"It was so good to finally meet you properly Sebastian," Mercedes said in the slightly high-pitched register of someone who was just being nice as she reached up to hug Sebastian goodbye.
"You too Mercedes," Sebastian replied with the stilted tone of someone who had never really grasped the concept of "just being nice". He gave Mercedes an awkward pat on the back and threw a panicked expression over her shoulder at David, who was trying and failing to hide his amusement at Sebastian's discomfort. Honestly, for somebody who spent a good proportion of his life grinding with strangers in clubs, Sebastian was surprisingly inept at polite socializing. Then again, maybe that explained more than it didn't. There wasn't exactly a whole lot of incentive to be a stellar conversationalist when you could get a guy from dance floor to bathroom stall in under ten minutes.
Mercedes drew away and repeated the gesture with Nick, Jeff and Matthew in turn (with varying degrees of enthusiasm depending on the person) as Sebastian crossed his arms and resisted the urge to tap his foot impatiently. When Mercedes had come to visit David after school that afternoon, David had insisted that Sebastian and the others spend some "quality time" with his girlfriend, getting to know her better and all that jazz. Which was fine, really, except there was only so much who-was-hooking-up-with-who-and-who-was-mad-about-it talk that one man could take in the space of two hours, and Sebastian had reached his limit about an hour and fifty-nine minutes ago.
The worst bit had definitely been when Mercedes had started describing in great detail how Rachel had completely derailed their latest Regionals rehearsal with an ill-timed serenade to Finn; Sebastian had literally had to bite the inside of his cheek to stop himself from saying anything in response. Really, by that point it would have only taken a couple of well-placed nudges to get Mercedes divulging the entire New Directions set list for their next competition, and it was only the death-glares being shot his way by David that had stopped him. Plus the fact that Sebastian Smythe didn't cheat. Any more.
"Are you sure you have to leave?" David pouted slightly as he scooped Mercedes into his arms and started nuzzling her neck. Sebastian sighed and subtly averted his gaze. There were some things he really did not need to see.
"Awww look how cute they are," Nick gushed, wrapping his arms around Jeff and pulling the other boy closer, and no, "cute" was definitely not the word Sebastian would have used. Sickening, maybe. Possibly nauseating.
"I think you're pretty adorable yourself," Jeff muttered quietly as he reached around to squeeze his boyfriend's ass, leaning down to press a possessive kiss to his lips, and Sebastian was pretty sure if he had to deal with any more PDA in such an enclosed area – okay so maybe the Dalton parking lot wasn't "enclosed," but it was certainly feeling way too small right about now – he was going to explode. "Get a room guys," he spoke loudly, hoping to give all of his loved-up friends a not-so-subtle hint.
Jeff and Nick broke away laughing. "You know what, that sounds like an amazing idea Sebby," Jeff replied as he grabbed Nick's hand and started dragging his boyfriend back up the stairs towards Dalton. "See you later kids," he shouted over his shoulder just before they both disappeared through the large entrance doors.
Sebastian breathed a small sigh of relief; hopefully the two boys leaving would prompt the conclusion of what was turning out to be the world's longest goodbye. Luckily it seemed to do the job as with a dejected sigh David moved to open the door to Mercedes' car and help her into the driver's seat. Sebastian had to redirect his gaze once more as the pair shared another passionate goodbye kiss (Again? Seriously?) and then – finally – David closed the door and stepped away to stand next to Sebastian and Matthew as they waved his girlfriend goodbye. Sebastian fidgeted slightly as he watched Mercedes turn the key in the ignition; there were still a good few hours left before curfew, and a couple of rounds of Pro-Evo with the boys sounded like a pretty good end to the evening.
"So I was thinking-" he began, but his words were cut off by a decidedly unhealthy spluttering erupting from the car in front of him, and his plans for the evening died at about the same time as Mercedes' engine.
Sebastian groaned inwardly as Mercedes shoved the door open and stepped out of the car scowling. David hurried over toward her anxiously, with Sebastian following at a slightly more sedate pace. Judging by the smoke seeping from under the hood it looked as if Mercedes wasn't going anywhere any time soon, which meant more quality best friend/girlfriend bonding time while they waited for the tow truck. Oh good.
"Stupid thing," Mercedes muttered, kicking the tire of her beat-up Mustang angrily as she fumbled in her purse for her phone. "It keeps doing this!"
"I think it's time to get a new car," Matthew said, crouching down to peer at the front vent where smoke was still billowing, and Sebastian couldn't help but raise an eyebrow at Matthew's words; surely even he couldn't be so oblivious to think that a simple "get a new car" was a viable option for most people. Although, Sebastian thought as the other boy wrinkled his nose in distaste at the acrid smell emanating from underneath the hood, this was Dalton, and Dalton wasn't exactly representative, if the rows of Jaguars and Porches were anything to go by.
"I think my parents are members of Triple-A?" David spoke warily, eyeing the car with more than a little distrust, and Sebastian had to stifle a laugh at just how incompetent they were all proving to be. Wasn't this something that boys were supposed to be good at?
"Nah don't worry about it, honey, I'll call Kurt. He and Rach were hitting up Westerville Mall today, and there's still tons time before the shops close so it's pretty safe to say they'll still be around." Mercedes leant forwards to peck David fondly on the cheek as she hit the dial button on her phone and lifted it to her ear as it started to ring.
Sebastian frowned. She couldn't possibly be talking about the same Kurt from the other night could she? A brief image of the slender boy leaning over the hood of the car in his immaculately put together attire from the party flitted into Sebastian's brain, and he snorted at the picture. No, it couldn't possibly be that Kurt. Even if he had to admit the boy would look particularly appetizing bent over like that (and no, he wasn't going to go there, especially not after how the other night ended), there was no way that that Kurt would know enough about cars to fix smoke, and burning, and whatever else was wrong with the scrapheap Mercedes insisted on driving.
"Hey boo," Mercedes' voice tore Sebastian from his musings, and he turned towards the girl curiously, wondering who on earth this other Kurt might be. "I'm at Dalton with David and my car's doing that thing again...I know, I know...I've just been really busy with Regionals and with David...I'll bring it into the shop next week I promise, can you just come and do that thing you did last time? Pretty please?" Mercedes paused for a second, nibbling her lower lip as the boy on the other end of the phone talked, before breaking into a grin and doing a little dance on the spot. "You're the best! Thank you babe, see you in a bit!"
Fifteen awkward, small-talky minutes later a big black navigator roared into the Dalton lot, and Mercedes leapt up eagerly from where she was sitting on the school steps next to David and the other boys. Running over, she threw herself at the driver almost before he had stepped out of the car. "Thank you, thank you, thank you," she cried as the boy shimmied out of her death-grip, laughing. Sebastian was halfway toward standing when he recognized the figure and froze mid-movement. Yes, that was definitely the Kurt from the party - what the hell?
David stood up and grabbed at Sebastian's elbow to drag him up from the weird half-crouched position he seemed to have gotten stuck in. "Come on guys, lets go say hi." Sebastian sighed, there really was no getting out of this now.
By the time the Dalton boys had reached Mercedes and Kurt, the short brunette girl from the party had also climbed out of the car, followed by a much taller boy who Sebastian vaguely remembered her locking lips with for most of the night. Mercedes turned around, smiling brightly. "Guys, you remember Kurt, Rachel and Finn right?"
"Of course, how could we possibly forget?" David replied, ever the gentleman as he gave the trio an easy wave. "And did you guys meet Sebastian and Matthew?"
"You could call it that," Kurt replied, his voice containing an unmistakable bite to it as he focused his piercing gaze on Sebastian. "I see your face survived the frat boys then. What a shame."
"What can I say, I'm a natural charmer. You should try it sometime." It was a weak comeback, Sebastian knew, and judging by the raised eyebrow from David – who was well accustomed to Sebastian's usually scathing wit – everybody else in the group knew as well. Sebastian gave a small shrug in David's direction; he didn't quite understand it either.
"On that crowd of hopped-up party animals? I wouldn't waste the energy. Idiots who think the world revolves around them aren't exactly my type". Kurt hit back instantly, leaving little doubt in anyone's mind about what adjectives he would use to describe Sebastian if ever asked. Before Sebastian had a chance to respond (which was probably just as well because Sebastian was drawing a complete blank) Kurt turned back to Mercedes, "Come on then, lead the way to that rolling death-trap you call a car."
The group shuffled over towards Mercedes' car, with Kurt berating her every step of the way for not getting it looked at sooner. Sebastian quickly gathered that Kurt's dad owned a car-repair shop, which he guessed explained the bizarre situation he had found himself in where Kurt Hummelknew how to fix an engine. When they reached the Mustang Kurt turned to Finn, shrugging out of his jacket and handing it to Rachel. "Give me your sweatshirt Finn."
"Dude?" The taller boy asked curiously. Sebastian had to agree, it was a bit of an odd request. Kurt gave a put-upon sigh, "This shirt is Alexander McQueen, and as much as I love Mercedes I don't love her enough to get oil on his 2010 spring collection." Kurt paused, beckoning at Finn expectantly, "and before you say anything, I've seen how you treat your clothes, Finn Hudson, so don't try and pretend you'll care if I get them dirty."
Sebastian snorted as Finn shrugged and drew the football hoodie over his head, throwing it to Kurt who caught it deftly and pulled it on, rolling up the slightly too-long sleeves so he could work. Walking over to the front of the car Kurt popped the hood with a quick flick of his wrist and propped the metal up on its stalk.
"Finn, can you grab the toolbox from the-"
"Way ahead of you baby brother," the other boy replied, thumping a massive steel box down next to the car before crouching down to rummage through its contents.
"I'm two months older than you Finn, two months," Kurt teased good naturedly as he leaned over the hood and started poking at something in the depths of the engine, and Sebastian had to stifle a sharp exhale of breath as he was suddenly provided with a perfect view of Kurt's perfectly toned ass. It wasn't like he was interested in the boy or anything - he wasn't - but it was hard not to appreciate the male form when it was presented so nicely after all.
"It's a figure of speech bro," Finn mumbled in response as he continued to sort through the many wrenches, screwdrivers and god-knows-what-elses in the box in front of him. "So whadda'ya think, crescent wrench or fixed-width?"
"I'll take the crescent wrench, but to be honest this belt is so rickety it might just be a hand job." Kurt's arm stretched out to the side towards Finn, grasping blindly at the air for the tool as his attention remained focused on the car parts in front of him. Sebastian couldn't help laughing at the seemingly unintended innuendo and accompanying action.
"If that's your idea of a hand job I seriously worry about whichever boy is on the receiving end of your affections." The words were out of his mouth before he remembered he wasn't talking to Nick or Jeff, and that the current company he was keeping probably wouldn't appreciate his crass humor. He was vaguely aware of a gasp of surprise from one of the girls, but all his attention was fixed on the boy in front of him, his body thrumming with energy as he waited to see how Kurt would react to the jibe. Kurt didn't even look up from the car, simply accepting the adjustable wrench from Finn's outstretched hand.
"You should see what I can do with a nut," he replied, spinning the wheel on the wrench so that the teeth slammed closed with an audible 'clack'. The sentiment behind the gesture was blindingly obvious, and Sebastian couldn't help raising an eyebrow at Kurt's lightning-quick response. It was a far more clever retaliation than he had been anticipating from Mr. Innocent over there, and for the second time that day his own usually flawless response time was shot to pieces. A long beat of silence fell, and Kurt twisted his head away from the inner-workings of car to shoot a pointed look at Sebastian as if to say What? No comeback?
"You know it really is incredible that you guys know how to fix this sort of stuff; it must be an absolute lifesaver when you constantly have to rely on second-hand cars." Matthew disrupted the non-verbal conversation between the two boys with a slightly mocking tone, giving Sebastian a pointed nudge as if encouraging him to share the joke. Sebastian broke away from Kurt's gaze to frown slightly at Matthew; it seemed a like an underhanded thing to mock somebody for, even to Sebastian where nothing was usually off limits. The sentiment was clearly shared by Kurt as well, who twisted toward Matthew with a look that could maim, torture and kill if given half an opportunity painted across his expressive features. "And what exactly is that supposed to-"
"So David," Rachel interrupted, clearly trying to diffuse the suddenly awkward situation with the most obvious of all subject changes. "I think convention dictates that it's your turn to host the next New Directions/Warbler soirée, since Sugar and her sister did the honors last time."
It was desperate attempt, but it was enough. Mercedes spun towards David with excitement practically radiating from her pores. "Oh yeah, that's an awesome idea, don't you think so Dave, honey?"
"Ummm..." David began hesitantly, throwing a slightly panicked look at Sebastian. Sebastian's eyes widened as he tried to convey through telepathy what a truly awful idea that was, and how David should shoot it down immediately. Unfortunately the message seemed to get lost in transit, because the next second David turned back to Mercedes with a bright smile on his face. "That sounds like a great idea. We'd all love to get to know your friends better, wouldn't we guys?"
Mercedes and Rachel squealed, grabbing each other's arms excitedly. "Yay, party!" Rachel exclaimed in what had to be the most inane statement of the evening, and Sebastian found himself desperately wanting to turn around and hit his head against the brick wall of the school building. The two girls started to discuss the intricacies of the get-together from hell (take two) as Sebastian shot death glares at David and resolved to put something particularly cold and squishy in his bed as payback.
"So how about next weekend?" Mercedes asked, looping her arm through David's and peering up at him sweetly.
"Errr...I guess that could work," David stammered, obviously feeling pretty out of his depth when confronted by the whirlwind of girl in front of him. Mercedes smiled and stood on tiptoes to kiss David's cheek, whispering "You're the best," in his ear. Sebastian couldn't help thinking that his friend was being used for his party-hosting abilities ever so slightly, or maybe he was just bitter about the prospect of another weekend spent doing battle with Lima-losers and their keggers, by this point it was hard to say.
"Oh, that's perfect!" Rachel exclaimed excitedly. She leaned over the open engine and stage-whispered to Kurt, "If everything works out on Friday maybe you can ask George! We could double date!" She looked up again and prattled on to Mercedes, "Wait till you see what he bought to wear. Nobody could say no to Kurt in that outfit. I swear, this guy is going to absolutely die when he sees it."
Sebastian's chest felt like it had dropped into his shoes, and he could barely think over the sudden roaring of blood in his ears. He hadn't been expecting that, hadn't been expecting to have his name dropped so casually into the conversation, as if it were the most normal thing in the world for George to come to a Dalton-hosted party. It had been bad enough seeing him at a stranger's house, but this was Sebastian's territory, and these were his friends. George didn't belong here, not now, not after everything.
His whole body stiffened as the concept wormed its way into his brain and started to rot. He closed his eyes and tried to block out the memories of the last time George had been at Dalton, with the pleading and the yelling and Sebastian only just managing to hold it together until after he was gone, leaving David to pick up the pieces of the broken boy that was once Sebastian Smythe. He couldn't imagine being at another party where George was, not again, not on his turf, and not as Kurt's plus one.
Kurt. Sebastian opened his eyes to see the boy wiping his hands on his makeshift coverall and turning to smile bashfully at Rachel's words.
"I told you Rach, it's just coffee and a movie. It's not a big deal." All the snark and the bite from earlier were gone, and in their place was a bashful schoolboy about to go on a date with a handsome college guy. Christ, he was the very picture of naivety, of innocence. Kurt was like a porcelain doll, and he would break even more readily than Sebastian had.
"I'd recommend a chaperone, Princess. Many an innocent virgin has sacrificed her virtue in the back row of a movie theater." Sebastian's voice was dripping with sarcasm as he flung out the comment.
Kurt frowned, his brow creasing as he shifted slightly to focus his attention back on Sebastian. "I find it hard to believe that you've ever cared about anyone's virtue, including your own, so what's it to you?"
Sebastian shrugged, forcing an air of casualness into his voice. "Well why on earth would I bother with something that stops me from getting laid? I'm just looking out for you sweetheart; it's a big bad world out there."
David turned curiously towards Sebastian. After so many years of friendship he had learned to read Sebastian's retorts pretty well, and Sebastian knew he could tell this was an attack based on discomfort and unease. "Wait, you're not talking about..." David began questioningly, and Sebastian could tell exactly where that sentence was going and no, his history with George was not being brought up in front of a bunch of strangers and the boy who was about to go on a date with him. Talk about looking pathetic, like a jealous ex.
"We're talking," he replied scathingly, taking a second to shoot a desperate look at David that begged him to please, please, let it go, before turning his derisive gaze back to Kurt,"about an opportunistic college guy who thinks if he fucks a boy wearing girls' clothes he won't have to come out to his parents just yet."
The words whipped around the group like a slap, and instantly Sebastian wished he could take them back. Not because of the horrified looks on the girls' faces, or the way Finn looked like he wanted to punch the crap out of him. Hell, it wasn't even Kurt's truly venomous stare that made him want to suck the words back into his chest, it was David. David, who was looking at Sebastian with something that looked horribly like sympathy in his eyes, because he knew exactly what those words meant to Sebastian. While everyone else in the parking lot saw a nasty piece of work looking to hurt their friend, David saw a friend who had already been hurt, who was still hurting even three years later. Sebastian glared back at the group, forcing himself to keep his head held high. Fuck them. Fuck them all.
The silence hung like a guillotine between them all, deafening in its quietness, until finally it was broken by Kurt, who gave a heavy sigh and dropped his wrench back into the tool-kit by his feet with a loud clang.
"You know what, I'm not even going to dignify something so petty with a response," Kurt said, pointedly turning away from Sebastian to face Finn, who was hovering by the driver's-side door watching the exchange with equal amounts of anger and anxiety etched across his features. "Right, that should hold for now. Try giving it a whirl Finn?" The taller boy gave a quick nod and slid into the driver's seat, twisting the key in the ignition. The car coughed once and then revved to life, earning a small cheer from everyone present (Sebastian included, to his shame) and just like that the tension of before was broken, if not forgotten.
"My hero," Mercedes exclaimed, throwing her arms around Kurt's neck and kissing him on the cheek. Kurt laughed and returned the embrace.
"Alright, alright, just promise me you'll bring it in for my dad to take a look at this weekend, otherwise next time I'm leaving you hanging Miss Jones." Kurt drew back and squeezed the shorter girl's shoulder affectionately. "Now let's head home before this hunk of junk decides to die on us again."
The Lima kids turned and said their goodbyes, with David practically having to be dragged off Mercedes by Matthew and Sebastian after their seventh hug-and-kiss cycle. As the two cars pulled out of the Dalton parking lot David turned to his friends with a look of sheer panic on his face. "So - you'll both help me organize this party right?"