Five Years Later
Part 25
Just as Santana had thought when they spoke earlier, when they arrived at Blaine's concert at NYADA, Sebastian and the guys were there. But unlike the last concert, they had much better seats since the guys had saved two for them. Unlike the shaky start in the fall, this time around, Blaine was at ease the moment he walked on stage. The moment he sat down behind the piano, everyone glanced at Sebastian who seemed to relax in his seat, which let them know they were in for a treat. And they weren't disappointed in the slightest as Blaine sang a very traditional Christmas carol, yet gave it a special twist that was uniquely his.
If they weren't seeing the transformation with their own eyes, Santana and Rachel might not believe what they were seeing as they watched and listened to Blaine. Heck, Sam told them that more than once when they all spoke as he was surprised by what they were telling him. The Blaine they were both describing was one Sam never thought he'd see again. Yet those few hours he spent with Blaine and Sebastian together, he certainly saw glimpses of his best friend. A side of him that he thought was gone forever. With everything the girls had told him, he couldn't wait to come out after Christmas to take in Blaine's New Year's Eve show and see everything with his own eyes.
When they were leaving the show that night, Santana and Rachel both smiled as Hunter and Thad helped them on with their coats while Sebastian and Jeff went backstage to pick up Blaine and Morgan. "Are the two of you going to join us for a drink or do you need to go home?" Hunter asked as he draped Santana's scarf around her neck as Thad did the same for Rachel. When Rachel looked at Santana, a small smile crept to her face.
"We'd love to join you all, though Rachel can't stay out too late as she has an audition in the morning."
"That works as neither Sebastian nor myself can stay out late either." Hunter told them.
"Shouldn't you be getting home to your girl?" Santana asked as they waited for the others.
"She doesn't get back into town until tomorrow." Hunter replied. "So, until then I just have to keep myself occupied." When Thad laughed, Santana looked between the two. "Not like that smartass. She hasn't been gone that long." Hunter then looked at Rachel. "Sorry."
"It's okay." Rachel said as a shy smile crept to her face. "I'm not that prudish Hunter, honest. Last time the conversation caught me off-guard. Blaine and I talked about it and well, he understood considering I was still getting used to everyone. Not to mention, it's not something I'm used to discussing with guys."
"Are you saying Blaine never touched upon the topic?" Thad asked.
"No."
"That's because it's not something Kurt felt was an appropriate topic." Santana quickly said so that Rachel didn't have to continue. "Hell, anytime I mentioned sex, he'd shunned me and that's not only because I'm into girls." When she spoke, Hunter and Thad looked at one another before they each smiled. "You're both perverts, aren't you?"
"Why would you say that?" Hunter asked.
"The way you both smirked at what I said."
"No, that was nothing about you." Thad told him. "It's more about the fact that Blaine was probably sexually deprived during his marriage and now he's with Sebastian. Talk about polar opposites." Thad's words caused both of the girls to laugh as that was the last thing either expected to hear, yet neither could really argue with him. Plus for Rachel, considering what she found in Blaine's apartment, it was fact. For her, she knew a bit more than Santana and well, that part of the marriage wasn't something that thrived. And that was even before Kurt started to accuse Blaine of cheating on him. "While I know Santana's mind works like ours, I never expected you to laugh." Thad said as he looked at Rachel who had that shy smile on her face. "I think we just might be corrupting you Miss Berry."
"Please, corrupt her as I've been trying for years." Santana told him and Rachel just looked at her. "Come on Rach, you can't deny that since we've started spending time with them you've been more relaxed." Once she spoke, all eyes were on Rachel who casted her eyes down before looking at all three of them. "I will take that as you agree." Santana then slid her arm through Hunter's. "We better go find all those love birds before they ditch us."
"Lead the way." Hunter replied and soon Rachel hooked her arms through Thad's and the four of them were on their way. "So, are you still speaking with the girl you hooked up with at Thad's?" After he spoke, Santana looked up at him. "What, are you trying to tell me you two didn't hook up afterward considering the way you were eye-sexing all night."
"For your information, we didn't take things that far. Though, we easily could've with as well as we clicked. And how is it you could see that?"
"One of the guys, non-Warbler, asked about you and well, he didn't believe me when I told him you weren't into guys. So, I pointed out the way you and said female were dancing and well, eye-sexing." Santana smiled before stretching to kiss Hunter on the cheek. "What was that for?"
"For handling things the way you did. Some guys refuse to see what's right in front of him."
"That's why I showed him. I've never really understood why people freak about who others are into as it doesn't affect me."
"So that comment you made to Blaine when you first met, what was that about?" Santana said, quickly catching Hunter's attention as he had no idea she knew.
"It was so he didn't think I was coming onto him." Hunter told her. "And by that point, I'd heard more than enough about Blaine Anderson to know not to even go there if I wanted to survive Sebastian. Whether they were on good terms or not then, Sebastian wouldn't let anyone screw with Blaine's emotions."
"So his turning a new leaf, wasn't a joke back then?"
"No, if anything, he wanted to show Blaine another side of him. He always believed Blaine deserved better than Hummel." Before Hunter could say anything else to Santana, the others came walking towards them.
"Nice rose Blaine." Rachel said upon spotting the white rose in Blaine's hand. "Beautiful bouquet Morgan." She added after spotting the large bouquet in her hand.
"Thank you." Blaine replied before glancing up at Sebastian who was smiling. "What did you all think?" And the response he got from them all was that they enjoyed the concert as he certainly helped add to the festive atmosphere. Once they all began to walk so they could go grab that drink before going their separate ways, Blaine stopped once his phone rang. The others all looked at him and he only raised a finger to let them know he shouldn't be long.
After he stepped off to the side so he could hopefully hear better, it didn't come as a surprise to Sebastian that all eyes fell on him. With everything that had been happening around them, it seemed that anytime Blaine took a call or his mood changed all eyes were on Sebastian. Yet he didn't have to say anything the instant they heard the word, Mom, come out of Blaine's mouth. "I'm honestly surprised they didn't make their way out here this." Jeff said as they waited for Blaine to finish.
"Early on B told them they didn't need to come for his concerts." Sebastian told him. "While he appreciated the sentiment, going to an Arts school would've racked up quite the frequent flyer miles for his parents."
"Not that they can't afford to do so." Thad said and Jeff nodded in agreement. "Frequent flyer miles be damned. Though, they could've ended up taking one heck of a vacation because of it."
"True." Sebastian replied. "But it's what B wanted, so they respected it. Though, according to him they did come to his first concert after he left Kurt as they wanted to make sure he knew he wasn't alone." When Rachel's and Santana's eyes cast down, Sebastian was quick to let them know that Blaine understood them not coming with as nasty as things were in the beginning. Those words, got confirmation from Morgan who remembered all too well how Blaine was once he left Kurt. More than once a week, Kurt would show up looking for him, wanting an explanation as to why he left. Hearing that they now all understood more of why Blaine really didn't tell many people where he lived. The last thing he wanted was for Kurt to show up on his doorstep as that was his sanctuary at the time.
Per Morgan, one minute Kurt would be trying to convince Blaine to come home and the next he'd be screaming and yelling at him, telling him what a horrible person he was for leaving. And he always seemed to do so in places where Blaine couldn't walk away. For Blaine, dealing with the divorce was personal, yet Kurt had no problem discussing their issues in a very public setting. That made those that were close to Blaine at school, rally around him even more as no one deserved to be treated in that manner.
When Blaine came walking back over, he was still smiling as he put his phone back in his pocket. "And how are your parents?" Jeff asked.
"They are doing well, but you should know that considering they were out with yours recently." After Blaine spoke, Sebastian looked over at Jeff.
"What?" Jeff said upon noticing the look. "Our parents have been friends ever since they met at the first parents' night at Dalton." While he answered, they all began to walk again. "And even though Kurt convinced our boy to cut off contact with us, it didn't affect our parents."
"Did your parents even know?" Blaine asked as he glanced at Jeff who shook his head. "You never told them?"
"No, none of us did. The general consensus was there was no reason to tell any of our parents. Did your parents know?"
"They had an idea, but only because I rarely spoke of anyone aside from Wes, but then it wasn't much." In that moment, Sebastian wrapped his arm around Blaine's shoulders. "Plus they knew how Kurt felt about all of you."
"Knowing your parents, I doubt they were thrilled to hear what he had to say about all of us." Thad said and Blaine confirmed that assessment. For his parents, spending time with Kurt wasn't their favorite thing to do as they couldn't understand how he could act so cold to the person he loved and was married to. That's not to mention the way he would dismiss things Blaine was interested in. It was one of the main reasons they all didn't spend much time together. And when they did, Kurt's family was usually there as well to help ease the tension, especially between Kurt and Mr. Anderson.
While they were sitting and enjoying their drink at the bar, everyone kept glancing at Rachel who was ignoring her phone every time that it rang. "You do know, if you just answer, he'll stop calling." Blaine said calmly before taking a sip of his drink.
"I don't want to talk to him as it would ruin the mood." Rachel replied as she set her drink on the table. "He'd ask a ton of questions about who I'm out with and if I tell him the truth, I'll get a lecture. It's really a no-win situation." While she spoke, Hunter, Thad, and Sebastian all exchanged looks.
"I've seen that look before and usually it means you're all up to no good." Jeff said before looking for their waitress to order another round. When they all looked at him, Jeff laughed. "Yes, don't try and deny it guys."
"What are you three thinking?" Blaine asked as now his curiosity was peaked as he didn't have the same view of the three that Jeff had.
"Who says Rachel needs to be the one to answer her phone." Hunter replied. "Any of us at this table could." Once he spoke, Morgan and Santana looked at one another and smiled. "You'd be the safe choice as he'd just throw a bitch fit that Rachel's spending with you. And from what we've heard, he's surprised anytime she's out with Santana, yet it wouldn't come as a complete surprise." Rachel nodded as she really couldn't argue with what Hunter was saying.
"Morgan wouldn't have the same sort of shock value since he really doesn't know her well aside from the fact that he knows she's Jeff's girlfriend." Thad said. "But…" When he got a mischievous smirk on his face, Blaine looked and saw Hunter and Sebastian had similar ones on their faces. Blaine then looked across at Jeff who nodded as he had an idea that was what was on their minds. "Now it's only a matter of who does it."
"Sebastian shouldn't do it as we shouldn't give him any clue that he's in contact with Rachel as that would send up signal flares." Hunter said and Blaine agreed without hesitation, as did Sebastian no matter how much he'd love to mess with Kurt after everything.
"I think Thad should do it." Santana said after taking a sip. "He doesn't remember Hunter whatsoever and well, Jeff, don't take this the wrong way, but you're too sweet."
"No offense taken. Thad and Hunter are clearly the bigger bastards." Even Blaine and Sebastian couldn't stop themselves from laughing as Jeff spoke with a straight face. Yet neither Thad nor Hunter flinched. "So, are you game to screw with him Harwood?"
"Gladly." Thad replied before looking at Rachel. "How far can I take it Rachel?"
"You can do what you like." Rachel replied which caused Sebastian to lean forward on the table. "What is it Sebastian?"
"You need to be clear Rachel as Thad will have no issue pushing boundaries you might not be comfortable with." Sebastian told her bluntly. "The point of this is to screw with him which means telling him things he probably won't want to hear nor probably believe, but piss him off at the same time." Rachel then looked at Thad who nodded in agreement with Sebastian, proving they were all on the same page. "So, if you don't want him doing something, you need to say it now."
"While Bas is skirting the issue Rach, sex will probably get brought up." Blaine added as he realized the guys knew how to push Kurt's buttons. "And if Thad is answering that means it's going to involve you since it's your phone." Santana looked at Rachel as Blaine spoke and saw her cheeks begin to turn pink which wasn't an effect of the alcohol. "So, what's it going to be Rach?" Rachel then turned slightly to look at Thad who was sitting beside her.
"Just try not to be too graphic." Thad looked at her as did everyone else, slightly shocked by her response. But Santana had told her that going out of her comfort zone once in a while was a good thing. And doing it around friends is usual best as you have a safety net nearby.
"I can do that." Thad told her with a smile, as she took her phone out of her purse and set it on the table. "Just remember everyone, no laughing or I might not be able to pull it off." Once everyone nodded, they tried to get back to their conversation, but were all watching the phone…waiting. Some might think they were being a bit childish, and maybe they were. But with the amount of times her phone had gone off, they'd had enough, deciding it was time to teach him a lesson. When it did ring, all it took was the smile from Thad's face for them all to know it was Kurt. So after a couple of rings he finally answered. "What…do…you want?" Thad's voice a bit deeper than usual as he answered as he had the phone on speaker since the bar was rather quiet and they were off in a corner.
"Who is this? Where is Rachel?"
"Uh…that's it Rach…just like that babe." Santana had to clasp her hands over her mouth as Thad spoke as she couldn't believe he went there so quickly. As Santana reacted, Blaine looked at Rachel who was now fully blushing.
"I want to speak with Rachel."
"Rachel's a bit bus…oh yea, so good." The more he spoke and the soft moans he began to make had everyone else doing what they could to stop themselves from reacting. "Uh, she's busy."
"Who the hell is this?" The next thing Thad did in response was groan a bit and they all swore they heard Kurt gasp in disgust. "Put Rachel on!"
"No." When he responded, he pitched his voice in that singular word just a bit to make it sound as though he was on edge. "So, close…Ra…" Before Thad could even finish her name they saw the screen flash as Kurt had hung up. The instant they saw that, they all began to laugh as Thad handed the phone back to Rachel. Once he placed it in her hand, Thad gave her a wink as a shy smile crept to her face. "So, what did you all think?" As the words came out of his mouth, Thad placed his arm around the back of the booth behind Rachel before reaching for his drink with his other hand.
"Wonderful!" Santana told him with a big smile. "Your own little imitation of When Harry Met Sally."
"I would've had to be more into it, to do that justice." Thad said with a wink. "Maybe next time."
"You do realize he's going to show up at your door first thing in the morning, right?" Blaine said as he relaxed against Sebastian. "He's going to want to know who that was."
"A lady never tells." Rachel replied which caught Santana as well as the others by surprise. "And depending, he won't catch me since I have an audition in the morning."
"Speaking of, we should all probably call it a night once we finish these drinks." Sebastian said before kissing Blaine on the temple. "Not that I want to, but I need to get a decent amount of sleep tonight."
"Does that mean you're not going back to your part of town?" Jeff asked as he looked across at him.
"Why would I when I have a bed just as comfortable to crash in where I wouldn't be alone." When he spoke, Blaine glanced back at him and smiled before kissing him on the jaw. "So it seems only Mr. Clarington has to truly travel as I'm assuming you're not going back to Jersey."
"That would be correct." Jeff replied. "I'm taking the train back in the morning as I don't have anything till afternoon." Jeff then looked around. "You do realize, the rest of the guys are going to be pissed they missed Thad's performance."
"Like he said, there could be a repeat." Morgan said and the others agreed. "It's just a matter of whether or not their around for the next one."
"Would you be okay with me doing that again Rach?" Thad asked as he looked at her.
"If he becomes annoying like that again, why not?"
Once they all went their separate ways that night, Santana looked over at Rachel as the guys had put them in a cab for the ride home. "How warm did your cheeks feel during Thad's performance as there was no doubt what he was implying you were doing?" Rachel looked at her and the same pink hue crept to her cheeks. "That warm, huh?" Santana said before giggling and Rachel tugged on the bottom of her coat. "You know Kurt's not going to believe that you let some guy answer your phone while you were supposedly blowing him."
"Would one really have the ability to stop someone in that position? I mean, you are a bit pre-occupied with other things."
"Why Rachel Berry, what has come over you?"
"Didn't you say I was being corrupted by being around the guys?"
"Yes, but I never expected this, at least so quickly." Santana said with a smile.
"The guys aren't around and well, you as well as Blaine told me it's alright to speak what's on my mind in this regard. No need to be shy if I'm comfortable with who is around me."
"I know we have, but I didn't think you would."
"It's just us right now Santana. But if you feel the need to tell Blaine, go right ahead." Rachel said with a smile. "Heck, I'm sure he was shocked that I agreed to let Thad essentially have free reign on what he wanted to do."
"Did you think he'd do what he did?"
"No, but it certainly had the desired effect on Kurt."
"I'm pretty sure the thought of you doing something like that is the last thing on his mind." Rachel nodded in agreement. "But Thad certainly made you sound talented." When Rachel giggled Santana looked at her and smiled. "He's it, isn't he?"
"What do you mean?"
"The one you're smitten with, it's Thad." The only response Santana got was the shy smile that crept to Rachel's face. "It is! Who would've ever taken you to be someone to go after a supposed bad boy?"
"You mean like Blaine did?"
"Touché. What are you going to do about it?"
"Nothing as I doubt he'd ever give me a second look."
"He seemed to enjoy your company at his party as well as tonight." Santana told her before looking out the window to see where they were. "And we already discussed that those boys don't do anything they don't want to do."
"I know, it's just…"
"It's just what Rach?" Santana replied as she turned slightly so she was looking directly at her.
"I need to sort out my feelings first, okay."
"You want to make sure this isn't some passing infatuation."
"Precisely. So in the meantime, I'll get to know him better."
"You do realize he's going back to Ohio for a week to spend Christmas with his family, right?"
"I know as I was paying attention. He's flying out first thing on the twenty-four and coming back on the thirtieth so he's back in time for Blaine's next performance."
"I'll accept that for now; just know I'm not going to let the topic drop."
"I wouldn't expect you too."
The next morning when Santana woke up, Rachel was already gone when the all too expected knocking began at their door. And for what seemed the first time in a long time, Santana was looking forward to opening it and seeing Kurt. She barely had the door pulled open when Kurt pushed his way passed her calling for Rachel, heading straight towards her room. When he came walking back out, Santana was sitting on the couch, sipping her coffee. "If you called, you would've known she wasn't here." Santana told him calmly.
"Where is she?" Kurt asked as he adjusted the bag over his shoulder.
"At an audition, why?" She asked before taking another sip. "What's so important Kurt to bring you by so early?"
"I need to speak to her about something that happened last night."
"If you want, I'm here and I'm actually in a good mood so I'll listen if you want to talk."
"This doesn't concern you Santana, it's about Rachel."
"What about her?" Santana asked, doing her best not to give away that she knew precisely what he wanted to speak to Rachel about.
"I said it was none of your business."
"Well, I'm rather curious what you could possibly want to talk to her about considering she was on a date last night." That comment brought Kurt's full attention to her. "You heard me right, Rachel was on a date."
"With who? What's his name?"
"I don't remember his name offhand as we only met in passing when he came to pick her up." Kurt glared at her as she paused to take another sip of coffee. "Oh, I can tell you, he was hot!"
"I don't care if he was hot! Do you know when she got home last night?"
"Not really as I worked last night so it was late when I got here."
"Was she home?"
"Yes, she was all snug and tucked in her bed when I got home." Santana said with a completely patronizing look on her face.
"Did you see her this morning?"
"I did actually and she couldn't wipe the smile off her face if she tried. So, I'd say the date was successful and she enjoyed herself." When Kurt mumbled under his breath it took quite a bit of control for Santana not to react. If the guys could see him now, they'd be more than happy with the result of what Thad did. "Did you say something Kurt?"
"No. Do you know when she's going to be back?"
"Not sure, but I can give her a message if you like as I'm sure you need to get going." Kurt hesitated for a moment, but then proceeded to ask Santana to have Rachel call him at her soonest opportunity. Santana promised that she would while getting up to show Kurt out. After closing the door behind him and locking it the biggest smile crept to her face. From the way he was reacting, he actually believed what he heard during that phone call. Knowing this was too good to be true, she made a mental note to call at least one of the guys after her shower and share the news. As well as call Rachel and give her the heads up so she wasn't completely blindsided by his behavior.
Later that afternoon when Hunter and Sebastian finished their last class, they decided to head over and see Thad to see if he'd listened to Santana's message yet. While it was tempting for Sebastian to call Blaine he refrained as he'd already told him he'd gotten the message and they'd talk about it later when he got to Sebastian's after rehearsal. "Is it wrong that I wished we could've seen his face when talking to Santana?" Sebastian said as they headed down the stairs towards the subway. "The thought of Rachel giving a guy oral while he was on the other end of the phone must've turned his stomach."
"From everything you guys have told me, and that includes Blaine. I wouldn't be surprised if he got sick from the thought." Sebastian chuckled softly as they reached the platform. "It probably doesn't help that Thad made her sound really talented."
"B commented about that on our way to his place." Sebastian replied. "And that Thad made it sound as though he was already pretty worked up, it put the image in his head that Rachel had been doing it for quite some time. The only thing missing was Thad stroking his own ego by saying he couldn't believe she could take it all." That last comment caused Hunter to almost sip his coffee out on a man in front of them. "Hey, it's true. We all know he could've gone there."
"Mention it to him for next time." Hunter said as he wiped his coat sleeve off. "It's a good thing Kurt didn't recognize his voice."
"Why, that would've been priceless! From what I heard when I got to Dalton, Thad and Kurt butted heads big time." Hunter looked at him and raised an eyebrow. "It true. Ask B about it or Jeff. I have no doubt the rest of the guys would be more than willing to talk about it."
"I just might do that." Hunter said as their train pulled up. "Now, when do you want me to drop Blaine's gift off?"
"Could you do it before his show on the twenty-third? I can give you a key to get in. Just put it in the closet in the guest room."
"That's something I'm more than capable of doing. But text me when you guys are leaving so we don't accidentally run into each other."
"Deal."