The Only Exception (Lonely No More)
Chapter 2
The time seemed to drag by as Blaine
waited for his bi-weekly Skype call from Kurt. He’d spent the last several days
trying to stay busy so that he didn’t have time to dwell on his doubts about
their relationship. He kept reminding himself that the fact that Kurt wanted to
friend-zone him was his own fault, but they were making progress. He just needed
to give Kurt a little more time and he was bound to come around. They loved each
other and, as the saying went, love conquered all.
Blaine eagerly answered the Skype call as soon as it came through. “Hey, Kurt.”
Kurt’s response was harried and abrupt. “Blaine, hey. I’m sorry, but I’m not
going to be able to talk long tonight. In fact, I should already be heading out
the door.”
“Oh, that’s okay,” Blaine replied, though his heart sank a bit. “Something going
on at NYADA?”
“No, there’s this play that I’ve been wanting to see and Adam got us a couple of
tickets, but tonight was the only night he could get them for,” Kurt rambled on
as he put the finishing touches on his ensemble while looking in a mirror off
camera. He finally seemed satisfied and turned back to the screen. “How do I
look?”
“You always look good,” Blaine said, forcing a smile to his lips. “I won’t keep
you then. Have a good time.”
“Thanks for understanding,” Kurt replied. He had that excited glow about him
that he used to get when he and Blaine had something special planned. “I promise
I’ll make it up to you. Friday, same time?”
“Yeah, that’s fine.” Blaine started to say more, but Kurt was already signing
off. “I’ll talk to you then,” Blaine said sadly to the blank screen.
Blaine sighed as he closed the laptop. He’d been invited to Sam’s for a video
game challenge, but had declined so that he could talk to Kurt. Now Kurt had
bailed on him and it was too late to go to Sam’s. His homework was already done.
He could work on the new routine for Regionals, but he just didn’t have the
heart for it. He was beginning to feel the way he had just before he had cheated
on Kurt; lonely, lost and like nothing he did really mattered.
Maybe Sebastian was right. Maybe Kurt liked the ways things were and he wasn’t
really interested in getting back together. Maybe Blaine was seeing hope where
none existed. Maybe this Adam guy meant a lot more to Kurt than he was willing
to admit to his ex.
Blaine wondered what it would be like to live the way Sebastian did; just move
from one guy to the next without letting any of them touch his heart. No
attachments, no guilt, no fear of screwing up because no one would have any
expectations of him. There was a certain appeal to the idea, but Blaine wasn’t
sure he could do it. He liked the idea of having someone special, someone who
wanted just him, someone he could depend on to always be there. Sebastian would
never know just how special that was and Blaine felt a little sorry for him.
Blaine might not have that anymore, but he wanted it back.
Maybe it was time to accept that it wasn’t going to be with Kurt though.
Blaine shook his head and pushed that thought away. It was just one Skype date
cut short, not the end of the world. He wasn’t going to give up on Kurt so
easily. He wouldn’t make that mistake again.
~ * ~
Blaine had never felt more disconnected from his friends. Everyone on the bus
was celebrating their win at Regionals, but all he managed was a weak smile when
someone addressed him directly. He’d chosen the seat in the very front, hoping
that the others would just ignore him.
“Blaine-Blaine, why aren’t you celebrating?” Tina asked as she flopped into the
seat beside him.
At the moment, Sam was leading them in some crazy country song. No one else
seemed to know the words, but they’d all learned the chorus.
“It’s nothing. You should be celebrating with the others,” Blaine replied. He
gave Tina his best reassuring smile, but she wasn’t buying it.
“It’s Kurt, isn’t it? I saw Santana’s post about him and that Adam guy. She’s
probably exaggerating,” Tina said.
“Don’t worry about it,” Blaine said. His phone chimed and he tried to
surreptitiously check it. He’d sent Sebastian a text, letting him know that
they’d won Regionals, and was sure that the incoming message was from him. The
last thing he wanted was for someone in New Directions to blow his casual
friendship (or whatever it was) with Sebastian out of proportion. “Like Kurt
told you when he was here, we’re just friends. He can date whoever he wants.”
Tina craned her neck to try to read the display when she thought Blaine wasn’t
looking.
‘Like there was any doubt they’d win with you leading them.’ - Sebastian
Blaine smiled slightly. Sebastian’s confidence was something he wished he had.
Maybe without the cockiness that came with it though.
“Someone congratulating you?” Tina guessed. “Is it Kurt?”
“No, it’s just one of the Warblers,” Blaine said. It wasn’t a lie, but it was
better to let them think it was Trent or one of the others than Sebastian.
Hunter might be the one that instigated the cheating at Sectionals, but Tina
wouldn’t have forgotten what Sebastian did the year before, even if she and
Blaine hadn’t really been close then.
“Oh, I didn’t know you were still talking to them,” Tina said.
“Just because they messed up doesn’t mean they aren’t still my friends,” Blaine
said. How hypocritical would that be considering what he’d done to Kurt?
“So how are things going between you and Kurt?” Tina asked. Jake and Marley had
started singing something slow and romantic while Ryder tried to mask his
longing looks at Marley. Blaine might be oblivious when it came to his own
relationships, but he did notice what was going on with others.
“We’re friends, Tina,” Blaine said. He wasn’t sure how many times she had to
hear it before she believed it. Probably one less time than Blaine needed to
remind himself. “There isn’t anything else to say.”
“You know what they say about the rebound guy. It never works out,” Tina said.
Blaine knew she was trying to be helpful, but it really wasn’t.
“I want Kurt to be happy,” Blaine said. “If this Adam guy does it for him, then
I’m happy for him.” Secretly, he hoped that Adam would get deported back to
wherever he came from.
Blaine typed a message in reply to Sebastian, hoping Tina would get the hint and
return to the celebration. ‘Too bad you didn’t have that sort of faith in
yourself. I might be congratulating you right now instead.’ He hit send. Blaine
had always been too concerned about others feelings to say some of the things
that went through his mind, but not with Sebastian. Sebastian never became
offended and it had become an entertaining game of one-upmanship.
Tina leaned in closer and lowered her voice. “What do you think about Finn
kissing Ms. Pillsbury? I’ve never seen Mr. Schue so angry before and Finn…”
Blaine blinked a couple of times and forgot his phone messages for a moment.
“Did I miss something? When did this happen?”
“Finn kissed Ms. Pillsbury sometime before the wedding-that-wasn’t,” Tina said
softly. “Sam overheard Finn and Mr. Schue arguing just before we went out on
stage. Finn must have just blurted it out – you know how he is – and Mr. Schue
lost it. He blamed Finn for Ms. Pillsbury running off, but Finn said one little
kiss wouldn’t have done that.”
Blaine had noticed the tension between the two, but he’d just assumed that it
was because they had a difference of opinion on the set list. He hoped Finn was
okay and looked around, but Finn wasn’t on the bus.
“Did Finn ride back with someone else?” Blaine asked.
“Must have,” Tina said. “I didn’t see him when our set was finished.”
“Would you ask Sam if he knows what happened to Finn?” Blaine asked. If he’d
known this was going on, he would have looked for Finn before they left. He and
Finn hadn’t always been on the best of terms, but they’d kind of bonded after
their mutual break-ups earlier in the year. He’d expected Finn to hate him for
cheating on Kurt, but Finn had been surprisingly cool about the whole thing.
Tina disappeared towards the back of the bus and Blaine sent a quick text to
Finn asking if he was okay. He didn’t know if he’d get a response or not, but it
was worth a shot. He debated sending Kurt a text, but decided against it. There
wasn’t anything Kurt could do from New York and considering how many times Kurt
had blown off their conversations over the past two weeks, Blaine wasn’t
inclined to initiate one. Someone else would probably tell him anyway. News
traveled fast among the Glee club members, both new and old.
“Hey, Tina said you wanted to see me,” Sam said as he leaned over the back of
Blaine’s seat. Everyone else was still in the back half of the bus celebrating.
Blaine asked about Finn and was told that he’d gotten a ride back with someone
he knew. Sam didn’t know any more details than what Tina had already told him
though.
Blaine’s phone chimed and, thinking it was Finn, he checked it without thinking.
‘Maybe I should transfer to McKinley. We could show them what a power duet
really looks like.’ Sebastian.
Blaine almost laughed at the image that provoked, but was belatedly reminded
that Sam was just behind him.
“Isn’t that the guy that slushied you last year?” Sam asked.
Blaine was saved from answering when the phone chimed again, this time it was
Finn saying he was okay and they could talk later.
“At least Finn’s okay,” Blaine said. “I still can’t picture him kissing Ms.
Pillsbury though.” He hoped that Sam would forget the previous text.
“It had to be one of those, you know, spur of the moment type things,” Sam said.
“Not that she isn’t kind of hot for a teacher-type.”
“I’ll trust your judgment on that,” Blaine said. He turned off the display on
his phone and put it down.
“So what’s going on with you and Slushy-Warbler?” Sam asked.
Blaine winced. He should have known that Sam wouldn’t forget what he’d seen. At
least Sam could keep a secret, unlike Tina.
“I sent him a text letting him know we’d won Regionals,” Blaine said. “He can’t
let an opportunity pass without turning it into a come-on of some sort.”
“Like we’d ever let him into New Directions,” Sam scoffed. “Be careful around
that one. We don’t want you to miss Nationals because he decided to get revenge
for us exposing the Warblers.”
Blaine didn’t bother to try to convince Sam that Sebastian wouldn’t do anything
like that. “I’d worry more about Hunter. The rest of the Warblers are ashamed of
what they did. He’s the only one that blames us.”
“How’s that Trent Warbler doing? Are they harassing him any?” Sam asked.
“No, Nick and Jeff thanked him for bringing them to their senses,” Blaine said
with a smile. Not all the Warblers were happy with Trent, but enough of them
realized that he was right to give Blaine hope that his friends at Dalton would
be okay.
Sam seemed satisfied with the answer and didn’t push. “Come on, I’ve got a song
for us to sing that has your name all over it.”
“I’ll be there in just a minute,” Blaine promised. As soon as Sam returned to
the others, Blaine quickly answered Sebastian’s text and then slid the phone
into his pocket.
~ * ~
“Why didn’t you tell me that Finn kissed Ms. Pillsbury?” Kurt exclaimed as soon
as Blaine answered the Skype call. “I had to hear about it from Santana who
heard about it from Britt. Although, apparently Rachel knew all along and didn’t
tell anyone. I didn’t know she could keep a secret that well.”
Blaine listened with slight exasperation as Kurt rattled on. He hadn’t really
expected Kurt to keep their Skype date tonight and had made plans to meet
Sebastian in half-an-hour for a movie that they were both dying to see.
“So, how is Finn doing, really?” Kurt asked. “All he says when I talk to him is
‘I’m fine.’ in that tone that I know means he’s anything but.”
“He’s still helping out with the Glee club,” Blaine replied once Kurt paused in
his rant. “He and Mr. Schue don’t talk to each other and the Glee club is
starting to take sides – they’re calling themselves Team-Schue or Team-Finn. We
had a knock-down, drag-out song-battle over it last week.”
Blaine checked his watch. He had about five minutes before he needed to leave
and texted Sebastian that he might be a few minutes late.
“Are you texting someone?” Kurt asked, sounding just a little offended.
“I’m going to a movie and didn’t want them to worry if I was a few minutes
late,” Blaine explained.
“You planned to go to a movie when we have a Skype date?” Kurt asked, sounding
hurt this time.
Blaine thought carefully about how to remind Kurt that he’d skipped out on the
last several without making Kurt angry. He finally decided that a little blunt
truth might be what Kurt needed. “You’ve missed the last three Skype dates and
cut the others short so that you could go out with Adam. I didn’t think I’d
actually hear from you tonight.”
Kurt immediately became defensive. “Excuse me for having a life that doesn’t
involve you, Blaine.”
“Tell me, honestly, would you have called tonight if you hadn’t wanted to ask
about Finn?” Blaine asked.
“Of course I would. That had nothing to do with it,” Kurt said, but he didn’t
quite meet Blaine’s eyes. “But don’t let me keep you from your movie date.”
“Thanks, I don’t want to keep anyone waiting,” Blaine said. He belatedly
realized that it sounded like a dig at Kurt, but he didn’t bother to apologize.
“Wait,” Kurt called as Blaine started to disconnect the call. “Is it a date?”
Blaine thought Kurt sounded slightly worried. Maybe a taste of his own medicine
would bring Kurt around.
“Does it matter?” Blaine asked. “You keep reminding me that we’re just friends.”
Kurt sucked in a surprised breath at Blaine’s directness. “I guess you’re right.
It doesn’t matter.” He disconnected the call without waiting for an answer from
Blaine.
~ * ~
“Trouble in paradise?” Sebastian asked as they waited in the concessions line.
Blaine blew out an aggravated breath and shrugged. “Kurt actually kept our Skype
date tonight, but all he wanted to talk about was what happened with Finn and
Ms. Pillsbury.” Apparently Sebastian’s sources at McKinley were very thorough
and he’d known about the kiss by the time Blaine had gotten off the bus after
Regionals. “He acted surprised when I told him I had plans and then hung up on
me when I reminded him that we were just friends.”
“Glad to see you finally got your balls back from Hummel,” Sebastian said.
Blaine was used to Sebastian’s left-handed comments by now and just shook his
head. “Maybe he’ll realize how what he’s doing makes me feel.”
“I’m guessing you didn’t tell him who you were meeting. I didn’t see any
mushroom clouds in the east earlier.”
“It’s none of his business,” Blaine said. “Besides, it’s not like we’re dating.
We just wanted to see the same movie and decided to go together.”
Sebastian leaned forward and spoke softly into Blaine’s ear. “Doesn’t mean I
won’t still try to get in your pants. It doesn’t matter to me if you have
unresolved issues with your ex when you finally capitulate.”
Blaine chuckled, even though he was slightly embarrassed by Sebastian’s
forthrightness. “What makes you think I want to sleep with you?”
Sebastian spread his arms wide. “Who wouldn’t want a piece of this?”
“In your dreams, Casanova,” Blaine said with a grin.
“Oh, if only you knew. Want me to share a few of my dreams with you?” Sebastian
asked.
Blaine could feel his face heating up and looked away to regain his composure.
He sucked in a surprised breath when he saw Sam and Brittany walking into the
theater. He automatically shifted position so that Sebastian was between him and
the door. Of course, Sebastian had to turn to see what had gotten Blaine’s
attention.
“Busted,” Sebastian said softly.
“Sebastian,” Blaine said in warning. He wasn’t sure what he thought Sebastian
could do to stop Sam from seeing them together. He briefly thought about moving
down the line a few spaces, but decided it would be better to just tough it out.
How bad could it be?
“Blaine Warbler!” Brittany squealed in delight on seeing him. She ignored those
standing in line and pounced on him, giving him a hug. Blaine couldn’t ever
remember Brittany giving him a hug before, but it didn’t exactly surprise him.
“Hey, Brittany. Sam,” Blaine greeted his friends from Glee.
Sebastian watched the interaction with slight amusement until Brittany snaked
her arm through his and gave him a contemplative look. “Did you molt? Birds do
that sometimes when they don’t like their feathers.”
If Blaine hadn’t been so worried about what Sam was going to say, he would have
laughed at Sebastian’s expression of open-mouth confusion. He supposed Sebastian
did look a bit different out of his Dalton uniform.
Sam gave Blaine a questioning look. “You’re here together?”
“It’s just a movie, Sam,” Blaine said, trying hard to act nonchalant. “It’s not
a big deal.”
Sam nodded, but didn’t seem convinced. He motioned for Blaine to step away from
where Brittany was chatting away with a bemused Sebastian. “Does Kurt know?” he
asked with a nod towards Sebastian.
“It’s not a date,” Blaine insisted. “We’re just seeing the same movie at the
same time.”
“And sitting together?” Sam asked. “Sounds like a date.”
“If it was anyone else, you wouldn’t even question it, would you?” Blaine asked.
“It’s not anyone else, though,” Sam said. “I can’t say I know Kurt all that
well, but even I know he hates that guy. I thought you were trying to work
things out.”
“I am. We are,” Blaine said in frustration. Why did things have to be so
complicated? “Are you going to say anything to him?”
“Kurt and I don’t exactly run in the same circles,” Sam said with a shrug.
“Brittany is best-friends with Kurt’s roommate though.”
Brittany might say something, or might not. He doubted that she attached any
importance to them being here together, but then he never really understood what
Brittany was thinking.
“He apologized for everything,” Blaine said with a nod at Sebastian. “He’s
trying to change.”
“So, you think he really is malting?” Sam asked with a wry grin.
Blaine considered correcting Sam’s grammar, but decided to just go with it. “He
really is. And we’re just friends.”
Sam retrieved Brittany with a nod of wary acceptance for Sebastian. He might not
be thrilled with the situation, but he seemed to accept Blaine’s assessment.
Blaine didn’t think this was going to be the end of it though. He was bound to
get an earful later when he and Sam didn’t have an audience.
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