Summary: So it seems like I've settled into a weekend update routine. Hopefully I can stick to it ^_^.
I just want to point out as well that, unless indicated otherwise, these chapters are basically one shot situations occurring over the course of Kurt's senior year and Blaine's uni freshman year. Therefore the chapters may end up not actually being chronological time wise. There will consistently be one plot line underscoring each chapter though - each (or sometimes both boys) will be navigating their new lives without each other's constant presence, trying to find and discover themselves and their capabilities along the way, as long as the journey of their relationship.
Kurt squirmed uncomfortably on the seat he was, taking in the view around him. It was so strange; the room he had come to love and usually felt so at home in was now so alien to him from this angle. "I still don't think I should be here," Kurt admitted, shooting a longing glance at his couch, the one he had spent the majority of his time in this room curled comfortably upon.
"You'll get used to it," Trent told him softly, although Kurt could discern an edge of discomfort in his voice as well, "We'll get used to this."
"You guys can, maybe," Kurt said, briefly looking towards the cabinet where Jeff was studiously digging through books on the shelf, searching for who knows what. "I don't at all think I deserve this. There's people here so much longer than me."
"Stop complaining Kurtsey," Jeff called out from his spot, "none of us particularly want to be this year's Council, but since we are we'll make it the perfect opportunity for revenge."
"Revenge?" Trent inquired carefully.
Kurt chuckled in spite of himself. "Jeff is still determined to make Nick, and by extension all of the old Warblers for abandoning him."
"Us, Kurtsey," Jeff corrected, briefly pulling his head out of the cabinet to shoot him a mild glare. "Blaine left you to suffer here to, remember. We'll add you to our club Trent," he added after a moment, "Andrew's your step cousin twice removed, or something like that right? He's left you too."
"He's right here in Westerville though," Trent corrected. "He deferred his acceptance to MIT for a year because of his mom's diagnosis…we sang for her in July…remember?"
"He's not listening anymore," Kurt pointed out, "and there's no use arguing against him. You're officially part of our yet to be named club."
"Whose purpose is?"
"Well…that depends on Jeff's mood," Kurt admitted. "Currently our purpose appears to be to ensure that the Warblers at least reach Nationals. That'd be a one-up to what we managed last year and will make Nick and everyone else regret not still being a part of this to share in the victory."
"That doesn't really make sense."
"Shh," Kurt bid, "whatever keeps Jeffery happy."
"We'll have to find a way to make Trent's name rhyme Kurtsey," Jeff said, finally returning to the Council table with a thick tome in his hands. "Jeffery, Kurtsey, Trentsey? Nah, that doesn't really work. We'll think of something."
"Anyway," Kurt said, gently staring the conversation to its original thread, "Despite what Mr. Kentwood has said, I'm not really sure it's right for me to be on the Council."
"There's three seniors left on the team, and you're one of them," Trent deadpanned, "therefore, you are Council member. It's just one of those traditions that we can't really seem to get rid of."
"Wes was on the council since his junior year wasn't he?"
"There were only two seniors," Trent explained, "and there's always three. He was the most responsible at the time so they put him on it and once the other two graduated, he sort of just became the head with Thad and David being selected. Usually there's an election, but Andrew and Nick weren't really interested and Blaine thought that him being both lead singer and a councilman would be a conflict of interest although we never really saw it that way."
"Oh."
"Besides," Jeff added, flipping through the tome, "technically you're the most experienced of the three of us. You spent a year and some on McKinley's team. You've only actually been a member for nine months here, but you've spent nearly a year just here with us. Plus, being Blaine's boyfriend often made you privy to the little details we regular folks never really saw. Experience wise, you're the best, and I think you'll also bring a bit of innovation to us since you're not so thoroughly bred in tradition. You may just be what we need to break ourselves out of the box."
Kurt was silent for a long moment, taking that in. "You really think I can do this?"
"You can," Trent confirmed with a soft side.
"Can I at least not sit in the middle?" Kurt asked after a moment when his flush at the trust they were placing in him faded.
"Nope," Jeff declared, drawing out the "p". "That was Wes' seat. You can enjoy filling those shoes yourself."
"Jeff!"
"Yes Chief Warbler?"
"Don't call me that!"
"Okay Kurtsey."
"Don't call me that either."
"It's one or the other."
"Kurtsey it is."
"Thought so."
"You guys are ridiculous," Trent grumbled.
"You'll soon get used to it," Jeff told him.
"What are you looking for, anyway?" Kurt inquired, nodding Jeff's side.
"For the traitors' message to us."
"Traitors?" Trent repeated weakly.
"The former Council," Kurt explained. It was Jeff's latest name for their friends who had gone ahead to university.
"Wes called me this morning," Jeff said, "told me that they left a message in here somewhere for the new council. I'm trying to find it."
"Let us know when you do," Kurt told him, not bothering to point out that this meeting was supposed to be about them figuring out how to chart the way forward for the group. He had quickly realised in the first three weeks of the school year that Jeff had a singlemindedness to him that sometimes reminded him of Brittany. If his mind was set upon something, there was nothing to distract him from it.
"Mmhmm."
"Mr. Kentwood told me that the National Accapella Competition is running again this year. Maybe we can consider competing for that?"
"I think Blaine mentioned that to me once. The Warblers won it a few years back right? During what would have been his freshman year here?"
"They did," Trent confirmed. "The contest was cancelled since then, I can't remember why and when Blaine joined he convinced us that we should give a go at Show Choir competitions instead. But if our actually genre competition is back, maybe we should just re-focus there?"
"Show Choir or nothing," Jeff declared looking up briefly. "We'll do the both if we have to, but the traitors must pay."
"That's actually a good idea" Kurt stated. "As long as the competition schedules don't conflict we can maybe compete in both?"
"It'd be tough, but I don't see why not," Trent agreed.
Kurt was thoughtful for a moment. "How dedicated are the Warblers to accapella singing though?"
"Why are you asking?"
Kurt nipped at his lip, selecting his words carefully. "I know that historically the Warblers are an accapella group. But, does that hold true steadfast? We used music in last year's Christmas concert."
"Are you suggesting that we integrate music into our routines?" Trent asked, slightly incredulous.
"For the Show Choir contest yes," Kurt responded. "We'll never reach pass Regionals if we don't. I told Blaine that back in March. I knew from the get go that we wouldn't beat New Directions, not with relying on the regular style of performances. It's just not glee enough. Blaine didn't think anyone would truly go for moving away from the tradition, but if we enter two competitions…one that strictly caters to what this group holds as tradition, we can relax those rules for the second one? It'd definitely give us the edge we need."
Trent was silent for long moments. "That's a big change you're talking about Kurt."
"I know," he acknowledge.
"I think I like it though," Trent told him, rubbing at his chin thoughtfully. "Actually, I love it. The Warblers are the school's most popular group in school, but outside of it? You may be right."
"We should discuss that with everyone first though," Jeff spoke up, "that shouldn't be a decision we three make on our own."
"We can also ask them what changes they would like to see," Trent added, "I know Phillip was clamouring last year for some more modern dance moves."
"We also need to start recruiting new members," Kurt added. "We're lucky we're not below competition requirements, but our range is now a lot more limited. The group is down to two tenors and they're both on the lower end of the register anyway. Andrew was our best bass singer. Our singing range will be unbalanced unless we rectify that. We'll also need to work on singling out a new lead."
"Or leads," Trent added, "it'd make the transition easier next year if we have a second lead who is not a senior."
"Second lead?"
"Well you're the first," Jeff said nonchalantly.
"When did we decide that?"
"Blaine decided that when he made you his permanent duet partner," Jeff told him. "Another tradition."
"What?"
Trent grinned apologetically at him. "He's right. If the lead singer's in his final year, its tradition for him to sort of take a younger member under his wing. Sometimes he alternates leads with him if their vocals are too similar, but if they're complementary they become partners. Once the lead graduates, the mantle is passed over. The former happened to Blaine, and the latter's happened to you."
"But what about the conflict of interest you mentioned earlier," Kurt squeaked out, paling.
"Kurtsey, you're our counter-tenor. Unless we miraculously get a second one, you'd already be taking on special roles in the majority of our songs. We're just making it official for this year."
"You don't have to perform every time," Trent hurried to assure him, "Lead singer for us isn't truly literal although it may have seemed that way with Blaine. You can just take on a mentorship role and distribute the songs to others if you please. But if there's solo performances, you'll be the default choice."
"I'd suggest taking a sophomore or a junior," Jeff advised. "A freshman's voice is still too prone to change."
"Phillip maybe then," Kurt murmured, even as he reminded himself to send a very threatening message to his boyfriend at the end of the meeting, "he's got a lot of potential and he does stand out a lot."
"He's well respected as well," Trent added, "good choice."
"We should get costumes," Jeff piped up, "this uniform idea reeks too much of Wes."
"Sounds good," the two remaining councilmen agreed.
"So," Trent said, "we've tentatively decided upon both competitions, adding music and modern dancing and costuming. We've confirmed Kurt as the lead singer and Phillip will be the second. That's agreed upon?"
"Reluctantly so," Kurt said. I'm still not one hundred percent sure why you're trusting me with all this responsibility. I'm the one armed kid in two forms of therapy."
"Don't say that," Jeff ordered sharply, and for the first time in a long while, Kurt saw dead seriousness in his eyes when he set them on him.
"It's true though," Kurt muttered.
"It isn't," Trent assured him. "We don't see you for what you aren't capable of doing Kurt, even if you see yourself like that. We're trusting you with all these things because we know you can do it. And it's not like you're going to do this on your own. We'll all be right here for you along the way."
"Even if you do that weird hand jive thing."
Kurt chuckled at that.
"We're serious, you know," Trent said after a moment, his voice taking on a slightly deeper tone. "You're family Kurt. We'll look out for you the same way you'd look out for us. I mean…I know it's especially not easy on you. You and Blaine were kind of inseparable and you were each other's driving force. But, until you're back with him in New York, we're going to look after you okay?"
Kurt swallowed the lump that suddenly appeared in his throat, "I'll say okay only if that extends to this one of questionable sanity here," he half-joked, "he's missing Nick something fierce."
"Yeah, we'll look out for each other this next year, and try to carry on the legacy that's been left for us further. We'll make all those past Warblers proud."
"I found the message!" Jeff said excitedly and pushed the book to the centre of the table.
They all bent down over it, looking at the elegant scrawls beneath the picture of the last council taken the day before graduation.
"To the council to come," Kurt read, recognising Wes' writing, "our stories have been told, but yours are just beginning."
"The rest is still unwritten," Trent read. "Only Thad would quote Natasha Bendingfield."
"David's seems the most practical," Jeff stated, "The only true failure is failing to try."
"Courage," Kurt recited, reaching out to finger the single word. He didn't even need a second to recognise who had written that.
"It's like they knew," Trent said.
"Knew?"
"That we would change things," he elaborated. "Why else would they have said this?"
"They knew we would be the new council," Jeff remarked, "and they knew us enough to know that we would never try to mimic what they did because we'd only fail. They knew we would want to take a different path…"
"And they're giving us their blessing to do so," Kurt finished.
"We can't let them down," Trent declared momentarily, looking at them with new fervour in his eyes. "No matter what happens this year guys, we have got to do our best. To do anything else would be an insult to them."
"We will," Kurt seconded, squashing down all the insecurities that were lingering for what he was now expected to do. "Courage". That word had become his and Blaine's mantra; for him to write it in that book was a sign and a reminder to him, that he could not give up, that he should not give up. "We'll make them proud."
"We'll make ourselves proud."
"And hopefully, this time next year there'll be a new council sitting hear reading our words to them."
"We'll make the Warblers stronger than ever, and we're going to bring home both of those championships!" Jeff declared placing his palm over the words.
"We'll pass on the spirit of family to the younger ones," Trent added, his larger hand moving over Jeff's and easily dwarfing it, "the Warblers will be a sanctuary."
"We'll do this," Kurt stated, his voice firm as his hand rested on Trent's. "We'll do it all, for them, for us, and for the ones to come. The mantle has been passed on to us, and we will do it all."
"Warblers on three," Jeff said, "One. Two…"
"THREE!" They shouted in unison, lifting their hands in the air.
They had made their vow, and would now do their damnest to fulfil it.