but my parents are here so we wanted to spend some time with them."
"Alright." Blaine said. "Are James and Flint in town?"
"No, they won't be coming in till tomorrow morning. But Trent and David got in a little while ago and said they'd meet us at the theater."
"Who's meeting us at the theater?" Nick asked.
"David and Trent. They only got in a little while ago." Wes said. "Nice to see the four of you looking so chipper."
"It's what happens when one gets a good night of sleep and has a good breakfast." Jeff replied which caused Wes, Blaine, and Sebastian to laugh slightly. "None of you are funny."
"Would you prefer it if we commented versus laughing?" Sebastian asked and there was something about the look on his face that Jeff backed off. "I thought so."
"Blaine, how do you put up with him?" Nick asked.
"The same way you put up with our dear Santana."
"You're so busted!" Jeff said as they all laughed because Blaine had comeback with the one thing Nick truly couldn't argue with.
"Seb, are you going to let them talk about us like that?" Santana asked as she took ahold of Sebastian's hand.
"Dear, you know Blaine said that in the best way possible. And well, when you're as fabulous as the both of us everyone is jealous." Sebastian then gave Santana a kiss on the cheek which brought a mischievous smile to hers. "That's the type of smile I like to see." Blaine and Nick just smiled at each other knowing there truly wasn't anything to say. It wasn't long till the rest of their friends arrived and they soon headed into the ballroom.
They were probably only in the room about ten minutes before the Warblers began making their way in. Upon seeing everyone, Logan and Jacob seemed to relax a bit more. It was clear the guys were more nervous than they were before regionals, but no one looked sick which was good. Once they all began to talk, it seemed the guys seemed to relax more. Being able to talk to people who had been through it once before, made it a bit easier for them. The guys reminded them that they were prepared and to just go out and have fun. They were getting ready to leave when Logan and Jacob pulled the guys aside.
"What is it?" Thad asked.
"We have no clue what we're going to say to them in the rehearsal room. Last year you guys seemed to say all the right things and…"
"Just speak from your heart." Blaine told them. "That all any of us did last year. None of us planned what we were going to say, we just said it. We've watched you guys bust your asses this week and we know you're ready. But us knowing it and you guys believing it are two different stories."
"I believe we're ready." Jacob said and Logan nodded in agreement.
"Then you're set." Dave said. "As Blaine said we saw you and we believe. And it's pretty clear the guys do as well. Just remind them of that. They know it deep down, they just need a little reminder."