Notes:
Thank you everyone for the response and I am so glad that you're enjoying it! Thank you so much and enjoy. The next chapter will probably be up tomorrow.
Chapter Twenty One
Kurt arrived at Rachel's house early with Sebastian in tow and he was only a little bit surprised to find that Sam's car was already parked outside her house signifying that he was already there.
Her basement had already been mostly decorated the day before, but there were still a few things to do, and of course some of the decorations had also fallen over night so there was also that to consider.
"You guys are here, great," Rachel said, "so we have a bit of a crisis. How are we going to make sure that the kids don't get drunk."
Sebastian looked between them. "Um, does it matter?" he asked.
"Of course it matters!" Rachel said and glared at him.
Kurt rolled his eyes. "It'd be different if we weren't their teachers," he said, "I remember the last party that happened down here."
"Oh, Kurt, you didn't even drink that night," Rachel said and she headed further into the house.
Kurt rolled his eyes. "That wasn't the point I was making. I may not have been at McKinley at the time, but Finn told me all about the next day at school."
"You had a party on a school night?" Sebastian asked and Kurt could hear the amusement and judgment in his voice.
"Hence I wasn't drinking," Kurt said, "and also my unfortunate first drinking experience which you know all about."
Kurt walked with Sebastian after Rachel.
"Guidance councilor," Sebastian said, "right."
"Well it is Friday night at least," Rachel said, "so if anything does happen…"
Kurt shook his head at once. "If anything does happen, we could get into major trouble. Not just with Sue and the school but with their parents and even the law. We're supposed to be the adults here. They're not our peers. It's going to be a little strange having them here to begin with."
Kurt couldn't tell if Rachel really understood the consequences of them allowing minors that they were responsible for to get drunk in front of them and even worse with them. Neither of them were real teachers and that possibly made it even worse.
He felt Sebastian's hand on his arm and he leaned into the touch, turning a little so he could offer a smile.
"I get it, Kurt," Rachel said, "but everyone else is expecting there to be something more than ginger ale and it's the last party I'll ever have in this house. I want to have fun."
"Well, none of this means that both can't happen," Sebastian said, "so you keep an eye on them, and don't let them know that you're actually drinking the good stuff. Ply them with sugar instead."
Rachel nodded thoughtfully. "Alright," she said, "I like that idea."
Kurt didn't know if it would really work, but they couldn't be faulted for not trying.
They followed Rachel down to the basement and Kurt was glad to have Sebastian walk close to him, his hands on his shoulders as he followed. Kurt loved that Sebastian had gotten more tactile. He didn't know if it had something to do with the night before, or if Sebastian was just getting more comfortable around his friends, but he didn't really care for the reason.
"A few things just need to be fixed," Rachel said.
Sam looked up down from the chair he was standing on while fixing the sign by the stage.
"Hey, guys," he said, "one of you want to help me with this?"
Sebastian squeezed Kurt's shoulder. "I'll go," he said.
Kurt nodded and turned back to Rachel who was eying him.
"I haven't questioned you about Sam, you don't get to question me about him."
Kurt thought that she was going to protest, but then she shook her head. "Fine."
By the time that Artie and Mercedes arrived mostly everything was ready. He and Sebastian had sat down while Rachel and Sam started putting out snacks and Kurt was glad that he didn't have to deal with Rachel trying to make everything perfect.
"This is going to be different than the thing at Shuester's isn't it?" Sebastian asked, leaning towards him.
Kurt nodded. "Yup. Might very well be just as much of a train wreck as the last party. At least Rachel isn't wearing a tent, so there's that to consider."
Sebastian grabbed his hand, running the pads of his fingers over it, tracing nonsensical patterns and leaving a trail of tingles behind.
"You've made me curious. What happened last time?"
"Spin the bottle," Kurt said, "keep in mind this was before Blaine and I were together and Blaine and Rachel got really drunk. Actually, everyone was really drunk except for me and Finn. Anyway Rachel and Blaine kissed and he actually convinced himself that he might be bi."
Sebastian laughed. "Are you kidding? That's hilarious."
Kurt nodded "in retrospect, yeah, but I was devastated."
Sebastian tangled their fingers together and Kurt shot him a smile.
"I think, more than anything, it was just Rachel's reaction to all of it. He was confused and I get that – I was upset and mad and took it out on him – but she called him the next day to ask him out."
"Knowing you had a giant crush on him."
Kurt hummed in response. "That's Rachel for you."
"Sometimes I wonder why you're still even friends with her."
Kurt shrugged his shoulders. It wasn't something that could be explained easily.
"Anyway, tonight won't end up like that," Kurt said.
Blaine got to the party just a little late, and Mercedes opened the door when he rang the door bell. She hugged him and told him to head to the basement.
"You're not the last one to arrive," she assured him before he could ask, and then, "you didn't bring your boyfriend."
"Ah, no," Blaine said, "he has a thing tomorrow morning and anyway, I figured it'd be weird if he came."
Mercedes nodded and Blaine was glad when she didn't press for an answer.
"We're waiting on the kids," she said, "but everyone else is downstairs. I think Kitty is picking them all up."
He followed her down the stairs where there was already music playing from someone's ipod. Sam and Artie were by the bar and Blaine was a little amused at the yellow tape that had been placed over the liquor cabinet.
"Blaine!" Sam said.
They all turned and Blaine took in the room.
Rachel rushed over to hug him. "You're here," she said before letting him go, and as she did, Blaine managed to look over at where Kurt was seated with Sebastian.
Blaine had known that Sebastian was going to be at the party, but it didn't prepare him to see them sitting so close together or for their hands to be linked. Neither had even noticed his arrival and Blaine only just managed to tear his eyes away from them when he heard footsteps.
Kitty led all the new kids in and they looked excited. Blaine still didn't know them all by name, but they all seemed nice enough.
"Let's get this party started," Rachel said.
Kurt and Sebastian had gotten up and Blaine noticed Kurt grabbing a couple of glasses from Sam and handing one to Sebastian. When he noticed that Blaine was looking at him he grinned and nodded at him.
After he greeted everyone, Blaine headed over to Sam by the bar.
"What's going on with Kurt and Sebastian?" he asked immediately.
"They're friends," Sam said.
Blaine eyed them. "I don't know about that."
Sam shrugged his shoulders and handed him a drink. "Something extra in there for you," he whispered.
Blaine watched him as he whispered the same thing to Mercedes when she grabbed a drink, and how he kept an eye on Spencer when he poured himself some of the punch.
Everyone was still mingling for a while, and Blaine was a little surprised when he saw that Kurt and Sebastian were no longer sitting together. Sebastian was talking to Mercedes instead and Kurt was talking to one of the students.
He sipped at the drink Sam had given him. It was on the sweet side, but good nonetheless and with just the right amount of kick at the end. If nothing else it helped him relax.
"Help me out," Sam said and nudged him.
"Sure, sure," he said and walked around to the other side of the bar, "what do you need?"
Sam pointed at the blender. "Pina Coladas," Sam said, "just need to be blended. Kurt's request."
Artie had gotten on the stage and Blaine grinned when he announced the start of the party to cheers around the room. He finished blending the drink together and poured it into a couple of cups. Sam added umbrellas and Kurt appeared, grinning as he grabbed the glasses, and after he'd delivered a cup to Rachel he returned for one more and Blaine followed him with his eyes as he walked over to Sebastian who had grabbed one of the armchairs.
Mercedes and Roderick got up on stage and the party was suddenly full in motion. There were cheers and everyone started dancing where they were and Blaine couldn't help but join in.
Roderick's voice was impressive. Blaine had noticed before over the time spent at McKinley singing with them, and it was fun to see how it meshed with Mercedes' voice. He got out from behind the bar to join in on the dancing, and distracted himself enough in being amongst his friends and the new kids that he didn't see Kurt and Sebastian dancing together.
What he did notice was Rachel and Sam going up the stairs.
They all clapped when the song was over, and Jane bumped into Blaine as she got off the stage.
"Mr. Anderson," she said and smiled at him before she frowned, "I never got the chance to apologize. I just left Dalton and The Warblers after everything you did to help me and I'm really sorry."
Blaine was surprised. He had put it behind him, mostly because dwelling on it wouldn't change anything, but he was still happy about her apology.
"Thank you," he said, "but I think you're happier at McKinley."
She grinned at him, but was pulled away by the twins.
Artie announced the next duet, but Blaine made his way back to the bar for the drink he didn't finish. Mercedes appeared next to him.
"Hey," she said.
"That was great," Blaine said.
She nodded and grabbed a water bottle. "Yeah. He has an amazing voice."
The twins were up on stage and Mercedes turned away from him to watch them, but he was distracted by Kurt.
Kurt had been dancing by himself by Kitty and Artie, but he stopped to walk over to where Sebastian was seated, and Blaine watched him as he actually pulled Sebastian up.
"Do you know if anything's going on there?" He asked Mercedes.
"With Kurt and Sebastian?" Mercedes asked and laughed, but she didn't look at him as she said, "don't think so."
Before he could ask again, Mercedes was off, taking one of the cups Sam had left, and dancing with Jane and then Spencer.
"Blaine!" Kitty yelled, waving her arms, "stop being so boring! Come on."
He grinned and went out to join them and Kurt bumped his hip when he came close to him, laughing before he was gone, shimming across the room to Mercedes.
Somehow, almost seamlessly Jane and Spencer took the stage after the twins finished singing and everyone seemed to be having more and more fun and Blaine couldn't help but just join in.
Then, it was his and Kurt's turn to sing and every worry that he'd had about Sebastian and Kurt just fell away because they were connecting all over the place with the song and he couldn't help but be flirty and Kurt just openly flirted right back.
A yellow feather boa was around his neck and Kurt had an astronaut mask/helmet over his head and they were both laughing and so were the others as the spun and danced and tried to catch their breaths as the song came to an end.
When he turned to find Kurt, Kurt was grinning at him and he lifted his hand for a high five and Blaine laughed as he lifted his own hand. Then, Kurt was pulled away by Madison who was giggling as she praised him and Blaine thought that they were all a little too hyped and when he walked back to the bar to fetch a bottle of water, he knew why. Someone had added some of the vodka into the punch.
He shook his head, amused. Most of it was gone already.
"Well that explains it," Kurt said behind him, "come help me get rid of it before they drink more."
There was no reason for Kurt to need help, but Blaine followed him anyway after he put away the bottles under the bar and hopefully out of sight.
Kurt drained the punch, but he poured the last of the pina colada into a glass.
"That was fun down there," Kurt said, "felt like old times."
Blaine grinned. "Yeah, we did not sound that good the other day."
Kurt shook his head, "We didn't really sing it together," he said, "but come on, I think Artie and Kitty are singing."
Blaine followed him, but lost him in the basement to Mercedes who threw an arm around his shoulders. So, he walked back to the bar to make sure that the alcohol was really hidden.
"Ah, you are the keeper of the booze," Sebastian said, "fill me up. Anything will do."
He extended Blaine an empty glass and Blaine took a moment before he reached for a bottle. He opened it and poured into the cup.
"Thank you," Sebastian said and he took a large gulp. He lifted the cup to Blaine and then he turned away, but Blaine was surprised when he didn't walk away.
"This has been fun," Sebastian said, "not the kind of parties I enjoyed in high school or you know, now, but entertaining."
Blaine busied himself throwing out the empty cups that had been left around and when he looked up it was to Sebastian staring right at him. He didn't say anything, and then he shook his head, got up, and walked away directly towards Kurt.
In his pocket his phone vibrated and he pulled it out to read a remainder he had set for himself about Dave's game the next day. He sighed. Not much else was happening, except that most of the kids were still dancing around even though there wasn't any music. Sam and Rachel were supposed to sing, but they had been gone for a while and Blaine was a little suspicious about where they had gone.
He moved away from the bar and went to Artie first.
"Hey, I'm going to head out. I have an early morning."
Mercedes grabbed his arm. "Blaine, no," she said, "stay!"
"It's still early," Kitty said.
Blaine waved at Roderick and Mason. Jane hugged him when he was walking past her and Spencer and Sebastian just nodded at him but Kurt offered to walk him out.
"It really is too early," Kurt said, "I thought you were having fun."
They fell into easy banter and reminiscing about their first duet and Blaine felt warm all over as Kurt admitted to wanting to kiss him then. They stopped and Kurt kept rambling on and all Blaine could think about was how much he wanted to kiss Kurt.
"…it's funny," Kurt said, "how someone can mean so much to you at one point in time and then some years go by and—"
On impulse, he leaned forward and pressed his lips against Kurt's. He felt Kurt's hand come to rest on his arm, but before Kurt could really respond to the kiss, Blaine pulled back, shocked at himself.
Author's Note: So, um, things once again get complicated.
On another note I am currently working on one of the endings and will probably stop at a certain spot the start on the other ending. They will certainly not be short...at least a few chapters each with one perhaps being a little bit longer than the other, but officially the splitting point will be chapter 25.
Thank you for reading.