None of the students in New Directions expected to win, and were more busy planning their escape. They all make it to the party, and new connections are made. Also one that includes a fist connecting with a jaw.

Songs in this chapter

Mr Raffles - Steve Harley and the Cockney Rebel - M/L: Steve Harley

Poison - Alice Cooper - M/L: Cooper, Desmond Child, John McCurry

Another Brick in the Wall - Pink Floyd - M/L: Roger Waters

11 ...and the winner is...

Thurston came in fourth, but everybody kind of knew that. As the judges were about to announce the runner-up, the New Directions joined hands as best as they could. They were bunched together in the back, and everybody just grabbed the nearest hand. Ianto was quite excited to know that he was clenching Jack's hand in his, but he knew that the guy was also holding on to Dean's arm.

John had his arm firmly placed around Ianto's waist as they waited patiently for the verdict.

"The runner-up is…" 'Drumroll' "New Directions. And the winner of this years sectionals are the New Warblers."

The band played 'Just a gigolo' in the background as the boys received the trophy.

Ianto didn't know that he'd be so bummed about it. He never really thought they'd win, so he hadn't gotten his hopes up, but they were so close. 'Runner-up' didn't mean much more than that they didn't suck. Going to regionals was now out of reach, unless the Warblers died and their school got burnt to the ground.

Even if all that happened, a few surviving members would still be eligible to attend regionals unless they decided to forfeit.

It sucked. It really sucked, but they were prepared for this. They didn't expected to win. They had hopes, but the party was planned with a loss in mind. Ianto decided to do his very best to keep the spirit up. There would be other competitions. None as important as this, but there would still be something to strive for.

He gave Jack's hand a quick squeeze before he let go of it. He wasn't even sure if the guy knew which hand he was holding, so it wasn't too much of a dare.

-o-o-o-o-o-o-

Jack had gotten the unpleasant task of telling Mr Evans that they weren't going to stay. He hadn't been too discouraged by it; there were signs to suggest that both the director and the principal knew that something was up. Gwen, Ianto, and Dean snuck out of there and went for the car before anyone could stop them.

As they pulled out of the parking-lot, John came running. He dived in front of the car, forcing Dean to hit the brakes hard. "Are you crazy? So we lost, but you don't have to go out and try to kill yourself." Dean practically screamed as he leaned out the window.

John waved him off. "Sorry. Can I ride with you?" He didn't wait for an answer before he opened the door and jumped into the back seat. "Hiya, Ianto. You don't mind?"

They could hear a grunt from Dean as he revved the engine. "I guess you'll ride with us then, moron." He hadn't even gotten the car in gear before another character stepped in front of it. "What? Are you all idiots?" He was about to shout at the student, but for some reason he mellowed when the beam from the headlights revealed that it was Cas. Before Dean got a chance to yell, Cas was leaning over and looked into the car. "Is there room for me too?"

Dean rolled his eyes, but gave the guy a crooked smile. "Sure, but this is it. If anyone else steps in front of the car, I'll run them down."

On a bus, it would have taken more than two and a half hours to get back. With a car, it had taken them a little less than two hours to get there, but Dean was determined to make it back even faster. There wasn't much traffic on the road on Saturday evening, so as soon as he hit the highway he sped up.

None of the passengers had said much during the first few minutes, but then the silence was broken by three different ringtones. Gwen and Ianto reached for their phones, while Dean just threw a peek at his. It was from Jack, and he gestured for Gwen to answer it. She was already talking on her own phone, and hurried to put Dean's on speaker.

"We can't find John and Castiel." Jack sounded concerned, but then they could hear him talking to somebody else. Gwen hung up her phone and whispered. "Jo. She told me the same." Ianto leaned over. "And Kevin." He had also hung up before both him and Gwen looked at the two other passengers. "You didn't tell him that you would leave with us?"

John and Castiel looked at each other before John cleared his throat. "I'm so sorry Jack, we didn't know if we could catch up with Dean, and when we did we completely forgot." He threw a quick peek at Cas, and the guy shrugged a little. "Yeah, it's true. I'm so sorry."

It took a few moments before Jack said anything. "Okay. I guess it's okay, but I'm not sure the rest of us can forgive you easily. We have searched for you for a while."

Gwen scoffed before she chuckled a little. "Oh, come on. We've been gone for less than ten minutes, and you probably didn't start worrying at first. My guess is that you called as soon as you discovered that they were gone, and you haven't been searching much at all."

Jack hung up on them, and shortly after Gwen got a text message. They all got a laugh when she read it out loud in the car. "You're right Welshie, but we're still a little pissed."

-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-

Ianto's parents had left when they came to the house. There was a note on the kitchen table urging them to be careful and don't drink too much. In a PS, Ianto's dad had added a death threat if they trashed the house.

A few bags of chips and nuts were piled up on the counter, and they had also left two twenty dollar bills attached to a couple of pizza coupons.

Ianto and Gwen had moved Ianto's stereo-system and instruments to the basement the day before, and the small fridge down there were packed full of beers and wine coolers. There were also a few cans of Redbull and a couple of bottles of Coke.

"...twenty four, twenty five, hm, by two, and then the three six packs of Smirnoff ice… Yeah right." John grabbed one of the beers and twisted it open after counting the stash. "If they are afraid that we'll drink to much, they can relax. This is hardly enough for the four of us." It was a small exaggeration, but Ianto kind of agreed with him.

"Is this all you managed to get dear cousin? Some people are going to get very disappointed." He grabbed a beer himself before he turned to Gwen and shook his head. Gwen was busy filling up bowls of chips, but now she turned and cocked her head. "Seriously? What do you think. This is only what your parents know about. Give me a minute."

She finished her task and stuffed the leftovers into a bag that she placed in the corner before she headed up the stairs. "I'll be back soon." It took only a few minutes before she shouted down to get Ianto to help her. On the top of the stairs she handed him two twelve packs of Bud Light while she herself carried three bottles of vodka and one with rum.

"That's more like it." John's face lit up when the two of them came back. "Now, this is a party. Cas? Aren't you having anything."

Ianto had totally forgotten about Castiel. During the ride over, he had been very quiet while the rest of the occupants of the car had sung through the whole fourth album of Led Zeppelin. Dean had cranked up the volume on the car-stereo as he drove fast to get them back to Lima as soon as possible.

As soon as they arrived, Dean took off to get his brother whom Gwen had invited on a whim. They all knew him a little bit, so it was okay.

Castiel was sifting through the CDs that were stacked randomly on the floor next to the stereo, but now he turned briefly. "I don't… I have never… I don't really like beer, but don't worry about it." He had obviously been in the bathroom and changed, and was wearing very tight fitting jeans and a black t-shirt. The rest of them were still wearing the outfits they used for the show, and Ianto threw a peek down at himself. "Hey, John, maybe we should change as well. What do you think?"

For the Lego-number they all had to wear colorful clothes, and Ianto didn't feel very comfortable in his bright blue blazer and the red pants. John shrugged. He also had red pants, and the green jacket was hanging over a chair. "I'm fine." He stroked the front of his yellow and black checkered shirt. "I like colors."

Gwen didn't bother changing either. It had been optional for the girls to wear a dress, but she didn't, unless that long, hot-pink t-shirt counted as such. With the black leggings that she wore on a regular basis anyway, she looked fine.

-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-

Party time

"Man, show me something I've never seen

You're only real in your dream machine

And all your games a little drastic

Just throw me out if I get obscene

But that's the way that I've always been

I think I know for certain…"

Steve Harley's slightly hoarse voice came from the speakers. Sam had never even hear of the guy and his band before tonight, but Ianto had been determined to teach them all a little about British music. In Sam's opinion they had gotten more than enough.

"...We're having a party

Ooh-ooh, we're having a party…"

As the song faded out, he hoped that somebody else would step up and pick music because this was too boring. Sam wanted a little more beat, and maybe a chorus that even he could sing along to.

He could have picked something himself, but he tried to stay in the background and be invisible. Dean and he had scraped together a few dollars for booze, so he knew he was welcome to drink whatever he wanted, but he wasn't too experienced and didn't want to make a fool of himself, so he took it slow.

When Dean came to pick him up a couple of hours ago, he'd been a little bummed about the loss, but he admitted that he had never believed in a win anyway. It still sucked, and as the rest of the members of the Glee-club came to the party, they didn't look very happy.

Gwen, Unique and Jack did their best to liven-up the mood, and after a couple of drinks it seemed to work. Ianto's odd song choices was now threatening to turn the party into a wake, so it was about time to change the tune.

Sam tried to make eye contact with Jo, but she was fluttering about like a butterfly, so it wasn't that easy. Sam also wanted to keep an eye on his brother to make sure that he wouldn't get into any fights. He'd experienced Dean drunk before, and he could be very argumentative and obnoxious.

Jane hung onto Jack like flypaper. Sam found it somewhat humorous because he was pretty sure that the guy played for the other team. John was openly flirting with almost everybody in there. At the moment he seemed to be busy chatting up the blue eyed boy Castiel, but he didn't really put his heart into it. The looks he sent Ianto gave Sam the impression that the guy was on a specific mission.

Dean hung around Jack for a little while, but then he and Garth got into a serious conversation. The gestures they made suggested that the two of them were talking about fishing and hunting, and Sam understood. Back in the days, their father had taken Dean hunting on a couple of occasions. Sam had been too young and had to stay with uncle Bobby. It didn't happen very often, and eventually it ceased completely. Dean was barely a teen back then, but he still talked about it as if it was the few most precious moments in life.

There weren't really any serious smokers among them, but Sam noticed that Mason, Madison and Charlie snuck out for a while. When they came back they all smelled of cigarettes, but nobody seemed to be bothered by it.

When John ascended the stairs, Sam was pretty sure that the guy was going on a smoke break. The bathroom in the basement was vacant, so he wouldn't have to go up to use another toilet. A few minutes later Castiel ran upstairs, and that was little more surprising. The guy had barely even had a drink as far as Sam knew. According to Dean, the guy was 'the son of a preacher man', to use his brother's words. Sam didn't really care, but he noticed that Jack, Ianto and Dean followed him with their eyes for a second, before they all went back to the conversations they were in at the moment.

-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-

"Oh, it's you Choirboy." John had obviously gotten a little startled when Cas came out, but now he relaxed and sat down on the stoop. Cas scoffed a little. "Don't call me that. Technically we are all choirboys… and girls."

John turned and smiled at him. "Yeah, but you are the real thing. I mean…" He threw his hands out and shrugged but didn't continue. He took a drag from the homemade and obviously illicit cigarette before he turned to Cas again. "I'm sorry if I led you on. If you're here for me you got it all wrong."

Cas looked a john and smiled a little. He knew that the guy had been flirting with him, but he was flirting with everybiódy in sight, so Castiel had not taken it personally. "No. I didn't come here because of you. I just needed a moment."

After a short hesitation, John drew his breath heavily. "I'm in love. I think I am anyway, but I've screwed it up. I'm in the friends zone now,"

Castiel got interested. "Someone I know? Someone in there?" He nodded towards the house and received a small nod from John. He took another drag from the joint. After inhaling deeply, he slowly let the smoke out through his nostrils.

"You want?." He lifted his hand towards Castiel. "It's very mild." Cas scrunched his nose and was about to decline, when John urged him. "Come on. Live a little." He practically pushed the joint towards Castiel's lips. "Oh, okay. But only one quick hit."

There was a burn down his throat that he'd never felt before. Within a split second he coughed so hard that he was sure he was going to lose a lung. Tears were practically pouring out of his eyes, but he could see the little smirk on John's face.

John patted his back. "It'll get easier." At the moment Cas was pretty sure that he would never do that again, but he didn't really want to talk about it. Instead he changed the subject. "Who is it? Who do you have a crush on?" He was curious, and he suspected that John had given him the joint just to throw him off, but he wouldn't let the guy get away with it.

He had an idea. He was pretty sure that John flirting with the girls was just a show off. The guy was obviously gay. "It's Jack isn't it?" He hadn't even finished the sentence before John flipped his head around and looked at him dumbfounded. "NO! Why would you think that? I mean… he's hot, and I would…" For a moment he looked a little embarrassed, but then he turned to look directly at Cas. "You like him. Do you like him?"

Castiel couldn't even imagine being with someone like Jack, and he had never even considered it. He was also not ready to come out of the closet yet. He was still regretting telling Unique, and he hoped that she would keep his secret even if she'd had a few drinks. "Eh, No. I like Jack, but not that way, I'm not... He is a good guy, but I'm not into… I…" He didn't want to lie, but he didn't want John to know either. "No, I don't like Jack that way, but do you?"

John bobbed his head from side to side. "Well yeah, I kinda do, but I'm not in love with him." He snuffed out the cigarette against the wall before he got up. "If I tell you it'll be real, and I know I've screwed it up already."

He leaned into Cas and embraced him. "You are a good guy, and I think you have more integrity than most people, but I can't tell you. Maybe later, maybe I need to confide in you at one point." He took a step back and looked into Castiel's eyes. "Can I trust you to be my confidante?"

Castiel cocked his head. Then he reached his hand out and patted John's shoulder. "Sure. Your secrets will be safe with me. Whenever you need to talk, I'll be there for you."

-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-

"...I want to love you but I better not touch (don't touch)

I want to hold you, but my senses tell me to stop

I want to kiss you but I want it too much (too much)

I want to taste you but your lips are venomous poison

You're poison, running through my veins

Poison…"

Ianto and Dean were standing back to back with a guitar each. They seemed to have found a common ground with the heavy metal music. Unique knew them both well enough to be sure that none of them were really big fans of Alice Cooper, but the two of them were obviously familiar with that particular song.

Kevin did a decent job on the keyboard, although it wasn't really his instrument. Garth kept the beat by hitting the table with two wooden spoons. He was stomping his foot as if he had a bass drum underneath there, and occasionally he tapped the spoons against the half empty vodka bottle sitting on the table.

Gwen, Jo, and Madison were trying to move in sync as they joined in on the chorus, but it wasn't easy. Jo was very drunk, and the two other girls had to practically hold her up as they sang.

Unique decided to do some damage control before the girl collapsed completely, and managed to get Jo out of Gwen and Madison's grip. It was a good thing that she was a little on the heavy side because as soon as the other two girls let go of Jo, the girl fell forward into Unique's arm. A smaller person would possibly have been knocked over, even if Jo was a tiny little thing.

Unique had to take a step back and crashed into someone behind her. Looking back briefly, she discovered that it was Dean's younger brother. He was tall and very handsome for a fifteen year old. His broad shoulders and deep voice suggested that he was older, but she knew it wasn't so.

He helped her get Jo over to the couch, and it took only moments before the girl passed out. Garth got a little annoyed because he got a little thrown off when Jo tipped over and leaned against his shoulder.

"...Poison

Runnin' deep inside my veins

Burnin' deep inside my brain

Poison

And I don't want to break these chains

Poison…"

The others kept playing and singing and seemed oblivious to the little incident. The only one who reacted was Ianto. He wasn't completely steady on his feet, but he came over and nodded towards the stairs. "We should get her out of here. She can sleep it off in Gwen's room if you help me get her there."

Unique nodded and was about to grab her, when Sammy pushed her away gently. "I can do it. I'm almost completely sober, and can carry her up." He bent down and wrapped Jo's arm around his neck before he nudged her. "Hey, help out a little. Can you stand?" Jo nodded, although they didn't really know if it was just her bobbing her head, or if it was an actual reply to the question.

When nothing more happened, Sam pushed his arms underneath her and lifted her off the couch. Unique had to swallow hard. It seemed so effortless for him that she got a little flutter in her stomach. Skinny as a toothpick and white as only a fair-skinned nerd could be, Sam was so not her taste, but she had to admit that the way he carried Jo across the floor as if she was a baby, was kind of hot.

"...Poison

poison…"

-o-o-o-o-o-

Ianto had to help Sam up the last few steps. It wasn't that Jo was particularly heavy, but she wasn't doing much to hang on, so the guy had a hard time trying to avoid her slipping out of his grip.

Gwen's room was quite small. With the queen size bed and the oversized dresser, the two boys didn't have much standing room as they manouvered Jo onto the bed. Ianto was about to leave immediately when Sam grabbed his sleeve. "Get a bucket. Just… I think it would be a good idea."

Ianto agreed and went to fetch one. When he came back, Sam was sitting on the edge of the bed just looking at the sleeping girl. "I'll sit with her for a while. Just go back down." Sam didn't look at Ianto as he spoke, he just grabbed the bucket out of his hands and placed it on the floor next to the bed.

"Uh, I don't… Why? Why do you want me to leave? You're not going to do… I mean, er…" Ianto didn't know how to proceed. He didn't know this guy that well, and although he seemed nice, he could be a juvenile delinquent for all he knew. This time Sam turned to him as he spoke. "No, I'm not going to touch her. I'm not…" For a moment, he seemed a little annoyed by Ianto's subtle insinuation, but then sighed. "I understand, but trust me, I'm not that kind of guy. I just want to make sure she's okay. I'm not in the Glee-club so I feel a little awkward hanging with you guys. This is something I can do to help a fellow student without feeling out of place."

Ianto nodded as he reached for the doorknob. "Okay, I trust you." He was still a little wary. "If I learn that you're not as honest as I want to believe, I'll kill you." He didn't really mean that, but the words just slipped out.

He was surprised when Sam chuckled. It was without any humor, but it was still a little strange. "Hm. Don't worry about it. If I ever harm any member of the female population, my brother will kill me before you can get to me." He scoffed before he turned back to look at Jo. "And I know this girl a little. She would probably shove a shotgun down my throat and pull the trigger if she suspected any foul play on my part this night."

It was said in a very grave voice, but Ianto couldn't help smiling. He could almost picture the scene in his mind, and he agreed. "Okay. You can watch her, but you better not touch."

The small private little drama upstairs was nothing compared to what met him when he entered the basement again. Ianto could hear them from the moment he stepped out of Gwen's room, and he ran downstairs as fast as he could. The music was cranked up, so until Ianto was halfway down the last flight of stair, he didn't know who was responsible for the commotion.

Almost everybody was on their feet, and for a moment it looked like a mass scuffle between all his friends. As soon as he got a better overview of the situation, Ianto realized that most of them were just trying to stop the fight between Dean and John. The two boys were shouting profanities while they were kept apart by some of the others.

Jane and Mason held onto John for dear life, while Jack did his best to hold Dean back. Madison was clearly trying to get her brother out of it, while Kevin did his best to pull her away. Unique and Gwen were in the middle of the crowd. Unique was obviously trying to mediate, but it was impossible to hear a word she was saying. Gwen on the other hand was just screaming from the top of her lungs, urging everybody to quiet down.

The music was loud as well, so it wasn't easy to really hear what any of them were saying.

"We don't need no education…" The School choir from Pink Floyd's 'Another brick in the wall', filled the room with sound and made the whole scene almost surreal.

Ianto ran over to the stereo and hit the power button. The eerie silence that followed made everybody quiet down for a moment before all hell broke loose again.

With a little help from Garth, Jack managed to push Dean over to the corner and forced him to sit down on the old bean-bag chair. The guy was still cursing up a storm. The names he used for his opponent would all have been bleeped out if this was a tv-show.

It wasn't a show. This was real, and Ianto knew that somebody had to do some damage control.

John had mellowed slightly, fooling Mason and Jane into letting go of him. His nose was bleeding, and the sleeve of his shirt was almost torn off. He breathed heavily with his head slumped down. Gwen was still yelling and it sounded like she was about to break into tears.

"You're ruining the party. My party." She was stomping her feet and acted a little bit like a two year old.

Ianto was about to go over to John to find out what was going on, when the guy charged forward. Jane and Mason were so totally unprepared that they didn't manage to grab a hold of him again. Before anyone could stop him he was over in Dean's corner. The composition of a bean bag chair made it hard for Dean to get up to defend himself, so he was stuck as John clenched his fist and got ready to punch him.

Jack reacted fast and managed to get between them, resulting in him getting a hard punch on his chin. He lost his balance and fell backwards, landing on top of Dean. At that point, Ianto and a few others reached John, and forced him down on the floor.

The doorbell rang causing a everybody to freeze up for a few moments. Gwen paused her tirade mid-sentence and panned the room. The bell rang again, and everybody in the room held their breath. It was two o'clock in the morning, and they weren't really expecting any more guests, so Ianto kind of knew that this had to be bad.

Seconds later they heard banging on the front door. "THIS IS THE POLICE! Open the door!"

This was really bad. Ianto had no idea what to do. "COMING!" Castiel was half way up the stairs shouting. He turned to the others. "Those of you who are sober enough to fool them, should follow me. I'll take care of it, but hurry up."

Ianto wasn't sure if he could fool anybody, but it felt that it was his duty as a host to have Castiel's back. Gwen was clearly in no shape to handle it. Unique and Kevin followed him a little reluctantly, while the rest stayed behind.

Cas took a couple of deep breaths before he unlocked the door and opened it. Ianto noticed that Sam had come down, and he was standing by the stairs with a puzzled expression on his face.

"We got a complaint from neighbors about loud music and general disturbances from this house, do you mind letting us in?" The police officer was throwing a peek over Castiel's shoulder as he addressed him.

"Oh, I'm so sorry. We're just a group of friends here, singing and dancing. We didn't think. Please come in, but we promise to keep it down now." He stepped to the side and gestured for the man to enter. The officer took a couple of steps forward and looked at the three teens on the couch. "It's only the four of you?" He turned to Cas. "Are you in charge? Are there any adults in the house?" Then he noticed Sam in the far end of the room. "Sorry. Five?"

Castiel cleared his throat. "Eh, yeah, er, no. It's… he lives here." Cas nodded towards Ianto. "And his cousin is in her room trying to sleep, but I guess…" He shrugged as he put on his most innocent face.

The officer looked at Ianto, and he knew he had to step up. "My parents are out dining, and will be home soon. We expected them earlier, and lost track of time. We're so sorry." He knew he should have gotten up from his seat, but he wasn't sure if he could stand straight. The scare had sobered him up somewhat, but not enough to take that chance.

A small sound from the basement got interrupted by some chatter from a police radio. Ianto could see another police officer on the stoop, but he turned and walked away as he obviously answered a call.

The other one cocked his head and seemed a little suspicious as he panned the room. He had clearly heard the little creak, and was now wondering where it came from. "Gwen is probably curious to what's going on. Tell her that this party is over and she can go to sleep." Again Cas stepped up and gestured for Sam to go upstairs.

"We have a 'B and E' at the Baldwin warehouse." The other officer was at the door again addressing his partner.

After giving them all a piercing stare, the officer inside retracted. "Okay kids. We're gonna trust you, but we will drive by later to make sure you stick with your promise." He looked at Ianto again. "Keep your guests in check, or else we'll have to notify your parents." He gave them a quick smile before he was out the door.