Five Years Later

Part 22

With Sebastian having so much studying to do, Blaine was thankful he had his music to work on as he could do that anywhere. It was certainly an advantage of going to an Arts school. Plus the fact that his playing didn't bother Sebastian as he studied, allowing them to spend time together. Then once you add to the fact that he and his band now had a manager, they had a few more gigs to get ready for as they were playing places besides Stephen's bar. While he was working on an arrangement for one of his older songs that Sebastian had picked out of his boxes, he felt Sebastian's feet move into his lap. "Something I can do for you Bas?" Blaine asked as he set his guitar aside.

"I don't know." Sebastian replied as he stretched out on the couch for the first time in what seemed like hours. "My mind is too jumbled with definitions and laws, that I honestly have no clue what I want or need." Blaine looked at him and for the first time could honestly see how fried Sebastian was in that moment. So, he moved his feet and slowly made his way up Sebastian's body till he was lying above him. "This is a good start." Sebastian said before leaning up to give him a kiss. "By the way, that arrangement is sounding really good."

"Thank you." Blaine told him before resting his head on Sebastian's shoulder. "I still need to figure out the piano part, but that'll have to wait till tomorrow at school. Are you going to be able to come tomorrow night?"

"I'm afraid not Killer as I've got study group with Hunter." Sebastian said as he wrapped his arms tightly around him. "I hope you're not upset."

"No as we knew the chances were slim with you preparing for finals." Blaine then kissed him on the cheek.

"Trust me, I'd much rather be going to see you perform than studying. I'm rather jealous that Wes and Nick are going to get to hear you."

"You and Jeff can lament together as he can't come either."

"Are you guys coming home that night?"

"We are." Blaine replied. "Now, do you want me to go home or come back here?"

"While I want you to come back here for selfish reasons, do what you feel is best depending on how you feel. I won't be offended if you want to go home, especially since I'll be getting up early for class the next morning. Just know either way I'm going to want a complete review of your performance."

"You might have to contact Wes or Nick for that as the nights tend to be a bit of a blur for me."

"I can do that, but I always love hearing your point of view as it's so different from what the audience sees."

"Deal."

The next day when they were all packing up their gear into the truck for the trip to New Haven, Vincent came walking up behind them. "So, are you all set to take another crowd by storm?" They all smiled as his laid back attitude was exactly what they all needed and appreciated. More than a few people at NYADA had managers and quite a few of them bitched about them being too pushy.

"I think we are." Morgan replied with a smile as she handed one of her basses up to Todd and Justin who were in the truck organizing everything as it was a tight fit. "It's time for a whole new group of people to fall in love with Blaine." When Blaine shook his head Morgan and Talia just looked at him.

"When are you going to accept that people beyond Sebastian adore you?" Talia asked. Vincent looked at Blaine and could only smile as he was pretty quick to notice Blaine didn't get all caught up in the attention he got when he was on stage. When Blaine was singing, it truly was all about the music and not the attention he got from it. And while his band enjoyed the attention, they were doing it for their love of music as well which is something Vincent loved. After one of their first gigs with him as a manager he approached Blaine after seeing him and Sebastian kissing backstage.

At first Blaine was a bit nervous about what he was going to hear as he'd heard more than enough stories about managers who wanted artists to keep their sexuality a secret, but that wasn't what Vincent wanted to talk to him about. He only wanted to know how Blaine wanted him to handle things should it get brought up as it would be something he needed to talk to the agency publicist about. Considering the he and Sebastian had been kissing where anyone backstage could see, Vincent wasn't too surprised when Blaine said he was fine with it being confirmed that he was gay, but he didn't want it to be mentioned every time he was. To him, the fact that he was gay had nothing to do with who he was as a performer. That was something Vincent completely supported and understood.

Once everything was loaded up, it wasn't long till everyone loaded up into the SUV and they were on their way. Not surprisingly, once they were on the road headphones came out and everyone was in their own little world as they got into the right mindset for the night after being in classes most of the morning. During the ride, Blaine wasn't too surprised to get quite a few text messages along the way. He got messages from Wes and Nick, double checking the time for the show as well as asking when they were expected to get into town as they both hoped to see Blaine ahead of time. He also got a few texts from Sebastian who clearly needed some playful banter between classes which wasn't too surprising in the slightest. "We're going to have time to go out for dinner, right?" Blaine asked after removing his headphones when Vincent turned around.

"You are, why do you ask?"

"A couple of my friends go to Yale so they were hoping to grab a bite beforehand, that's all."

"Nick and Wes?" Morgan asked from her spot beside him as she'd taken her headphones off as well and Blaine nodded in response.

"Just don't go anywhere too far as I'd prefer if you guys stay close." Vincent replied and they all agreed as by this point, all headphones had been removed.

"Got it." Blaine told him before responding to Wes's text. He was happy to know he was going to have time to spend with the guys as he knew that shortly after they finished that evening, they'd be packing up to get on the road to head home.

When they reached the bar they were playing, they were all a bit surprised to see Nick outside waiting, but weren't complaining as they'd always accept help with their gear. Though, loading it up after a show was always worse as they were all usually tired, especially Todd. Once they were all out and headed towards the truck, Blaine introduced Vincent to Nick. "Didn't Wes want to help carry things?" Talia asked as she made her way up into the truck.

"I think he would prefer carrying things than what he's doing as the current experiment he's working on is being a bit of a pain in the ass."

"What is he studying?" Justin asked as they unloaded.

"Molecular biology." Nick replied as he took a case from Talia. "He's been in the lab constantly the past few weeks."

"From what I hear, the same can be said for you." Morgan told him.

"Good point. Nice to know Jeff keeps you informed." When she smiled he shook his head. "But at least it's better than crunching numbers the way he's been as of late."

"I don't think he would argue that fact."

"How is Sebastian handling everything?" Nick asked.

"He's a bit fried but he's doing alright. He has a study group tonight along with Hunter to give things a slightly different spin than studying at home."

"Those are often needed."

Once they had all the gear unloaded, they began bringing things inside and getting set up. While they were doing so the conversation continued. As Blaine listened to Nick, he couldn't help but wonder if he would've taken the path he had if he'd stayed at Dalton given what the rest of the guys were studying. Though, he certainly had given other careers a thought when he thought he might not get into NYADA. And when he mentioned that to Sebastian during one of their talks, Sebastian told him he could easily picture him as a doctor given the way Blaine cares about others. Then, he told him that should the desire of ever play doctor hit him he had no problem being his patient.

After they were all set up and did their sound check, Vincent told them they were all free to go out and grab a bite to eat as long as they were back at the given time. With that bit of information, Blaine headed off with Nick as the girls needed to make a run to the mall while Justin and Todd each were going to nap prior to getting something to eat. Once they were inside Nick's car and on their way, Blaine looked over at him. "I really appreciate the fact that you and Wes are coming tonight."

"Did you really expect us not to considering you're essentially playing in our backyard?" Nick replied as he glanced over at him. When he did, he noticed Blaine seemed a bit smaller in that moment. "Blaine."

"Sorry." He said quickly as he sat up a bit straighter. "It's just after all this time, it's still a bit surprising how it feels like things haven't changed when we all know they have."

"Blaine, just because we all weren't in your life, it doesn't mean that we forgot about you." Nick told him. "Hell, we loved it whenever Wes would give us little updates about what was going on with you. Staying away from you was one of the hardest things we all ever did, yet we knew we needed to considering how Kurt felt about all of us. And the last thing any of us wanted was our presence in your life to add stress to your marriage."

"Hell, after the first year, it would've been welcomed stress compared to what I dealt with."

"While I'm not going to push, know if you ever want to talk, I'm here as are the other guys."

"I really do appreciate that Nick. But right now, I'm not really ready to talk about everything."

"We figured as much considering you didn't even tell Wes what was going on." When he heard Blaine sigh, Nick glanced at him again. "Relax Blaine, after his initial frustration with being left in the dark, Wes is okay. It just hurt that you felt you couldn't turn to him."

"That I do know as we talked shortly after Thad told you all what was going on. It's amazing how Bas had no doubt Thad was going to go straight to you all."

"Sebastian knows us all pretty well. And considering he knew how we all felt, it wasn't that hard to figure out. Though, don't tell him I said that."

"That secret is safe with me." Blaine said and out of the corner of his eye, Nick could see a smile come to Blaine's face. "Now, did Jeff say you needed to be here tonight?"

"No as he knew I'd be here to support you since the rest of us don't get to see you perform nearly as much as Sebastian, Thad, Hunter, and Jeff. Those weeknight performances aren't as easy for us to attend." While he spoke, Nick pulled into the parking lot of the restaurant and as he did, Blaine saw Wes standing out front. "And while we're a bit jealous of the others, that doesn't compare to how David, Beat, and Trent feel as they are even further away. They are looking forward to your next weekend performance."

"Hearing that, I take it they are going home for Christmas." Blaine said before they got out of the car.

"They are, but they are going to make it to a few shows during break. Everyone's plans changed once you booked more gigs as everyone wants to support you the way we always should've been."

"He's right." Wes said as they approached. "So, you're going to have to deal with seeing all of us." The two then exchanged a hug. "That is, if you can make time for us in your busy schedule."

"I'm sure I can pencil you in somewhere." Blaine replied. "Bas and I don't have plans for each day yet."

"Wait, Sebastian isn't going to Europe over break?" Nick asked as they walked into the restaurant and Blaine shook his head. "Should we even ask why?"

"If you do, you're blind." Wes said as they headed for a table. "He's clearly staying to spend time with Blaine here."

"How shocked were you guys really when we told you we were actually a couple?" Blaine asked once they were seated.

"Not as shocked as we were to hear you'd gotten divorced, but that's not saying much." Nick told him. "Because that truly shocked us all, especially Wes but you know that." Once Nick spoke, Blaine looked at Wes who nodded but had a reassuring smile on his face. To say the conversation the two had after the fact was difficult, might've been an understatement. One of the biggest reasons Blaine hadn't opened up to Wes about what was going on in his marriage is he didn't want him to see the mess his life had turned into or to see how insecure he'd gotten during it. He'd truly closed in on himself much as he had prior to going to Dalton.

Yet during the conversation they had, Wes never yelled, he just listen and spoken when needed. Wes understood how Blaine could feel it was wrong to dump all his problems on him since they only spoke once a week. And the last thing he wanted was for those conversations to turn into pity parties since Blaine looked forward to them. Though Wes reassured him, that it wouldn't have been the case but could see how Blaine might think that especially with the bits and pieces Blaine had shared with him. One of the things Wes did tell him that Sebastian did as well was how proud he was that Blaine was strong enough to get out of such an unhealthy situation. Much like Sebastian had, Wes could tell Blaine was still dealing with the effects of what had happened. And Wes was a little sad knowing Blaine wasn't ready to open up to him about everything, that was eased knowing he seemed to have no problems opening up to Sebastian. So at least he knew he wasn't keeping everything buried inside.

While they were having dinner in Connecticut, Rachel and Santana were talking over coffee. "You do realize we could've taken the train into Connecticut, right?" Santana told her before breaking off a piece of the muffin she had in front of her. "I mean, I'm sure Quinn wouldn't have minded putting us up for the night."

"Oh my God, I never called her to tell her Blaine is performing tonight." Santana watched as Rachel reached for her phone but grabbed it off the table. "Santana, give me my phone."

"Relax, I called and told her. Needless to say, she was shocked."

"Knowing Blaine is performing like this, has shocked everyone that has found out." Rachel said. "Did you inform her should she attend tonight that she will be seeing Nick and Wes?"

"I did. Luckily we took that picture the last time we were all together so I could send it to her so she could put faces to names." Santana told her. "She feels like she's on a bit of an island considering both of them go to school with her. For all she's knows she's spoken to both of them through the years but never realized how she might've recognized them."

"Did she ask about Blaine at all?"

"She did and I told her he's very happy right now which made her happy. But onto a different subject, are you going to come with me to Thad's party?"

"I'm still not sure as Kurt asked me to go out with him that night as well." Rachel had barely finished speaking and Santana was rolling her eyes. "What?"

"You know Thad's party is going to be more fun than anything Hummel has planned. Plus, considering the guys we've met, I have no doubt there will be a ton of good looking, single guys there."

"So."

"So? Rachel, you need to put yourself out there." Santana said as she reached across and took one of her hands. "And hanging around Kurt most of the guys you're surrounded by are gay. No chance of any action. Hell, Quinn couldn't believe how handsome all the Dalton boys are. Sure beats some of the guys that were at McKinley, not to mention they have manners." When Santana saw a shy smile creep to Rachel's face, she knew Rachel wasn't denying anything she said. "It's nice having people pull out chairs, hold doors, and help us with our coats, isn't it?"

"It is and they do it just because."

"Exactly. You deserve a nice guy Rach and from what we've witnessed, it's not only the Dalton boys that have these manners. The guys the guys are friends with all do."

"I will think about it. Hell, by then he might know that Blaine is with Sebastian so he might not even want me around."

"If he gets upset with you for not telling him who Blaine is dating, that's ridiculous because it's not your place to do so. And given how you know he feels, it's best as it'll only turn into an argument."

"But that's the thing, the longer it takes for him to find out, the angrier he's going to be." Santana sighed softly as she could see it that way as well. And while she wasn't Kurt's biggest fan, Rachel was his best friend so she was in quite the predicament.

Later that evening while Blaine and his band were going through their set list, Nick felt a tap on his shoulder as he and Wes had already secured a table in the front with a few of their friends. When he looked around, he was a bit surprised to see a pretty blonde standing there. "Excuse me, but by chance are you Nick Duval and Wes Montgomery?"

"We are." Nick replied. "May we ask how you know that or why it matters?" He continued as he stood.

"I'm Quinn Fabray. I went to McKinley with Blaine." She told him as he pulled a chair over to their table for her. "Santana told me the two of you might be here this evening and sent me a picture."

"Please, join us." Wes said as he motioned towards the seat Nick brought over.

"Thank you." Quinn replied before taking a seat. "I was hoping you wouldn't mind some company as the friends I usual go out with all had plans this evening as this was rather last minute."

"Not at all." Nick told her. "Now, did you graduate with Blaine or before?"

"The year before." Once she replied, Nick and Wes looked at one another. "Don't worry, Santana told me you were both Warblers with Blaine back at Dalton. And yes, I was part of the New Directions when everything happened between the two groups."

"How much did Santana tell you precisely?" Wes asked as he was curious if she'd informed Quinn that Blaine was dating Sebastian. "I'm not trying to pry, but after everything that's happened, we don't want to accidentally say something we shouldn't. You see, Blaine's rather private about certain aspects of his life now."

"That's something I know all too well. Hell, all of us that went to McKinley were honestly shocked when we found out Blaine left Kurt and filed for divorce as none of us knew their marriage was that bad. Though, Rachel and Santana knew it was having its issues."

"Well, should you get a chance to see Blaine afterwards, don't ask about it." Nick told her. "He doesn't talk about it, to basically anyone."

"That's not really good." Quinn replied. "Sorry, it's the psych major in me. Keeping his feelings to himself isn't good."

"I don't mean for you to worry, he does talk, just not to many." Wes told her. "He's opened up to his parents and me a bit and well, he's been the most open with his boyfriend."

"I guess that explains why he's so happy." Quinn noticed them both looking at her. "Santana told me he's really happy. Have you guys met him?"

"We have." Nick said, but before anything else could be said someone came walking out on stage and it was show time.

Throughout Blaine's time on stage, numerous glances were exchanged around the table. Wes and Nick's friends were amazed by what they were hearing. And Quinn was shocked to see a confident Blaine on stage considering how he was the last time she saw him. While they were all hearing him for a first time, Wes and Nick were even astonished in the changes they were seeing and hearing since the last time they saw them perform. Everything Jeff and Sebastian had said was true and certainly wasn't skewed by their personal feelings.

By the time they finished the crowd tried to get them to play another encore, but after two, they were done. Once they made their way off the stage, Quinn kept looking between Wes and Nick who couldn't wipe the smiles off their faces if they tried. "Why was it that the two of you weren't as shocked? They were amazing!"

"We've seen them perform a few times." Wes replied and Nick nodded. "Yet each time it's something new as they keep adding new songs to their repertoire. I can safely tell you, we were as shocked the first time we saw them. Blaine certainly has found his calling."

"By chance, do you know if Kurt knows?"

"Sadly, he does." Nick told her. "He just missed Blaine's first show as he and I bumped into each other as we were leaving and he was arriving. And the last time Wes and I saw Blaine prior to this, Kurt was actually in the audience."

"How did that go?"

"If you're asking of the two of them spoke, they didn't which we all felt was for the best."

"I'd have to agree after the things Santana and Rachel told me as they went through the divorce. But it's nice to see Blaine came through it and is now starting to live his dream."

"As are we." Wes told her. "That's one of the reasons why we believe it's best if Kurt stays away from him. Blaine's life is on the right track after everything and the last thing he needs is Hummel trying to derail it."

While they were talking, Vincent came walking over to their table and told them that if they wanted to see Blaine before they left they needed to come with him as they were going to be leaving soon. Considering Quinn had come to see him, they both asked if she could come with which he didn't have a problem with. Vincent had learned pretty early on how protective Blaine's friends were of him so he trusted that Blaine wouldn't mind Quinn coming backstage with them. When they came walking through the dressing room door, Blaine was finishing getting dressed after taking a shower. "Blaine, you've got company." Todd told him as he grabbed a t-shirt out of his bag as well. Blaine turned around and saw Nick and Wes standing there but couldn't quite make out the blonde hair behind them. All he could tell was it was a girl.

"Another great performance guys!" Nick said as they walked further in.

"Thank you!" Justin replied. "If you want to congratulate the girls, they'll be out in a minute as they're both still showering. It was hot as hell up there tonight."

"Justin's right, thank you." Blaine added. "Who's behind you?" Nick and Wes looked at each other before stepping apart giving Blaine a clear view of Quinn. "What are you doing here?" He asked as he walked towards her to give her a hug with a big smile on his face.

"Santana called and told me what was going on. Said it wasn't to be missed and she was right." Quinn told him before kissing him on the cheek. "You were incredible Blaine." When she saw a blush come to his cheeks, she realized he was still very much the same Blaine she remembered in that he didn't always love the attention he was given. "I'm so glad she called and told me."

"So am I. It's good to see you. Now, how'd you end up with these two?"

"She told me they were going to be here and sent a picture of who I should look for."

"That doesn't surprise me." Just as Blaine answered, his phone went off causing Todd and Justin to laugh at the timing. "Would one of you toss me my phone please? Quinn could you give me a minute." She nodded as Blaine caught his phone from Todd and walked off to the side.

"Care to tell me why you're laughing?" Quinn asked as she looked at the guys after noticing that Nick and Wes were smiling as well.

"Timing." Justin replied. "The fact that…" He paused when he noticed the look from Wes and Nick before finishing what he was going to say. "…his boyfriend timed his call so well."

"How'd you know it was him?"

"That's his ringtone." Todd told her. "Now, how do you know Blaine as you clearly didn't go to Dalton and those seem to be the friends he's reconnected with?"

"I went to McKinley with him."

"We should've known since you mentioned Santana." Justin said as he put his boots on.

"I take it you guys have spent time with them."

"We have." Todd told her. "Just as we've gotten to know Blaine's Dalton buddies, though that's been two-fold."

"Should I even ask?"

"Morgan is dating Jeff." Nick replied causing Quinn to look at him. "Morgan is the bass player and Talia is the keyboardist." While he spoke, the two girls came out of the showers with their towels wrapped around them. "Hey ladies!"

"Hey Nick! Wes!" Talia replied as they both began to get dressed. "And hello to your friend as well."

"This is Quinn." Wes told her. "She went to high school with Blaine." That answer caused Talia to look over at Blaine who was still on the phone.

"Lover boy?" The guys all nodded.

"Do you not mention Blaine's boyfriend's name?" Quinn asked.

"It's up to Blaine if he wants to tell you who he's dating." Wes replied and the others nodded. When Blaine came back he apologized to Quinn and the others for being on the phone so long, though it really wasn't long that long. "Do you guys have another gig anytime soon?"

"In a few days." Morgan replied. "But this one is back in Manhattan before we travel to Jeff's neck of the woods."

"We're clearly keeping busy." Blaine said and the others all agreed. "Even if things weren't going as well as they are with Bas, I clearly wasn't going to be going home for Christmas."

"Bas?"

"You guys didn't tell her, did you?"

"Nope." Nick replied. "As we weren't sure how you felt about others knowing."

"Bas is my boyfriend." Blaine told her. "But you probably know him better as Sebastian, Sebastian Smythe." When Quinn's entire expression changed, Blaine smiled. "Yes, that Sebastian."

"Does Rachel know?" That question brought laughter to the entire room, including Blaine. "That must be a yes."

"It is and her reaction was exactly what you might expect, especially given the first time she saw us together we were kissing." Blaine told her. "She flipped out a bit, well actually a lot. She actually called Sam and got him to come to New York as she was worried about what I was getting myself into."

"And Santana?"

"Santana was the voice of reason actually."

"Does Kurt know?"

"No, though he came damn close to finding out at one of our performances."

"I have only one thing to ask about it." Blaine nodded. "Does he make you happy?"

"Extremely."

"That's all that matters." Quinn said before hugging him once more and kissing him on the cheek.