The Scholarship
Episode 6: Opposite
Thursday was a hellish day for me. After I screamed at Blaine the whole school was looking at me oddly. Quite a few people have been giving me a wide berth, and Professor Lloyd has referred me to the student councillor. I haven't spoken to any of the Junior Warblers, but they're clearly siding with Blaine. Juri's been so busy practising music that I haven't had a chance to speak to him at all. I went around on my own, and I would have missed lunch if Trinity hadn't have waylaid me, stolen my bag and carried me into the cafeteria. I ended up eating with them, and they're odd, but they were kind to me. They didn't make me talk when I really didn't feel like it. Instead they discussed their plans to prank Mrs Daniels in the Saturday matinee which, apparently, is compulsory for all students. I also did quite a lot of song practise, but I didn't enjoy myself that much. Now, it's Friday and the Warblers have all left for Sectionals, and I wish I was going with them. I don't know who I want to win…on the one hand the New Directions are my friends, but if the Warblers loose than I won't compete at all this year…I have my first session with my councillor today, that should be fun, and I haven't finished reading 'The Crucible' so English should be hellish, and Mrs Daniels has been giving me disapproving looks, again, what fun…
Kurt ran a hand over his face, and couldn't even bring himself to be mildly annoyed by the bits of paper that were being thrown at him by Trinity. Their Social Studies class was seated in a semi-circle, and Trinity were in the row behind him. Kurt had the elbow of his right arm resting on the knees of his crossed right leg, and his chin rested in his palm. They'd been discussing psychology for the past half an hour, and Kurt was bored out of his mind, and his eyelids were drooping.
"Trinity!" Kurt jumped, and saw that Mr Sutherland was glaring at the three pixie-esque boys that sat behind him. They shrank back, away from Kurt's hair.
"Sorry, sir."
"Deepest apologies."
"Sincerest condolences." Mr Sutherland rolled his eyes, and most of the class chuckled, lightly.
"Alright there, Kurt?" Kurt nodded, sitting up a little bit straighter. "You can move, you know, if they're annoying you too much." Kurt shook his head.
"It's fine, sir, I'd kind of stopped noticing what they were doing." there were more snorts from the class, and he felt himself sit up a little bit straighter. Mr Sutherland rolled his eyes.
"Now, does anyone have a situation they want to try and talk about…talk about the psychology in it?" Kurt sat up straighter, again, and then put his hand up. "Yes, Kurt, are you going to explain the argument yesterday?" Kurt shook his head.
"No, well, kind of…" the class sat, looking at him interestedly.
"Why don't you just talk?" Kurt sighed, looking into his hands.
"I came to Dalton because I was being bullied at my old school…most of the time people ignored me, they might throw a slushee, or something, but there was this one guy…this Neanderthal who just…he just made my life a living hell…and nobody really cared, and those that did…they couldn't do anything." he shook his head, still staring at his hands. "I went looking for somewhere, anywhere, that wasn't McKinley…and I found Dalton, and there was this webpage about bullying, and it was all; have courage, be brave, it's just ignorance…so I went, and I confronted him. I found out that it all stemmed from self-loathing, that he hated himself, and he took it out on me…he threatened to kill me." the entire class gasped in unison.
"Kurt…are you sure you want to talk about this? I'm sure Trinity can come up with something." Kurt shook his head.
"No, it's okay…I told the…well, the Principal at the time and she expelled him, like that, and I thought it was over. I thought I was going to be happy, and safe, and my dad got married, and Finn sung to me and…" he sniffed, loudly, and a tissue dropped into his lap, and he gathered it up gratefully. "I was so accepted and loved, and then they overturned his expulsion, and I just had to get out…dad said he went up one day, when I was on the computer and he saw that I was looking at Dalton…and he wanted me to go here, and be safe…and you kind of know the rest." Mr Sutherland nodded.
"Is there anything else you want to say?" Kurt blew his nose, and shrugged.
"I guess, since I got here I haven't had much time to catch a break…it's been you can't get in, you can in but, you're now a half Dalton boy, here's a ton of work, getting locked out, and just…" he shrugged. "I think I just exploded when I thought that they didn't value me…it was like, 'oh there's poor Kurt let's go be all fake, and chivalrous because we pity him'…I just, I don't know…" he broke off and blew his nose again.
"Well, that was…very…I'm sorry for everything that's happened to you. Do you mind if I opened it to the class?" Kurt shook his head. "What would anyone else do?" there was a pause before a hand went up. "Andy?"
"Well…it's clear that most of your emotions are being bottle up…probably because you don't want to be too emotional at your school.." he shrugged. "Once you get into your house, here, you can be as emotional as you like…or you could sing it out…though I do advise against future explosions." Kurt nodded.
"Also," broke in another boy. "people clearly mistreated you at your old school. They made you feel like crap because of you were, and stuff, so obviously it hurt when you thought that's what we were doing…but it's not. We value you, Kurt, because you're a human being, and whether you've done right or wrong you're entitled to love, and acceptance." Kurt looked up at the boy who was smiling at him. He had calm grey eyes, and soft features. His brown hair was light and wavy, and his delicate lips only increased their smile as Kurt met his eyes.
"Thank you." he smiled more, and his skin, that had been an unblemished white, flushed around his cheeks.
"Anything else?"
"Well your bully is clearly a person we should show compassion to." Kurt turned to at the boy on grey-eyed boys left hand side. He shrugged. "I'm just saying…if he is filled with a self-loathing then he needs compassion and help. He needs someone to help him accept whatever about him he hates." Kurt opened his mouth to argue, but then closed it as the boy made a good point. He stared at the ground.
These guys are acting like hippies or something…they're practically telling me to love my bully, or whatever. I don't think I can forgive him for what he's done. I mean, I feel sorry for him…but I don't know…
"I think, Vincent, that it's much easier to say that from an outsiders point of view." the boy - Vincent - jumped, and then looked at Kurt. Kurt tried to pull his relaxed expression, but failed spectacularly. The boy nodded.
"I'm sorry, if that came across as…dismissive or inconsiderate…I was just trying to see it from all angles." Kurt shrugged.
"It's alright, I'm just a little bit…"
"Touchy."
"Sensitive."
"Delicate."
"Boys." snapped Mr Sutherland, glowering at the Trinity who were poking out from behind Kurt. They shrunk backwards as one. Kurt shook his hand, using his right hand to wave it away.
"It's okay…it's actually okay."
I can't believe it, but I actually feel a little better…now that I've had a chance to talk about how I feel, and they've told me what they think about the situation, I feel more settled. I guess I just needed a bit of reassurance…I guess the bullying's made me a little…well, mistrusting. I guess I've just become a bit jaded after my time at McKinley…it's nice to be around people who are open-minded, though. Maybe when the others come back from Sectionals, I could consider talking to Blaine…
"Oh my god!" exclaimed Blaine, hands reaching up to tug at his neatly gelled hair.
"Stop that!" cried Sebastian, snatching up to hold onto his wrists. "Stop destroying your hair!" Blaine almost glared at him, but found he didn't want to, especially as Sebastian was rubbing soothing circles onto the backs of his palms. He breathed out.
"I'm sorry." he said, letting out another long breath. "I just- I'm kind of nervous." Sebastian arched an eyebrow.
"Really? I had no idea!" Blaine flailed his hands in an attempt to hit him.
"Shut up! I just mean that this is the first time I've ever sung a duet with another guy in public- heck it's the first time I've sung a duet in public, and I'm kind of scared that people will…you know…" Sebastian sighed, lowering Blaine's hands and moving his own hands to Blaine's shoulders.
"Look," he said, levelling their eyes. "it doesn't matter what anyone in the audience thinks of us. It doesn't matter if they think we're disgusting, or diseased, or whatever! What matters is that we know who we are. I know who I am, and I'm proud to be gay, so are you, right?" Blaine nodded.
"Yeah…yeah, I am."
"Then it doesn't matter if they hurl abuse, or tomatoes, they can't take that away from us…and they can't change the fact that you are brilliant!" Blaine flushed red, and Sebastian smiled at him. "It's nice to see some colour back in your face." Blaine continued to blush as Sebastian squeezed his shoulder tightly, and walked away.
"How was the bonding session?" Nick had appeared, seemingly from nowhere, by his left shoulder, and Blaine swatted him away, blushing even harder.
"Nick!"
"What? You shouldn't be ashamed, or embarrassed Blaine, anyone can see the love between you."
"Jeff!" Blaine turned completely red faced from mortification, and several of the Hipsters, who were just standing around by them backstage, turned to look at them curiously.
"Come on, let's tease Blaine in the green room." Blaine glared at David, as the black boy slung his arm around his shoulder, and marched them away followed by Flint and Thad.
"Blaine Anderson?" Blaine, and the rest of the Warblers with him, jumped as a bunch of girls stepped into their path. Blaine, who was previously being used as a walking stick by Nick and Jeff, lost his balance slightly as they stopped putting pressure on his shoulders, and David pushed him upright.
"Yeah…what can I do for you?"
"We need to talk to you-"
"Uh huh."
"-about Kurt." all the Warblers froze at that. None of them had spoken to Kurt since he'd exploded at Blaine backstage. Just after he'd left, Luc had rushed through and herded them all to their opening positions so there hadn't been much time for thought, and on Thursday they'd all been half asleep or trying to make sure that they were note perfect, there hadn't been much chance to think about what the Franklin boy had said to them.
"Look." said Blaine in a placating manner. "We don't really get what happened. Yes, I was intending to throw it completely, but things got complicated and so now I'm going to sing properly, I might not go full-out, but I'll give him something to think about. As for what he said about our website; we're really sorry that that happened, but we had no idea anything like that had happened." there was an awkward silence as the six girls stared at him in shock.
"Okay, what the hell?" demanded the girl at the front, who looked ready to kill someone, or at least dismember them. Blaine looked at David and Flint for support.
"I was just explaining our side of what happened on Wednesday, we didn't-"
"Wait. What happened on Wednesday?" all the girls now looked concerned, and Blaine shared another perplexed glance at the boys around him.
"You mean Kurt didn't tell you about that?" asked David, slowly, looking between them and knowing the answer. They all shook their heads.
"Alright, white boy, what did you do to our Kurt?" there was a pause before Blaine rolled his eyes.
"Nothing! That's the whole point! I don't know what I did, but he got seriously pissed off because I was going to throw away my half of the audition, but I changed my mind!" there was another awkward silence.
"Are you saying you upset Kurt?" the small brunette also had a very angry expression on her face, and Blaine was beginning to feel a little intimidated by the group of girls before him. Blaine shrugged.
"Well, he was crying, but I didn't upset him. He got upset over what Luc told him."
"Who's Luc?" demanded a Latina girl, sharply. "'Cause I am fully prepared to go all Lima Heights over him."
"Look, I don't know what "Lima Heights" is," said Flint in an even tone. "but you're talking about our teacher so you might want to show a little bit of respect." the girls all looked at them, flabbergasted.
"Kurt was right." said the Asian looking girl. "Your school is odd."
"We're not odd." came the indignant reply from Jeff. "We just have rules, and respect for our elders." there was another pause.
"So, um, if you didn't want to talk about Wednesday, what do you want to talk about?" the black girl shook her head.
"Uh uh, you ain't changing the subject until we've got some answers." Blaine rolled his eyes.
"What more do you want to know?"
"You said he was crying, is he eating, sleeping? Kurt doesn't just cry over nothing, you know." Blaine looked at the others, before shrugging again.
"I don't know whether he's been sleeping, you'd have to ask his roommate Juri - and, no, he's not here - and as far as eating goes…I saw him with Trinity in the lunch hall yesterday, but I wasn't there for breakfast, or dinner…" he glanced at the others.
"None of us went to breakfast." said Flint shrugging.
"I did." piped up Thad. Everyone turned to look at the councillor.
"You did?" asked Blaine, brow furrowing. Thad nodded.
"You were t-t-t-talking to Ssssebastian." somehow, despite the stutter, he managed to give Blaine a 'that-explains-everything' tone of voice. "Kurt ate…with…with…C-Chriss." he fell silent, but the female members of New Directions continued to glare at him. He opened his mouth, stumbled, made another false start, and then looked up at Nick.
"So, basically," said Nick in an effort to alleviate the awkward air that hovered over them. "he ate breakfast and lunch, but we can't tell you about dinner because we were all at play rehearsal." he shrugged. "We just haven't had time to talk to him." they all glared at the group.
"There's no "basically" about this, Kurt had his life threatened!" there was an awful pause. "You don't know how he feels, but you need to treat him right!" all of the boys winced as Blaine's eye flashed dangerously. He strode right up to the black girl in the centre, forcing her to back up.
"No, you, don't know how that feels, and Kurt was lucky to only have his life threatened. I got two broken ankles, a fractured shin, broken tibia, and fifteen stitches in my head. I didn't walk for over a month, and I was lucky, too, because my friend slipped into a coma, he suffered brain damage. He doesn't remember me, and the emotional trauma has regressed him to the age of five! And, if that wasn't enough, they smashed the windows of the house, traumatised Anna and Meg, and dad got so angry he almost hit me! So don't lecture me!" he pushed his way through the girls. The stunned group turned back to the surprised looking Warblers.
"Wow…" said David, eventually. "You really know how to push people's buttons don't you?"
"I'm not sure I've ever seen him explode like that." they glanced at each other before Nick, Thad, Jeff and Flint dashed away, leaving David there with his hands in his pockets and polite smile on his face.
"We're sorry," said the short brunette. "we didn't know…" David shrugged.
"We get that you're looking out for Kurt, but please remember that lot's of people come to Dalton for sanctuary, you must be delicate and sensitive as everyone has a different background." there were meek nods. "If it's any consolation you have now ensured that they speak to each other." there was more nodding, and David sighed. "Look, what did you want to talk about?"
"Why he isn't in Warblers, he's an amazing singer." David sighed.
"Look, as we explained to Kurt, he's need to be vetted by the council, and then we need to have a vote, and then he has to sing, again, it's all too time consuming. By the time that had been done we'd have eaten up a rehearsal and he'd only have one to learn the song in. That's too much to ask of someone, especially as he has a lot of catch up work." there were nods. "It's more timing than anything else because we've got this, then four performances of Les Mis in three days, and then we've got a week and then it's the run up to the Autumn Concert, and then it's the Carol Service not long after that. It's a hellish time of year." there were some final nods.
"Well, we can help relieve of one pressure-" David looked up in surprise. "-say goodbye to the show choir competition." David snorted with laughter, and smirked.
"Oh, I wouldn't be so sure; you've never heard Sebastian and Blaine sing together…"
Well, this days been quite surprising. The teachers are obviously thinking about Sectionals - with the exception of Mrs Daniels - and the classes seem quite a bit smaller without the Warblers, and there's less noise. It seemed that none of the teachers had the heart to pick on me today, again with the exception of Mrs Daniels, and I've made it to lunch quite comfortable. I spoke to Juri in English and he said that he was sorry that I was upset, and he offered to help me with the work if he had a spare moment. I turned him down, though, because he looks like he needs more sleep than me. Anyway, it's lunch now and there's a lack of people that I know in the cafeteria. Juri said he had practise to do, I saw Chris helping Fred to the medical wing this morning so I presume they're not around, and I don't really want to know where Trinity are. The only question is, where do I sit…
"Hey, Kurt!" Kurt looked around and saw the boy with soft grey eyes, and wavy brown hair from his social studies class waving at him. "Come over and sit." thankful that he didn't have to stand around with his tray, looking gormless and friendless, he walked over to the table.
"Thank you." he said, smiling gratefully at them.
"It's no problem. Keats." the boy extended his hand across the table, and Kurt took it, raising an eyebrow.
"Really?" he laughed, quietly, and Keats gave him a warm smile.
"My name's Keaton, but Keats sounds cooler."
"It's a good thing that he's amazing at English." added one of the other boys. Kurt raised his eyebrows.
"This is Stuart." he indicated to the boy who had just spoken, and thin wire glasses that framed his rather large chocolate eyes. "And Parker." he gestured to the other boy. Kurt nodded at him, and then noticed the little plastic hook over his ear.
"Are you deaf?" he asked Parker. Parker jumped, almost as if he hadn't expected Kurt to speak directly to him. He smiled, thinly.
"Yeah, in my right the whole life, and I lost it in my left over twelve years."
"I'm sorry." Parker shrugged.
"I can read lips, and I took a lot speech therapy lessons, plus I enjoyed my twelve years with the left one." Kurt nodded, pleased to see that he hadn't offended him.
"You know Andy, and Vince, and Parker's in your house, I think."
"Franklin?"
"Yep." there was a peaceful quiet as they ate, and Kurt began to guess that these were quite a different kind of people to the other's that he'd met at Dalton so far.
"So, Kurt, what are you going to sing for your audition?" Kurt blinked, momentarily shocked, before he smiled.
"I'm thinking either Defying Gravity or Don't Cry for Me, Argentina." there was a pause in which they all looked at him with blank faces.
"Well…that sounds…interesting."
"You've never heard them, have you?" the five boys shook their heads. "Defying Gravity is from Wicked and Don't Cry for Me, Argentina is from Evita." there was a long pause until Keats tipped his head to the side.
"Correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't Defying Gravity a duet?" Kurt raised an eyebrow.
"Are you thinking of As Long as You're Mine?" Keats shrugged.
"Maybe, I know only this one song that…" he seemed to swallow before continuing. "Sebastian used to play. It was about…love, I think." Kurt nodded.
"I think you're thinking of As Long as You're Mine…Defying Gravity is the finale of the first act. It's when Elphaba is denounced and she vows to fight the Wizard, and it's dramatic and she gets lifted from the stage- but that's not happening, so anyway…" the five boys gaped at him, as if trying to work out what out of what he'd just said they should be paying attention to.
"So, it's meant to be sung by a girl?" asked Andy eventually.
"Well, yes, but that's never stopped me." there were more nods from the boys.
"So, Kurt, are you okay?" Kurt looked up at Keats. He frowned, and then gave him a small smile.
"Yeah, you know, weird as it sounds, shouting at Blaine, and then talking to you guys in class…I think it's helped a little bit." they all nodded.
"Yep, but, you know, Blaine, do you want to talk about your argument?" Kurt sighed, putting down his fork.
"I just…Luc told me he was going to throw away the audition for me so that I'd definitely get in, and I just- I mean, I should be grateful for him doing that, but I don't know…it's like I can never be good enough, or something. That's just- I know it's kind of stupid, but it's just how I feel, like I'm always wrong, always second best." there was a moment in which the others looked down at their plates, and Keats slid a hand across the table to rest it top of Kurt's. Kurt jumped, a little, from the physical contact, but relaxed when Keats smiled at him.
"It's okay, Kurt, you're safe at Dalton, and, whilst Blaine is a complete idiot when it comes to emotions, it was never his intention to hurt you. He was just doing what's right for him, he always does that." Kurt narrowed his eyes, slightly, at the tone of Keats' voice, but shrugged it off, he was being nice to him after all.
I have to stop being so judgemental about people. I hear one thing I just jump to conclusions. Though there's something about the way he said that…I don't know, that and the way he said Blaine's name earlier, and when he mentioned Sebastian…
Kurt gave him a small smile.
"Do you think I could make it up with him…"
…because I'm hopelessly into him, and arguing with him like this, and blaming him for what happened to me really hurts. It really hurts.
"Of course. Blaine isn't really one to hold grudges." there was a stillness around the table, and Kurt's eyes flitted between the five boys, noting the sudden change in the air. Kurt removed his hands from under Keats', frowning.
"Is there something wrong?" they all shook their heads as one.
"Nothing." said Stuart with a winning smile, pushing his glasses a little bit further up his nose. Kurt shifted, feeling awkward.
"Well, um…" he struggled to find something to say, before something Parker said caused his eyes to light up. "Hey, Keats - that sounds weird, never mind - you said you were good at English." Keats blinked, clearly a little taken aback.
"Well, that's one everyone says." Keats began to smile, and the other boys just shook their heads.
"Oh stop the false modesty, it's making me blush." Keats raised an eyebrow, but did not respond to Vince.
"Good you, possibly, give me a hand with The Crucible?" Keats smiled.
"Yes, yes I can."
Lunch was actually really enjoyable. Parker's in my English class, and between him and Keats I feel like I finally understand this play. After that, Keats - because he's in my history class - helped me start my catch up work for Mrs Daniels. It was a little awkward at times, these guys aren't the biggest ones for small talk, but they did their best for me, and I really appreciated that. The only thing that put a downer on my mood was the text Mercedes sent me, all about what Blaine had said, now I feel kind of guilty…
"What is Blaine doing?" Sebastian had sidled up to the other Junior Warblers, who were all watching their lead stand in a corner and shout at someone on the other end of the phone.
"He's trying to arrange the Carol service."
"Now?"
"Yes, now." Sebastian glared at Nick.
"What the hell happened?"
"We ran into the New Directions ladies, and had a little row about Kurt." Sebastian seemed to stiffen at the mention of the new student. Then he breathed out, heavily.
"I see."
"You okay, Sebastian, you look stressed?" Sebastian looked down at the Warbler Councillor in mild surprise.
"I'm fine, David, just thinking about all the performances we've got coming…I think we're both a little bit worried about how the crowd will react."
"You guys'll be fine." assured Flint, with a small smile "You just need to tone down the flirting." the others nodded, and Sebastian turned his gaze back to Blaine.
"Who is he talking to?"
"Michelle." Sebastian winced.
"Why isn't he talking to Jenny, Elise or Cat?"
"They're in lessons, Michelle has flu which means she has time." Sebastian winced again, and the other boys couldn't help but agree with his feelings towards the situation.
"Michelle!" came the angry yell, and all the boys in the green room tried hard not to burst out laughing. "I am gay! I'm trying to organise the Carole Service, I do not want to go out with you!" Nick stuck his hand into his mouth, Jeff turned away, David put a hand over his eyes, Flint shoulders were shaking like crazy, and Thad was smiling widely.
"Okay, people." said Luc, strolling into the room. "I hope you've all warmed up, and Blaine stop yelling." he prised the phone from Blaine's hands and ended the call. Blaine didn't look at all put out by that. "Right, we're on second; after the Hipsters, but before the New Directions."
"Is that a good place to be?" asked Wes, walking over to stand by David's shoulder. Luc shrugged.
"It's as good a place as any. Now, there's not much I have to say; you two tone down the flirting, but it's not a love song so I'd actually be a little bit worried about the two of you if you were flirting." Both Sebastian and Blaine flushed slightly, and Luc rolled his eyes. "Sebastian whatever happens do not damage your voice, we need our Jean Valjean." Sebastian nodded. "Right let's all just make sure not to trip over anything so that we're spared of disasters like last year." the older threes years winced. "Wes any last words?" the Council leader shook his head. "Then let's get sat down."
The Warblers made their way, with only a slight amount of nerves in their stomach, to their seats in the audience. Blaine could feel the knots that were twisting themselves in his stomach. This was his first public performance since Middle School when he'd sung at his school's charity fundraising event, and the crowd had been nowhere near this big. He could feel his heart pound, a slight feeling of nausea erupted around the base of his throat, and he could feel the sweat, that was being secreted from his pores, begin to trickle down his forehead.
"Hey." a voice appeared by his ear, and a hot breath tickled side of his face. "You're going to be amazing." Blaine twisted round to see Sebastian give him a wink. Blaine swallowed and nodded, turning back to watch the Hipsters perform The Living Years. They were good, certainly better than Blaine had been expecting, but Blaine was also confident that they wouldn't be a serious threat to them winning. There was a sort of sweetness about the way their sang that was heart-warming, and could lead to votes for them. Wasn't that how Luc had said the New Directions got votes; by being heart-warming and inspiring.
"Okay," Sebastian clapped his hands down onto his shoulders. "you're going to be amazing." he winked at Blaine, moving towards his starting position. Blaine swallowed, knowing that he was slightly flushed, and moved to his own place. David was on one side, and Nick on the other. Both of them elbowed him, and he flushed again, annoyed by their teasing.
"Good luck." Blaine looked round to see Thad standing behind him, a small smile on his face. Blaine returned the gesture, vaguely noting that Thad wasn't stuttering, for once.
The lights went on, and the Warblers immediately burst into song, moving immediately to their own sound;
Don't stop movin to the funky funky beat
Don't stop movin to the S Club beat
DJ's got the party started
There's no end in sight
Sebastian stepped down, his winning smile spreading across his face, and an lively, infectious, energy radiated from him. It made Blaine grin just looking at him. It gave him more confidence too.
Everybody's movin to the
Rhythm that's inside
It was funny to see the reactions of the New Directions as they began to recognise the song they were singing. Some of them looked shocked, others looked worried, and some of them were just laughing, clearly uplifted by Sebastian's smile, and the general cheerful demeanour of the Warblers.
Its a crazy world
But tonight's the right situation
Don't get left behind
Just go
With the magic baby
Blaine leapt down so that he was level with Sebastian, happy smile on his face, all worries about performing a duet completely gone.
I can see it there in your eyes
Let it flow
Stop the waiting
Right here on the dance floor
Is where you gotta let it go
And Blaine couldn't dance like Sebastian, so he focused on just singing, and jumping, vaguely in time, from side to side, and wiggling his head.
Don't stop movin
'Can you feel the music
Blaine and Sebastian were singing together, in the middle of the stage, and dancing in almost sync. He could see Sebastian's smirk out of the corner his eye, and his eyes kept flitting to his feet to check his steps.
DJ's got us going around, 'round
Don't stop movin'
Find your own way to it
Listen to the music
Taking you to places that you've never been before
Baby now
The main problem, Blaine was finding, about looking at Sebastian was that his hips were incredibly distracting. They were twisting and moving in time to the beat, and it was far more interesting than the crowd.
Don't stop movin to the funky funky beat
Don't stop movin to the S Club beat
Forget about your fears tonight
Blaine moved to the front of the stage, singing as loud as he could, one foot in front of the other with a skip in his step.
Listen to your heart
Let's just touch the sky
He smiled, and he saw that just about all of the audience were on their feet, and the entirety of the New Directions were on their feet clapping.
No need to reason why
Sebastian came to join him, and Blaine grinned right at him. He knew that the looks they were exchanging, and the fact that Sebastian was edging towards him, would definitely be classified as flirting.
Just listen to the sound
Let it make you come alive
Don't stop movin
'Can you feel the music
DJ's got us going around, 'round
The crowd were dancing along, as the Warblers all burst into life. They were back-flipping and jumping up into the air with as much energy and enthusiasm as they contained.
Don't stop movin'
Find your own way to it
Listen to the music
Taking you to places that you've never been before
Baby now
Luc was on his feet. He was nodding and clapping along, a twinkle in his eye telling the Warblers that they were doing right. Sebastian grinned at Blaine when they noticed that, it was some of the largest praise they'd ever received as a group.
Don't stop movin to the funky funky beat
Don't stop movin to the S Club beat
Sebastian and Blaine hopped onto the lowest step, in the middle of the Warblers, hands behind their backs, and they all dropped their heads as the music stopped.
The crowd began to cheer, whistle and clap. The Warblers all looked up, wide smiles spreading across their faces, and they took a bow as one. Sebastian turned to Blaine, and they beamed at each other, before Sebastian hugged him, tightly, and Blaine let out a relieved laugh.
"You were amazing!" exclaimed Sebastian, when he released him. Blaine laughed, red faced from exertion and emotions.
"You were brilliant, too." they didn't get to say anything more as the other Warblers descended upon their leads, hugging them and patting them on the back as they moved off stage in high spirits.
There wasn't a chance for Luc to talk to them because they hurried to their seats, briefly passing the New Directions and exchanging smiles. Blaine was wowed into silence by their performances. Luc might have been right about them being peppy and inspirational last year, but they weren't like that now. Blaine guessed that they weren't underdogs anymore, and they performed with confidence.
I've Had the Time of My Life was beautiful - even if he was disappointed that there was no lift - and he liked the dancing, but it was Valerie that really impressed him. The Latina girl had one heck of a voice, and the dancing between the Asian boy and one of the blondes was nothing short of spectacular. Blaine, and the rest of the Warblers, gave them standing ovations, and clapped along to Valerie with smiles that hid the worry they felt about the competition.
"…and it's; a draw!" there was a moment of silence. Blaine glanced at David and Thad who were standing either side of him. Then he looked round and Sebastian and Wes who were looking at each other with surprised expressions. All of the New Directions looked similarly shocked and surprised. The audience had stopped clapping when they saw that neither team was celebrating. Mr Schuster met Luc's eyes, and they shared a moment of exasperation.
"Boys," said Luc in a very loud voice. "let's not be stupid. You drew that means you came first. That means-"
"We're going to Regionals!" screamed Tyler, Edward and Marcus - the three Freshmen of the Warblers. Luc raised his eyes to the ceiling.
"Hallelujah!" he exclaimed. "Thank the Lord for the Freshmen." that was the moment that the message sank.
"We won!" came the cheer. Blaine caught David, Flint, Thad and Nick in a hug, Jeff leaping at him. Wes broke away from the group to shake Mr Schue's hand and accept the trophy. Luc was still shaking his head, looking completely exasperated. The New Directions were beginning to celebrate too, and Mr Schue sidled over to Luc.
"Your boys have quite a sound there." Luc nodded, looking down on the older man.
"Yes, you've got some guts to use those kind of moves." Mr Schue snorted, slightly.
"Yeah, there was some doubts…lots of personal problems, but they pulled through as group." Luc nodded.
"Yes, well, it's better for us than last year." Mr Schue looked at him.
"Yes, I was wondering what had happened, when I heard them sing like that I was surprised that you hadn't made it to Regionals last year." Luc snorted.
"Yes, well, I blame sports…I lost my second soloist in Football game at the beginning of the week, and then my soloist, my understudy soloist and my council leader in a lacrosse pile up, concussion and broken noses around, the day before…we had to pull out after that." Mr Schue "ahhed".
"That's unfortunate." Luc snorted.
"Yes, that's one way of putting it…on the plus side I managed to get a rule imposed that said that my performers couldn't play sport for a week before competition, shows, and concerts." Mr Schue nodded.
"That's a good idea, though I have to admit it's never been a problem for us."
"Lucky you, now excuse me whilst I collect my boys before my John Valjean, Marius, Enjorlas, Javert and revolutionaries scream themselves hoarse." Mr Schue raised an eyebrow, but didn't comment as Luc moved away. "Okay, birdies, save your voices for tomorrow…Sebastian, I don't want you talking, especially not to Blaine."
"What?" the Warblers burst out laughing at the look on Sebastian's face. Luc clapped him on the shoulder, and began to guide them towards the exit. When they got out, a car horn honked, and the boys, looking around, were greeted with the sight of thirty-something year old man, standing by a sports car. David broke into a grin.
"Todd!" he exclaimed, throwing himself into the man's arms. Luc tutted.
"David, you can't just go around hugging random men!" David let go of him. "This isn't a random man, it's my first step-dad." Luc rolled his eyes.
"Oh, of course." there were laughs from most of the Warblers. "Touching as this family reunion is, can we get a move on?" David rolled his own eyes."Are you coming to the show?" Todd shook his head.
"That's why I'm here, but Craig, Victor and Adam coming to one each, I don't know about anybody else." David grinned.
"Right, cool."
"David! Bus is leaving!" David, along with the other Dalton boys, laughed as he hugged his step-father again. He swung into the bus, grinning, and Luc shook his head.
"You know you should have stayed, then you could have ridden back in that car." Luc glared at Nick as the bus dissolved into laughter again. Blaine grinned as he pulled out his phone, dialling Michelle's number with a great sense of trepidation.
"Hey Michelle." he said, wincing as he began to talk. The boys around him, doubled over, trying - and failing miserably - to contain their laughter at a conversation that they knew would result in Blaine trying to tear his hair out.
"Oh, hey, Blaine...how was Sectionals?" Blaine grimaced at the forced tone to her voice that he knew was meant to be "sexy" and somehow give him a desire to want to go out with her, despite the fact that she couldn't have a conversation that didn't involve sex, celebrities or what was said in Hello! magazine.
"Oh, it was good, yeah, we drew."
"In first place?"
"Naturally."
"Did you wear the perfume I sent you?" Blaine frowned. She'd sent him perfume? Really?
"Um, well, no...I, err, will use it...tomorrow!"
"Oh, that's perfect, I'll be there...we could meet up afterwards...give your mouth another kind of exercise..?" Blaine winced and grimaced as he sank further down in his seat. The worst thing about the Crawford girls that tried to seduce him was that they were really intelligent. They could all hold genuninely enlightening conversations, if they wanted to, but most of them managed to lower themselves to the intellectual level of an amoeba. It was a waste, in all honesty.
"Err, no, I need rest for the show in the evening, anyway, carols..."
"Oh my god! Is that Blaine! Hey, Blaine!" There were squeals and giggles down the other end, and Blaine made a mental note to make David or Thad to do it next time. He almost laughed at the idea of Thad dealing with the Crawford girls.
"Look, I have to go, actually, Luc wants a...a post-competition...rundown. I'll see you outside of Dalton...bye!" He hung up before they could say anything more. He handed his phone to David.
"Bury, please!" he begged. David smirked, and tucked it away. Blaine noted his good mood, generated by the win, seeing Todd and the knowledge that his step-fathers would be attending the show. "Next year, you can do it." David rolled his eyes.
"I'm in a good mood, Blaine, but I'm not going to agree to that!"
"But you and Elise-"
"Nope, I won't!"
"But she's your girlfriend!"
"And we have better things to talk about!" Blaine threw his hands over his face, groaning, as the others around them filled the bus with raucous, happy, laughter.
This has probably been my best day at Dalton. I've gotten a lot of work done thanks to these guys. In fact, I feel quite secure and safe at Dalton for the first time. I'm certainly not missing home as much. Keats is really sweet. He's sort of touchy feely, but after everything that's happened it's almost a reassurance. His friends are kind to me. They're pretty big on the maths, and the only weird thing that's happened all day is the looks that Chris, Drew and Fred gave me when they saw me sitting with Keats and the others. That was a bit odd, either way, I'm fully prepared to talk to Blaine when he comes back…
Kurt sighed, looking down at his phone for the umpteenth time. He was waiting for Mercedes' text on how the New Directions had done. The lack of response to any of his eager texts left him both worried and uplifted. It could possibly mean that they were too grief stricken to text, but it could also mean that they were in such a good mood they forgot. He still wasn't sure which side he was rooting for. He sighed, and ran a hand down his face.
"Alright there, Kurt?" Kurt looked up Keats who was busy annotating his copy of The Crucible with his own notes. Kurt shrugged.
"I just wanna know what happened at Sectionals." Keats nodded.
"Right, well, the Warblers should be walking through the main door anytime soon, it'll be pretty obvious how they did." Kurt nodded.
"I know, it's just…I wish my New Directions friends had texted me." Keats reached across and patted him on the hand.
"I'm sure they've got a good reason." he said, with a tender smile. Kurt smiled back, and moved back towards his history homework.
They worked in silence for a couple more minutes until a shout went up from a boy in the corner that Kurt didn't know.
"They're back!" he cried, and Kurt didn't doubt for a second who he meant. Kurt leapt to his feet, leaving behind his belongings, and dashed out with most of the other people in the room. Only five people were left behind. Vincent turned to Keats.
"Are you really into him?" Keats tore his gaze from the door, and looked into the eyes of his four curious friends. He shrugged.
"I don't know…" he trailed away, a distant look appearing in his eyes. "I think…I need to talk to Trinity." he got to his feet, and walked out of the room. The four boys left behind let out noises of annoyance that varied from low groans, to soft sighs.
"What do you think?" Vince raised an eyebrow at Andy.
"You're kidding, right?" Stuart rolled his eyes.
"If this is about Blaine-"
"Of course it's about Blaine, haven't you seen the way he looks at him." there was a long pause.
"Come on." said Parker, closing his books. "We might as well go find out what's happening…" there were some grunts and grumbles from the other boys who shoved their lids back onto their pens, and slammed their textbooks shut.
Kurt followed the stream of boys to the foyer. There stood the Warblers, and Luc, uniforms slightly rumpled, but their smiles wide.
"Well," demanded one of the boys. "did you win?" there were some conspiratorial looks, and Kurt could feel his heart pounding as hard as it had been when he was waiting for the announcement last year at Regionals.
"Well…" said Wes, drawing out the word, clearly enjoying the power he had over the crowd. "do you want the good news or the bad news."
"Just tell them, Wesley." griped Luc, in a manner that suggested he wanted to leave the foyer today rather than in a week.
"Well, on the downside the New Directions are going to Regionals-" as most of the crowd sagged, Kurt's heart skipped a beat a little. "-but so are we!" there was a pause before a deafening roar erupted from the student body.
Kurt stood there, completely stunned, as the others surged to hug the Warblers. They'd drawn. He couldn't believe it! What a stroke of luck! This meant…oh my god! This meant he'd be competing against them at Regionals! He felt elated, he didn't even think that that was possibly, to draw, but it sent a happy feeling rushing through his body. He looked around, and saw Blaine, surrounded by girls, just outside the front door. Slipping past the celebrating crowd, Kurt stepped outside to where Blaine was being mobbed by the ladies that were - Kurt presumed - from Crawford. Blaine looked up at the sound of the door closing, and smiled at Kurt, effectively stopping his heart.
"Well, ladies, if you'll excuse me, I have Dalton business to attend to." he slid between their fingers, and swung an arm around Kurt. Kurt could feel his heart pounding at a million miles an hour inside his chest, and tried to keep cool. "Just keep walking." muttered Blaine, as they rounded the main building. "They've been stalking me for bloody years." Kurt chuckled, lightly, as Blaine walked them away.
"What did they want?"
"To go out with me." said Blaine in a grim voice, shuddering. "Unfortunately I have to maintain a good relationship with them because they're Larks."
"What?"
"Crawford's show choir, and we sing together…that's why I was talking to them; I needed their input on carols."
"Did you get it?"
"Surprisingly, between the offers of coffee and biscuits, yes. I normally don't get anything done when I talk to them." Kurt snorted, and Blaine removed his arm from Kurt's shoulder when he was sure there were no Crawford girls following them. Kurt missed the feel of Blaine's arm, and felt disappointed that Blaine had only been doing it to loose the girls in the first place.
"We need to talk." said Blaine, once he'd found a bench to sit on. Kurt, after standing awkwardly for a few seconds, sat down and nodded. "Your New Directions friends told me that you had your life threatened, I'm sorry."
"Yeah, they told me about what happened to you and your friend, you're right, I am lucky, but-" Kurt broke off, wanting to tell Blaine but unsure. "There's a reason he threatened to kill me…it was because-" Kurt swallowed heavily, closing his eyes. "-it was because…he kissed me." Kurt watched Blaine's look transition through confused, horrified, apologetic, and, finally, sadness. He reached over and put a hand on Kurt's shoulder.
"I'm really sorry." Kurt nodded, tears filling his eyes.
"And it was, it was, basically, the first time I'd ever been kissed, and I just…I was…" he lowered his head, sniffing, and embarrassed by his tears.
"Tissue?" Kurt looked up and saw Blaine dangling one in front of his face. Kurt accepted it, gratefully.
"Thank you."
"You know perfectly okay to cry, right? I spent most of my Christmas holiday crying." Kurt gave him a weak smile as he blew his nose. Blaine sighed, tapping his hands against his legs. "And Dalton's intimidating, and it's sometimes hard to get your head around it, but you'll fit in soon enough, I promise." Kurt smiled again.
"Thank you, but I think your fan club's found you." Blaine jumped, and saw that Andy was directing the group of Crawford girls in his direction. Blaine's face fell, and he glared at either the girls or Andy, Kurt wasn't sure.
"I hate the opposite sex." he muttered. Kurt raised his eyebrows.
"My best friends at McKinley were girls."
"I'd noticed…okay, I don't hate all of them. There are about five Larks I like, two of them are lesbians and the other three are dating Wes, David and Jeff, the rest are psychos." Kurt snorted, and watched Blaine dart away, into the main building.
So we're not perfect, not yet, but at least we've talked. Now, that I stop and think about it, most people at Dalton seem prepared to be my friend; Blaine and his five friends, Juri, Chris, Trinity, Keats and his friends…and they're all understanding. I guess I'm not as lonely as I think. Either way, though, if I don't ace the audition it won't make a difference how many friends I've made. I've only get three days left, after all…
Next Time- Centre Stage: The show and the audition are here. Every second is filled with final preparation. Nerves are at their peak, and, through the friendliness and camaraderie, the signs of rivalries begin to reappear…