Farewell Dalton

Monday morning found Nick and Jeff back in the halls of Dalton Academy. Things were different from the moment that they stepped out of Nick's car - the fact that they had arrived together was not so unusual, but the stares of some of their classmates were not common. They were not entirely sure whether they were due to the events of Friday at assembly, or down to the bruise that still decorated one side of Nick's face. Whatever the reason, it gave them courage and they walked into school arm in arm, in clear defiance of the rules on PDA. More than one boy shouted "Morning Niff" as they walked by, each one making them smile all the more. At the front door they were joined by Trent and Sebastian, who proceeded the through the door, and straight into the path of Principal Carmichael. "Good Morning boys - Sebastian, Trent, Niff.." he said as he walked past, leaving them all staring for a moment before they burst out laughing.

That week at Dalton was more about bringing everything to a satisfactory conclusion than to learning anything new. As Seniors, the four friends found that they had a lot of free time on their hands. It also gave Nick and Jeff plenty of time to sit in the Senior Commons and discuss the suggestion that Nick's grandmother had made on Sunday afternoon. "There is a part of me, Jeff, that just wants to get away from Ohio, from my parents, from all the events of this year. I can see the two of us strolling in Central Park, walking past the theatres on Broadway, sharing meals out with Kurt and Blaine - and I think that we could be very happy. But there is another part of me that thinks that a year of just the two of us, getting to know each other, getting comfortable with everything.."

"I know what you are saying, Nicky. This year has just been one thing after another. We have been through more in the last 9 months than most people go through in a lifetime. There has been pain, misery, heartache all one after the other, both for us directly and for our friends. Blaine and Kurt breaking up; Finn dying; the way we all suffered under Hunter…. I think that we should take some time just to learn how to laugh again, to have some fun, get back to the old Nick and Jeff, the two sunny boys of the Warblers. If we do take a year out, I agree we need to get away from here; put some distance between us and our troubles. I've had an idea about that, and where we could go. Of course, we need to have somewhere to live where it will just be us - no parents or roommates. I have a lot of things I want to try with you Nicky.."

"And I'm presuming that a lot of them are indoor activities?" said Nick with a smirk that left Jeff blushing. "Don't be embarrassed Jeffie. I want to try them too. It scares me sometimes because the whole idea is so unfamiliar to me. But I want to learn, and I want you to teach me - just now, how about we practice kissing again?" With that he surged forward and captured Jeff's lips with his. About five minutes later, Trent wandered in, swiftly turned on his heel, and then knocked on the door. He heard the frantic sounds of clothes being tidied, of two boys making themselves presentable again. As he waited, Sebastian appeared, quirked an eyebrow then smirked. A shout of "Come in" came from the room, and the two entered and just smiled at their two red faced friends.

"Darn, but stubble burn can be a bitch," said Sebastian. "Leaves your lips all red when you've been kissing. That will have to wait - we need to sort out the details of the Warbler post graduation party. We need to chose some songs to perform for the alumni. I have invited Blaine to perform with us - he graduates from McKinley this week too, and I think we would all agree that he should be part of this?" There were nods of agreement from the other three boys. Tentative suggestions were made for a few group numbers. Jeff was however choosing a song for himself to sing to Nick. He just needed backing from the others to perform it.

The remainder of the week passed by in a blur. Now that the novelty of Nick and Jeff being a couple had passed, they could walk around the school without anyone even batting an eyelid. If they disappeared for any length of time, those closest to them knew that they would be in a quiet corner somewhere 'practising' - and not for any of the songs they had chosen to sing at the party on Saturday. What none of them knew was that they had crossed a major bridge on Wednesday afternoon when alone in Nick's new bedroom, they had got so engrossed in kissing that they had failed to notice that they were also grinding - and the inevitable happened. It was a mess, but a good one.

Then it was the last afternoon of school - the end of the chapter of their lives called Dalton. They stood in line at the side of the stage, Nick far ahead of Jeff, but making puppy dog eyes at each other. "If you two don't stop," Sebastian whispered from his spot right in front of Jeff, "then I will have to vomit. I know you have to make up for nearly three years of stupidity, but can we just stop for a few minutes, please?" They did, but only because the name Nicholas Duval was called out by the Principal, and he had to collect his diploma. In the audience, his grandparents sat next to Jeff's parents, his mother and father absent to nobody's surprise. The ceremony was followed by the official graduation party, where they behaved themselves for the sake of their families and remained very chaste. The same could not be said whilst they were cleaning up afterwards.

The unofficial party on Saturday was far more fun. It was held in the exact same location, the refectory at Dalton, but this time there were no staff to be seen. The person that was theoretically in charge was the deputy Principal, but she trusted the boys enough to leave them to get on with things. In any case, Wes was on the premises, and that was usually a guarantee that the correct standards of behaviour would be adhered to. His arrival had been greeted warmly by Trent; slightly feared at first by Sebastian, who thought he might be in line for a severe reprimand, but all he got instead was a hug. They were not who Wes wanted to see. He wanted his Niff. He had known back in their sophomore year that Jeff was hopelessly in love with the very straight Nick. He had feared the worst. He had never expected that they would end up together. It had cost him money, but he could not be happier for them. When he finally caught up with them, he pulled them both into a hug, which the two boys eagerly reciprocated.

The same scene was repeated several times in the next few hours, as the alumni returned to celebrate with their friends. David and Thad arrived from L.A. together and ignored even Wes to get to the two boys. Beats and Flint appeared next, and with a simultaneous scream of "Niff!" dove onto them as they sat near the door, talking to Trent. The latter was heard to remark later that if he didn't like the two of them so much, he would be very upset at all the attention that was being lavished on them. They were still talking to them, listening intently to their news about being accepted for an expedition of college students to Antarctica when the door opened again to reveal Kurt, arm in arm with Blaine. Nick and Jeff excused themselves from the others and ran over to the door. Greetings of "Klaine!" and "Niff!" were exchanged before there were warm hugs all round. That was when they heard a cough from the still open door. "I brought a few special guests," said Blaine, and motioned for the bulk of the New Directions to enter. The Warblers had all heard about their group being disbanded after they had lost at Nationals, and felt only sympathy for them. All the animosity of the past was forgotten, at least for that night.

The night that followed would be remembered as one of the best post-graduation parties the Warblers had ever held. Everyone there loved to sing - and there was a lot of that. This time, they even had someone to capture it all professionally on camera in the shape of Artie. The events of the previous year were largely unrecorded, apart from one slightly dodgy video of Wes, backed by the previous years senior graduates singing Hit me baby, one more time by Britney Spears. This was eventually played to the amusement of the New Directions. Of course, everyone had already seen what Santana called the X-Rated Warblergate film. Naturally, they saw it again, but this time projected onto the wall. To be obliging, Nick and Jeff repeated the kiss, just not the events afterwards. Then it was time for the Warblers to perform.

Nick was told to sit in the audience whilst Jeff sang to him. It was a song that he had prepared before the events of the last two weeks had taken place. As he began to sing Everybody knows by the Divine Comedy, Nick began to smile. He wondered how he would have reacted if they had got to this night without his realisation. Would this song have been enough, or would he have run from the room? It was an unnecessary question now, and he just sat and laughed as, when Jeff sang the line about driving all his friends round the bend by constantly telling them that he loved him, his backing singers, Trent, Sebastian, Kurt and Blaine, all mimicked killing themselves. He turned round to find that all the other Warblers were also playing dead in the rows behind him, as the New Directions laughed as loud as he did. He was so lucky. Lucky to have good friends, supportive family members and the loveliest guy in the world as a boyfriend. And when Jeff finished, he dashed over to him to deliver him yet another draw dropping kiss.

The rest of the evening passed in a blur - there were songs from everyone, from the comic to the romantic. The climax of the evening was the group performance from the senior Warblers, joined by Blaine and Sam, of YMCA. The look on the face of Wes as the first chords of the intro sounded out was priceless, but he had to admit later that given that the senior group was now confirmed as 100% gay, he should have expected it, and they had performed it really well. They had gone as far as dressing up in full costume - Sam as a sailor, Blaine as a police officer (a costume which had Kurt mesmerised), Trent as the construction worker, Sebastian clad fully in leather, and as for Nick and Jeff, they were a red Indian and a cowboy respectively. Artie captured every moment on film, including Santana and Quinn looking at each other and saying "Wanky" simultaneously, and Puck passing his hand over Kurt's eyes repeatedly and getting no response, as Blaine rolled his hips.

When the party ended, the four senior Warblers stayed back to clean up, not that there was much to do. It had not been as nearly as wild a party as in previous years. In the end, the four of them came to sit on the edge of the stage, arms around each other, staring out at the now deserted room. "Well," said Trent, "that's it. No more Dalton. Onwards to college, eventually. I'm going to miss this place. Ok, the last year was rough, but this has been home. You guys, have been a big part of that. We all need to promise to keep in touch…"

"Of course," said Sebastian. "Honestly, I don't know how I would have got through this year without you three. I'm going to be far away, but we need to skype, regularly so we can catch up - and watch Niff here get their mack on…."

Trent laughed. "It's a deal," said Nick. "Apart from the last bit. Some of us have standards." With one last shared hug, the four boys got up, switched off the lights and walked out of the doors of Dalton, as students, for the final time.