Strong fingers wrapped around Blaine’s wrist, making up for the lost contact he had instantly missed. His eyes were fixed to the ground, as the events from the past few minutes flashed in pictures in his mind. It wasn’t that he didn’t want to… GOD, he wanted to but his head always spoke louder than his heart. It was how he was raised. His Father always told him that would make him a man. It was almost INSTINCT to grab Blaine by the wrist, to hold him in place and to stop him from leaving. They had definitely gotten themselves into a messy situation already, and Hunter was unsure how much better he’d feel if Blaine did leave. He would be left alone with hi thoughts, something he knew would keep him up ALL NIGHT.
“STAY.” It was so quiet, Hunter barely even heard it. He breathed it in a whisper, and finally his eyes moved from the floor to lock with Blaine’s. There was suddenly a feeling of weakness, of need. All things Hunter was unfamiliar with. Maybe he wasn’t what Blaine wanted, but hell, in that second he didn’t care. Maybe he was only a stepping stone to help him get over his ex, but in that moment he would be anything that Blaine needed him to be. “Stay.” He repeated. “I don’t want you to.. Go.”
Stopped in his tracks–Blaine blinked down at the hand holding his wrist then turned enough to run his gaze up Hunter’s arm and directly into his eyes. The confidence he exuded every time he performed with the boys he’d come to miss and ache for so bad that he’d have done anything to be near (and finally had that opportunity) was gone. Unsurety, hurt and confusion was left behind turning the rims of his eyes red and glistening. Blaine didn’t make a movement to pull his wrist free from the strong grip holding him in place. He only bit his lip and squinted, head tilted as he tried to figure out what Hunter really wanted. Words were one thing. Stay. Go. The truth was something he was starting to believe he had to see instead of trust in.
“What do you want me to do? I don’t understand. I don’t want to make any more mistakes. Not here. With you or at all. I can’t ruin this place when I just got here.” His greatest fear. That he’d make a mistake and Dalton would be filled up with regret and ghosts he couldn’t escape either. There wasn’t much he wouldn’t do to prevent that from happening. Even if he had to keep everyone at an arm’s length and be a little lonely (but happy) like before when no one was looking. And everyone’s sunshiney golden boy when they were.
“Don’t you have somebody else to annoy?” Annaleigh snapped. It was cold and rainy and that was part of the reason for her moodiness. She hated being out in the cold, even more so the rain. Currently she was standing outside of the diner where she worked, under the rather large awning waiting for the rain to let up. Since it was pouring down rain, she was going to wait for it to get down to a sprinkle before she headed off to go pick up her Tommy.
She had a feeling the man beside her was probably doing the same – waiting for the rain to let up. Arms crossed the woman’s chest as she looked around. If the rain didn’t let up soon, she’d probably have to just start walking. She would’ve called a taxi, but she put her phone in Tommy’s bag this morning by mistake. She didn’t really feel like waving one down either.
Another reason for Annaleigh’s moodiness was due to having not gotten enough sleep the night before. The nightmares were back and they seemed to have gotten worse. She had a feeling if this kept up, she’d have to mention it to her therapist. Which was something she really didn’t want to do. A yawn escaped from the woman’s lips and she reached up and rubbed one of her eyes with a black gloved hand.
Blaine groaned at the rain coming down in buckets. Not the greatest time to forget your umbrella on your rush to get to work before he missed his fitting. If he went out in that? By the time he got to the theater, he was going to look like a drowned rat with crazy curls in his eyes and soaked from head to toe. Six blocks to the closest subway. Life wasn’t playing fair.
Thumbing through the Lyft app on his phone, he paged a car and hoped it’d get here quick. Because, apparently, someone standing beside him was having just as bad of a day as he was and didn’t mind taking it out on yours truly. His brows shot up and a taken aback half-smile greeted her sarcastic question. Did she want an answer? She’d get one anyway.
“Probably. But. As you can see,” his chin ticked towards the rain dripping down in puddles and blowing sideways, “We’re both trapped here. I’ll try to be less annoying though. If you can tell me what I was doing that was grating on your nerves. Other than. You know? Standing here.” Oops. Okay, so his sardonic side managed to claw it’s way to the surface. But thinking about everyone waiting on him to get the rest of their day done was making him antsy, upset and loosening up his tongue while lowering his patience. Not the greatest combination.
( mssg » blaine | sent ) i think its stupid i only ever got to kiss you once, and that kurt can do it whenever he wants. like in class (PRETTY SURE MR SHCUE ISNT SUPPOSRTED TO ALLOW THAT BTW. IDK WHY HE DOES UNLESS HE LIKES WATCHING YOU AND KURT SUCK EACH OTHERS FACES OFF) ok maybe not that bad but idk why he always has to touch you? like dude we’re here to sing remember how thats all you card about and now suddenly its all about showing off how happy and in love he is with you, which cool thats great but lmao ( mssg » blaine | sent) and there are how many people in glee club why do you two always have to be paired up or hanging off of each other, like go twirl tina or something blaine like kurt can go wheel artie around or do single ladies in thE CORNER I DON’T CARE ( mssg » blaine | sent) fuck airplane mode doesn’t work so much for that but you know what i don’t even care. it is whatever man. but i think you should find something else to do on saturday because i’m not really in the mood for a sleep over and honestly i dont even care cod came out this week. i want you to let that SINK IN BLAINE. and we ordered pizza last night so i’m NOT Gonna want it again so. ( mssg » blaine | sent ) god this isnt even about COD dont go trying to make it seem like i’m talking about something else cause i’m not i’m just talking about you and kurt ╭∩╮(-_-)╭∩╮
( mssg » sam | sent ) Sam? I’m sorry. I didn’t ( mssg » sam | sent ) No. Wait. We’re not having this conversation in text messages. Especially when you’re so upset or drunk or both. ( mssg » sam | sent ) I’m coming over. ( mssg » sam | sent ) PS. I’m not going to take no for an answer. Don’t even try. I’m already on my way and I’m not turning around. No matter what you threaten me with either. I’ll sit outside until you open the door if I have to.
“I can stay the night if you want me to.” It was the weekend after all, so Blaine wouldn’t be getting up early. Tate would never admit it, but sometimes he liked to follow him around during his routine. It wasn’t meant to be in a creepy sort of way ; Blaine was just his only friend in a good, long while. He liked to spend time with him, whether he knew it or not. “I can’t imagine how lonely and isolated it must feel to have moved so far away. Especially into a big house like this.” This house just oozed discomfort. It always had, and Tate wasn’t even sure at this point if it were the spirits that perpetually wandered around inside. Something about it was just so terribly — Off. “Why did you move, anyway? I mean, yeah, Los Angeles is nice and stuff. People like to be near Hollywood, though if you asked me, it’s not as special the second time around. It’s not like they show in the movies.” While films showed nothing but the glitter and glam of a city that was made from lights, the truth was so far different. Homelessness was rampant and it was filled mostly with people who had their dreams crushed long ago. This is what happened to his mother, after all. And now she drank her sorrows away.
“Sometimes, it gets so quiet every creak makes me think someone’s here. A sure sign I watch too many horror movies when I’m alone and should probably stop,” Blaine confessed but then backed the confession up with a joke because how childish could admitting you get creeped out from the house settling get? “You’re more than welcome to stay.” Quickly adding that in to graze over the subject of him preferring not to be alone once again, Blaine took the chance to change the subject. Though answering the question made him cringe inwardly. Chewing on his bottom lip–he turned and relaxed his head back against the headboard. “I–ah. Something happened at my old school. After a dance. Ended up with me in the hospital and my Dad deciding we needed to have a fresh start somewhere else. My brother suggested here. My Dad put in for a transfer and here we are..” Smiling faintly, he clicked his tongue against the roof of his mouth and tried to pretend he was more fine with everything than he actually was. Guilt ran deep with Blaine and he wasn’t as over it as he pretended to be. “So you like it here instead then?”
( mssg » blaine | unsent ) you make it look so simple. i was thinking about it the other day and i still don’t know how the fuck this happened or why you’re still here. thought it was charity hours at first and i was so ready to fuck it up. i thought it’d be fun. see how long richie rich took to crack. ( mssg » blaine |unsent ( ⚆ _ ⚆ ) ) the way everyone looks at us, i know what they’re thinking alright. i know you do too, even if you act like you see something else. ( mssg » blaine | unsent ) thought everyone like you was either a sucker or some stupid prick looking to feel better about themselves. i don’t get it. i know you don’t like looking at yourself, and i get it. but i’m not gonna take you down too. everything always starts out good but this is gonna end the same way. i was so close last night. ( mssg » blaine | sent ) gotta cancel tomorrow ( mssg » blaine | sent ) have to take debbie and frannie down to see derrek before they do something stupid. might not be home before the weekend, ( mssg » blaine | sent ) maybe i’ll see you on tuesday?
( mssg » lip | sent ) I’m confused. Lip? What do you think they’re thinking? I don’t want to assume the meaning of what you’re saying here. Because it could be several things, you know? ( mssg » lip | sent ) Oh.. ( mssg » lip | sent ) Sure. I understand. Let me know if you want company to hang out with when she goes to see him. Or if it’s brother/sister/niece time? I get that, too. ( mssg » lip | sent ) I’ll see you then..
after a brief pause..
( mssg » lip | sent )
Are you sure this isn’t about your other text message? I’d prefer you tell me if it was. Or if I’m being an idiot and reading way too much into it.
A hand rose to push the heavier locks of hair away from her face, though still unable to keep her uneven ( that’s what she got for insisting on cutting her own hair ) side swept bangs from draping over her lashes. Only then she looked back up at the unspeakably charming stranger that looked like he had been made in the image of a stylish fashion advertising poster from the forties.
“Wh— For real? I don’t play here. I mean, not yet, I’ve got a show tomorrow night and I’m gonna be working on an article all day—— about your show, actually, you know, this show. A friend of a friend runs the place, she’s letting me get a little rehearsing done while I’ve still got the time.”
“Oh? Oh! Wow. You’re the writer!” Surprised that he was standing in front of the person who was going to be covering his show and seeing that she was a musician herself (and hearing that the woman was good) added absolutely NO PRESSURE to raise the whole better knock it out of the park bar he always set for himself. Nah! No! Not at all!
Stammering to wrap his tongue around a word or two, Blaine sat back down hoping she’d take the queue and stick around. A deep breath later, he regained his use of the English vocabulary and continued on like the hiccup never happened. “Your friend runs the venue? She’s really good at what she does. Though she’s missing out if she hasn’t let you take over the stage yet. You should, probably, let her know catching an artist when they are up and coming is a once in a lifetime sort of thing she shouldn’t let slide. Cause I think she’s missing out. Big time.”
It didn’t happen OFTEN, just two or three times a year, but every once in a while the stars would align for a night like tonight.
On one trip or another through New York City, at some point during their week-long stay, Burt and Carole Hummel-Hudson would want to take their two boys out for dinner. Just the immediate family, to have a little bit of time all to themselves. To catch up on old stories, and make new memories even with the boys in their mid-20s of their very sweet family dinner tradition. But the first time it happened, plans excluding the significant others? Rachel had been a little HURT by it. She thought she was family… or as close as one could be without actually being married. She and Finn were ENGAGED (again) for crying out loud, and had been living together in New York for five years. When was she going to be good enough to qualify for this dinner? And while infinitely more understanding than his female counterpoint, Blaine hadn’t loved the (most likely UNINTENDED) snub either. Knowing neither one of them had been invited to the Italian restaurant for the night, they’d glumly agreed to order takeout and watch movies together to cheer themselves up.
That was the night they’d realized they could turn this negative into a positive.
{text ✦ blaine anderson} finn’s leaving in fifteen minutes.bring rosé.
“Go, go, go. You’re going to be late! Can’t keep Burt and Carol WAITING, after they’ve gone through all this trouble to make the reservation…” Rachel pressed, all but SHOVING Finn out of the apartment in her haste to get her own night started. He’d glanced over his shoulder in a cross between confusion and (dare she say it) disappointment, but heeded her advice anyways. With a kiss to her forehead and a promise to be home in a few hours, he was gone. Giving Rachel JUST ENOUGH TIME to change into her favorite pajamas, pull together all their favorite bowls of snacks, and produce her own bottle of chilled pink wine she’d hidden from Finn behind a carton of almond milk.
Rachel swung open the door with an excited SQUEAL, careful not to crunch the wine in Blaine’s arms as she pulled him in for a tight hug. “Oh my GOSH, I have been looking forward to this all week. I think Finn was actually a little mad that I didn’t even ask to go to dinner. Oooh, nice bottle choice. Let me get this on ice RIGHT AWAY.” she gushed, already headed back into the kitchen to stick Blaine’s contribution to tonight into the fridge and pour them both a drink. With a glass of wine WAY MORE FULL than they’d ever be given at a restaurant, Rachel lifted hers in a mocking toast.
“To us.”
Thinking about this whole secretive dinner that Finn, Kurt, Burt and Carole were having on Valentine’s Day meant something was up. Sure, he might’ve gotten that impression after Kurt started acting more and more strange as it got closer to the time for them to leave. Like he was hiding a secret. You know? That Kurt look!
Where he gets a little too red in the cheeks if he meets your eyes. Which he barely can without a slight upward twitch of his lips. Or the stuttering reply of ‘O-Oh no, I’m fine!’ that gets higher and higher in pitch the second time you ask if and circle back with an are you sure that’ll just get him tongue tied enough that you know he’s wishing you’d shut up and go away? THAT was always a dead giveaway! Blaine’s triumphant sleuthing would be brought up later. Because when Kurt and Burt were up to something and you tossed Carole and Finn into the mix? It was bound to be good.
Humming as he texted Rachel back letting her know he was almost there, Blaine stopped by his favorite wine shop to pick up a special occasion bottle and made a pit stop at the corner store for strawberries. …And chocolate ones, too. Both couldn’t hurt. Spoiling his best friend was part of his whole Valentine’s shebang that kept getting worse every year. There was no shame about it either. Like. Ever. Not in Blaine Anderson’s book.
Out of the elevator with a lightness to his steps that borderlined on needing a song by Julie Andrews to do it justice, his reusable bags were gathered into one hand and the bottle of wine was readied to hand over as soon as the door opened. Was she waiting at the door? It swung open so fast–a stunned expression greeted her squeal then crinkled up into a smile so bright it might’ve just given the fluorescent lights inside the hallway a run for their money.
“Hey, Rach!” Full arms returned the hug as best as they could. Then he watched her dart off with his bottle in hand, relieved that she liked the choice. “Great! Hey! About that?” He sat the bags on the table and took the more-than-abundant supply of wine she was served up with a grateful nod and a crooked grin. “This is why you’ll never be a bartender,” he muttered under his breath but perked up at her toast and gave her a bow of his head. “To us!”
“So.. I might’ve brought us something a little extra and you…er. Close your eyes, please?”
Barry was a mess, not a horrible one, he wasn’t unhappy, depressed, no feeling that familiar twinge of guilt and remorse. He was a happy sort of mess. Carefree, and joyful. He’s laughing without a care, and when was the last time he managed to do that? Perhaps before Zoom. Since then it had been difficult, and he knew it caused his lover to worry. Yet here they were, together, with Barry being ridiculous and somehow managing to not fall over his own long limbs. Blaine was being the responsible one, mostly. “W-well, I’m being really nice, I could have said like a thousand kisses! And then you’ll never be able to stop kissing me,but yeah I guess you can pace yourself, I like your kisses.” he uttered with a slight huff. See? Super nice of him! Where he a little more coherent, he’d probably drag his boyfriend away from here, and kiss him. Not stop kissing him till they were back home, and even then more kisses would follow. Accompanied with more– fun actives. But he’s not that coherent right, running and being drunk would not go well for the speedster he knew that much. Despite the innocent kisses, his cheeks flushed more, no longer red from just the alcohol as he blushed. “Um…” he cleared his throat, they just felt intimate. “I think, I think they count– but I should return the favor.” And so he did, but he’s a little tricky too. Bringing Blaine’s hand to his lips, kissing the finger tips, till his smirked. Playfully licking at them, slipping his pointer finger into his mouth. While he might drunk, he was still Barry, and Barry could be a little mean.
Barry could be a carefree, sloppy happy mess as often as he liked. Blaine would never stand in the way of that. Seeing him so content on the dancefloor, the way he was acting like a mischievous jerk by luring him out here among the crowd just to steal some kisses and demand twenty more. Dark eyebrows were shoved together, lips curved into a playful smirk. “A thousand kisses better come with some chapstick. Cause that’s a lot. Even for me to pull off,” he hummed beaming at Barry justifying himself by saying his reason was him liking his kisses. How much more cute of a reason could the taller of the two give? The answer is: None. “They better count. All kisses should count towards a number that high.” Rationalizing the best he could, he waited to see if the other would go for his pitch but Barry threw his own curveball into the mix rather than let Blaine off the hook for his payment of smooches. As color rose up in Barry’s freckled ivory skin, Blaine’s suspicion lifted with it. “What are you up–ohhhh,” he felt his throat close around the rest of the question when his finger slipped past the warmth of Barry’s lips and into his mouth. Welp. Would you look at the dazed Mister Anderson, with his mouth gaped open and his gaze honed in on one sight in particular. A quiet sigh crackled it’s way between them and he nudged it in further. Just up to the second knuckle before his pulse tripled and he gently eased it back out again. Wild blinks and shaken laughter. Blaine took two steps back and smoothed out the invisible wrinkles in his suit coat. “Not fair. Not fair at all.” Wow. Someone needs to open a window..
It was impossible to hold back the building laughter that eventually spilled over, when Blaine returned with their drinks. It was his birthday, so Lip should have been the one buying drinks, but the opportunity was too good to miss out on. “Either that, or I take you to a restaurant and you can get a pie in the face and a really off key rendition of Happy Birthday in front of the entire restaurant.” Either or, Lip really wouldn’t have been happy. “Look, he’s checking you out.” Lip nodded, taking Blaine’s drink for good measure, and bringing it to his lips. “Looks like you might be getting dicked after all.” Or doing the dicking, Lip didn’t really know, but who didn’t deserve sex on their birthday, or at least a sloppy bathroom blowjob?
“But hey, before you ditch me for Romeo over there, I got you something. It’s not much but.” Lip reached into his jacket and pulled out an envelope, inside two tickets to Nothing But Thieves at Lincoln Hall in a week’s time. “Look, I know it’s no Adam Lambert, or Levine, or whoever it is you get hard for, but I think you’re gonna like them.” If Blaine didn’t know who they were, that was. And when music was as much of his life as it was, concerts seemed like a much better choice then something that would end up discarded in his closet in a few weeks. Shamelessly, he took another drink from Blaine’s, careful to observe the man behind the bar, though his focus undoubtedly shifted back to Blaine. “I had got you a box of donuts from Alliance but… I went for a shower and Frank decided to help himself. Tried to blame it on Liam before I pointed off the kid is yachting in the Tropics.” Which sounded a lot like an I owe you one. Jumping back to the envelope with a small nod, he finally spoke again, his tone rivaling the thumping music. “They have a song that kinda reminds me of you.”
“Yeah? I think I’ll take getting drunk with you any day before I get a pie thrown at me. Please warn me if that’s something you ever go through with? I want to make sure I’m not wearing a shirt I like.” A pie in the face? Depending on how out of key the singing was? Maybe the first option would have been the best part of their restaurant adventure if the bar wasn’t where they ended up. Blaine laughed at the mental image. Plus, it was a great way to shrug off having to humiliate himself with Lip’s drink of choice, how girly it made him sound, and the reaction the bartender gave him when he asked for two. “He is,” Blaine’s voice lifted as he turned his head and glanced at the bar. Sure enough, he got a very slimy wink and a lift of a chin that he thought might’ve been the bartender’s attempt at a ‘what’s up’ but came off as a cocky ‘hey baby’ in his head. Complete with the phantom smell of Axe body spray to top it off. The guy sounded like a walking rendition of it in his imagination. If he had any idea what Blaine was making him out to be with that look? His flirting might turn into swinging a punch.
“Yeah. No. I’m good. Don’t need any…,” his fingers formed air quotes around the word like he had to make sure the universe understood BLATANTLY clear wasn’t coming from him, “dick-ing from that guy.” His smile lingered, turning mystified when Lip mentioned he got him something. “I.. You didn’t have to–Levine–thank-you-very-much,” the clarification was added in so seamlessly Blaine didn’t miss a beat, “do that.” Looking into Lip’s eyes, he smiled and opened the envelope, thumbing up the tickets until he could read the band name. “That means you’re coming with me. Also. You have to show me their music beforehand. Thank you,” an arm fit itself around Lip’s shoulder right after he’d checked out the bartender again without Blaine noticing the second look back because he was too busy leaning in and.. Just like that! A smooch (platonic!) landed on Lip’s cheek before he released him. “I mean it! Thanks.” Oop. Then took his hand off Lip’s shoulder to lift his drink up. “To a birthday spent with a great friend and fruity drinks that, hopefully, don’t end up with a Lucky Charms repeat?”
Sugar Magnolia blossoms blooming Head’s all empty and I don’t care Saw my baby down by the river Knew she’d have to come up soon for air..
Blaine has been watching him for three nights now. Across the boardwalk where tourists flooded the streets to enjoy the warmth of one beautiful California March evening after another. He was always alone. Just like Blaine. Even surrounded by dozens, if not hundreds of people, they were always alone. Weren’t they? Because neither one of them belonged here. Though, Blaine had gotten used to pretending he did.
Was the other the same? Did he float through his small piece of eternity feeling like someone who traced the outside corners of living without really diving in? That’s what Blaine was trying to figure out by watching him and trying to learn everything he could within a comfortable, safe distance. Unsure if David sensed his presence and was pretending he didn’t while doing the same thing or not–Blaine came back every night since the first time he laid eyes on him. And felt something he hadn’t in years.
What that was? Mmm. Best not to mull over that for very long. One slender leg after leg lifted over the bottom wooden rung of the fence overlooking the wooden roller coaster. Then the other fit through it as well and Blaine sat, dangling feet swinging to the beat of a melody not quite touching the ground as he hooked his arms over the top and rested his chin on top of the wrist resting against the other. A brief glance towards a couple laughing loudly as Sugar Magnoliafaded into another song on the radio blasting from their rusty VW bus.
pianokeysandbowties back up 